Warburton Places 4th in Long Jump At PIAA Track Championships
By: Chris Manning | NTL Sports | May 24, 2025 | Photo courtesy Chris Manning
Ben Warburton made the state podium, and Alyssa Parks is one race away from joining him there after the PIAA Championships on Friday.
Warburton jumped 22-feet, 2 3/4-inches to take fourth in the boys' Class AA Long Jump competition Friday, while Parks ran 46.52 to win her heat of the 300 hurdles.
"It means everything," Warburton said about making the podium. "That was my goal the whole season. I'm very happy to come out here and do way better than I did last year. I placed close enough to my seed, and it's pretty much what I’ve been wanting my whole track career."
Warburton started off with a 21-foot jump and got progressively better as his flight went on, hitting his best mark on his third jump of the day.
"I felt terrible," Warburton said about his first jump."“But over four years of jumping I've learned to kind of handle myself, and not get in a bad place, and just pull myself out."
It wasn't ideal weather for jumping with a mix of rain and wind that felt more like early April than late May.
The eighth place jump was 21-feet, 6 1/4-inches so when Warburton went over 22-feet he felt better.
"It calmed me down a lot," he said. "The medal is pretty much what just puts me in an easy mood, and just doing the best I could for me. (The weather) is super tough but I've had to face it enough times this year where I kind of didn't let it bother me."
It looked like Warburton was going to take bronze but the eventual champion, California's Lee Qualk, uncorked a winning leap of 22-feet, 10 1/2-inches on his final try.
Warburton decided to leave it all out there on his third attempt, and it looked like it might have been out near 23-feet, but he was called for a foot violation.
"I was being a little risky on that last jump, trying to move up, but it's fine," he said. "It's a big weight off my chest, and I'm happy with the medal."
While Warburton came in with high expectations, Parks came in on the outside looking in.
Seeded 12th it looked like Parks would end up there as she came around the turn battling for fourth.
However, in the final 100 meters she turned it out, out leaning Sharon's Ondrea Young across the finish line to win her heat.
"It feels amazing," Parks said about the win.
It was an interesting start to the race with a false start.
"The girl that false started, she planned it from the beginning because she wasn't feeling well," explained Parks. "So we kind of had an idea."
The senior ran her normal race around the turn, then put on the burners over the final three hurdles.
"I kicked it in, and pushed it as hard as possible," remarked Parks.
It looked like it was a photo finish, but not for her.
"I did (know)," she said.
Her time is not just another PR but also resets the school record.
She goes into the finals on Saturday afternoon with the seventh faster time in qualifying, and all she has to do to get on the podium is finish.
"I'm just going to keep doing what I do best," Parks said.
