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Moxley, Dunlap earn titles at state indoor meet
By Joe Scalzo
Akron
On March 5, one week after winning a state swimming title, Maplewood senior Jordan Moxley woke up feeling good and decided to compete in her first indoor track meet of the season.
“I was like, ‘I guess I’ll try to qualify [for the state indoor meet] and I guess I’ll just go,” said Moxley, who won a Division III state outdoor title in the high jump last June, then won a Division II swim title in the 50-yard freestyle. “It was so nonchalant.”
After jumping 5 feet, 7 inches, she entered Saturday’s state indoor meet with the second-best qualifying height. More amazing, she entered with a tame stomach.
“Usually the night before competitions, I’m really nervous,” she said. “I woke up this morning not nervous.”
Relying mostly on muscle memory, Moxley jumped 5-71/2 on Saturday to win a Division II/III state title with a state meet-record height at the University of Akron. She nearly cleared 5-9 — which would have been a career-best — but nicked the bar on her third attempt.
“I was really happy with my last attempt,” said Moxley, who will swim at Ohio State next year. “I’ve never been close to 5-9 before so for me to be jumping that well this early in the season, I’m really excited.”
McDonald senior Miles Dunlap felt the same way.
Like Moxley, he was competing in his first state indoor meet. And, like Moxley, he nearly set a career-best, leaping 22-11/4 in the long jump to edge Mineral Ridge senior Dan Skiba.
“It’s exciting because this meet is kind of leading into the outdoor season and this is where I want to be [with my distances] right now,” Dunlap said.
Dunlap had the best jump (21-8) entering the three-jump finals, then Skiba passed him on his second jump with a 21-10. Dunlap then jumped 22-0 to take the lead and went a little bit farther on his final jump.
“I’ve only gone into the 22s once and that’s where I want to be consistently this season,” Dunlap said. “Me and Skiba are friends so anytime we get to jump together, it’s pretty fun.”
Skiba, who won a Division III outdoor title in the event as a sophomore, said he was pleased but not satisfied with his performance.
“That’s probably a good way to put it,” said Skiba, a YSU recruit. “I was just a couple steps off. That’s the hard thing about the long jump — it’s a touchy sport.
“[Miles and I have] a good rivalry and we’re definitely jumping close to each other, so that’s good competition. I’m just trying to get ready for outdoor — get my steps down and get a feel for everything.”