Elijah Wagner is a Sophomore here at Powhatan High School who is part of our indoor track team. This year he has made a tremendous accomplishment making it to the VHSL class 4 State Indoor Championship for long jumping. This state tournament will take place today on March 3rd through the 4th at Liberty University.

Along with long Jumping Elijah competes in the 55 meters, 55 hurdles with a 5th place finish at the Dominion District Polar Bear at Manchester, and the 300 meters with a first place finish at the Dominion District Polar Bear at LC Bird. In long Jump Elijah placed 3rd at the Regional 4B Indoor Championship at Liberty University that qualified him for the VHSL state tournament.

At this regional event Eli qualified with a jump of  19′-7″.25 with his best jump being 21′-1″ where he placed 4th at LC Bird. At this regional meet there were 30 entries with 3 being from Powhatan. This being the First time Eli has made it to states.

Long jumping has many parts to it that some may not realize. It requires speed, but not like sprinting. Each jumper needs to create speed in the first three steps then transition into posture and form and then transition back to speed. Elijah’s coach Jason Homer states, “jumping is a fickle sport that requires focus through consistency along with mental toughness.” For Eli his jump practices are geared towards development of speed and power through constant repetition.

Elijah Wagner is a dedicated athlete committed to improving upon his sprint form, hurdles technique, and consistency in the long jump. When asking what kind of athlete he is Coach Homer says, “He is the type of althe that every coach hopes for. He truly understands that he is a student first, athlete second.” His commitment to his technique has really made him a phenomenal athlete.

Congratulations to Eli on being the only person to make it to states for the indoor track team. The Powhatan community wishes him the best of luck!