Mentor’s Paige Floriea breaks area long jump record during GCC track and field meet

Given Paige Floriea’s beyond-her-years technical skill in long jump, it is a safe assurance something special could happen in that event at any given moment.

May 11 during Day 2 of the Greater Cleveland Conference meet at Brunswick, the most special moment for the Mentor freshman so far came to fruition.

Floriea became the first female long jumper in News-Herald coverage area history to break 20 feet, going 20-0 3/4 to win the GCC title and set the area record.

“I was so excited,” Floriea said. “As soon as I read it, I jumped up and down. I got a huge smile on my face, and it gave me super confidence to go into district.”

The previous area standard was a 19-8 3/4 by West Geauga’s Chantel Richardson in 2013, when as a senior she was second at the Division I state meet on a tiebreaker.

Here, Floriea made history with her first jump of the day in prelims, lauding a good warmup going into it and then popping a jump to land in the record books.

“It felt different, because I was in the air much longer,” Floriea said. “And I held it in the air — I was pretty much flying because it felt so good in the air.

“I warmed up with my 4x2 team, and we practiced our handoffs to get ready. That warmed me up, and I did a bunch of A-skips and stuff like that through the field to get warm and ready for it.”

It is the third area standard to be broken this spring. Mayfield’s Bobby Casey went 23-11 to set the boys long jump mark at the South Invitational, and on May 9, Chagrin Falls’ Annie Zimmer shattered the 1,600 mark at the CVC Chagrin meet with a 4:53.47.

Floriea is also the only ninth-grader on the area track and field records in an individual event. Of the 26 individual-event marks, 19 were recorded by seniors and six were by juniors.

Among current News-Herald coverage area schools, there have been 25 top-fours at state all-time in girls long jump, including six state champions. Of those 25, only three have been 18-6 or better — and those three all won state titles: Euclid’s Tamica Harbour in 2009 (18-6), Beaumont’s Johya Howell in 1981 (18-10 1/4) and Richardson.

Last spring, the D-I state title in girls long jump was won with a 19-1 1/4.

All the way around, Floriea is feeling on top of the world as district looms next week — and reasonably so.

“I was just hoping to get any good jump in that was going to get me a mark for the finals,” Floriea said. “And then I could go for it as much as possible after that. I was not expecting a 20 out of the gate.

“When I hear it, it still doesn’t quite get through to me (that I went 20-0 3/4). But I’m sure it will eventually.”

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