Messner’s long wait results in longest jump ever by District 2 girl

SCRANTON – Aria Messner set the record straight.

The Pittston Area senior waited a year for the chance to claim the long jump gold medal and Class 3A meet record she was deprived of by an uncorrected, officiating error at last year’s District 2 Track and Field Championships.

That error created a target – a record beyond what even Messner had ever jumped before.

Messner achieved both those goals while claiming the last of three gold medals Tuesday at Memorial Stadium, surpassing the tainted record by a half-inch by going 19-2½ to claim the title.

“Out of everything I did today, if I could just get that record, that’s all I wanted to do,” Messner said. “I am thrilled.”

Messner got there on the second of her six tries. She nearly made it on the first attempt.

“I knew going in that she had a shot at that long jump record,” Lady Patriots coach Joe Struckus said. “She had it on her first jump, but her hand fell back.”

Messner was shocked by that development, having never dropped her hand behind her on a good jump in the past.

She made sure there was no repeat of that slip.

The long jump was part of Messner duplicating last season’s accomplishment of qualifying for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Championships in all four events, winning three gold medals and taking a silver in the other. Last year, however, she never made it to the competition at Shippensburg University because of injuries suffered in an automobile accident.

“She has responded well in all pressure moments,” coach Joe Struckus said. “As soon as that became a district record last year, that was her main focus and drive for this whole season.

“After the accident and getting through that accident, her goal was to take down that record and she accomplished it, so it was a pretty awesome night.”

While aiming at the long jump record, Messner had other work to be done. She struggled most of the season with the high jump and was not always able to duplicate last season’s times and measurements while on the comeback trail.

Wearing new high jump shoes and operating with revised technique, Messner hit her season-high and matched her career-best with a 5-3 high jump. That allowed her to take the silver medal and meet the state qualifying standard while finishing behind only Grayce Grazio from Crestwood, a state bronze medalist last season. Messner got over 4-11 and 5-1 on the first attempt at each, but needed her third and final try at 5-3 to make the state meet and secure sole possession of second place.

“We put a lot of focus on knee lift and getting higher up in the air and a lot on where her foot placement was,” Struckus said. “She was pretty erratic for most of the season. With not having a meet for a week, we were really able to put a focus on getting her approach corrected and that’s what we did.”

Messner was the top performer of the two-day meet after being in the discussion for that distinction a year ago. She won the long jump by more than a foot, won the 100-meter dash by a wide margin of .32 seconds in 12.53 and anchored the 400-meter relay team’s winning effort of 49.54 seconds.

“It took a lot to get back to where I was today,” Messner said. “But, to do what I did today, I had the best district that I ever had in my life.”

“I could not be happier with how I performed today.”

That is saying a lot.

In four years of District 2 Championships, Messner has nine gold medals, including one as a freshman in the triple jump, which she no longer performs. She has five silver medals, a bronze and a sixth-place medal.

Messner was apparently positioned for her first venture into the state top 20 in any event last year before missing out on that chance.

“I had a lot of motivating factors,” Messner said. “That’s for sure.”

And, much to overcome along the way.

“In my indoor season, and even, in the first half of my (outdoor) season, I didn’t do too well,” she said. “So, there was a lot of uncertainty about what I was going to do at districts.

“But I worked for it. I really did. It did not come easy.”

Now that another big district meet performance is behind her, Messner moves to her final high school meet with a different mindset.

“I’m walking out of here the happiest person in the stadium,” she said.