WEST LAFAYETTE — Jacob Schwartz spent four years chasing a seemingly personal unachievable mark.
For 58 years, long jumpers all unsuccessfully tried to erase Crawfordsville’s David Churchill from the Sagamore Conference track and field meet record books.
Friday night at Betty Bolyard track, the Harrison senior landed in the pit with a mark of 23 feet, 3 inches, clearing his personal goal of 23 feet and breaking Churchill’s conference meet record of 22-11 1/2 that stood since 1968.
“Once I landed, I knew it was a bomb,” said Schwartz, who also set a Harrison record in the process. “I had to start the clap (encouraging fans). That’s always a plus two feet automatically. It felt amazing.”
Harrison won 19 events in total, claiming both the boys and girls team championships as an introduction to the Sagamore Conference in its first year as a league member.
Schwartz was joined on the Sagamore Conference record board by Harrison sophomore Eva Stokes, whose shot put throw of 41-7 broke the 1993 mark of Frankfort’s Shauna Dunn by nearly two feet.
“Any time you set a record that stood from 1968, that stood for that long, you know you’re peaking at the right time,” Harrison coach Chris Crum said. “(Schwartz) has more in him. Eva has gotten more and more consistent in shot and discus, so I look for good things from her.”
Friday’s conference records may be just the beginning for Schwartz and Stokes.
Both are eyeing podium finishes weeks down the road at the state finals.
But the next few weeks will be a process.
“We’ve got to take it one step at a time, and I know that sounds cliche, but if things don’t go well at sectionals, that’s where it ends,” Crum said. “The focus has to be on sectionals, then regionals and then if we get there, we focus on (state).”
Last season is an indication of exactly that.
Stokes’ sophomore season ended in the regional a year ago with an 11th place finish in the discus. Her marks in shot put are well ahead of where she was a season ago.
“This year I’ve been really consistent in all my meets, so I am hoping I can stay that consistent for sectionals and regionals and then get a PR and go to state this year,” Stokes said. “Last year, I was really disappointed, but this year, I am putting in the work and letting that drive me.”
Schwartz, who spent a majority of last season altering his long jump form to alleviate the pain from a hamstring injury, won the regional as a junior before a disappointing performance at the state meet placed him 16th with a mark eight inches shorter than his regional leap.
Both are driven by last season’s disappointing ends. Stokes has found more consistency this season. Schwartz is fully healthy after the hamstring injury lingered into last summer before a chiropractor helped cure the injury.
Like Crum warned, Schwartz isn’t ready to look too far ahead just yet. He took Friday night to soak in the glory in his final home meet.
“It has been a dream of mine to hit it here and have a new school record announced over the intercom the last four years,” Schwartz said. “I always believed in myself. I’ve scratched marks like this six to 10 times, so I always knew I could do it. It was just about how and when.”
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Harrison’s Schwartz, Stokes break Sagamore Conference records
Reporting by Sam King, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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