JACKSON &045; As if the state track meet wasn’t enough of a challenge.

You throw in the fact that Ariana DeLaSalle had to get on the road early after playing a softball game Thursday, and things weren’t working entirely in her favor before she arrived at Jackson Academy for the field events.

Yet the Adams Christian standout came through with a jump of 5-1 to win the Class AA state high jump championship &045; one of three individual state titles won by athletes in the Miss-Lou.

&uot;She jumped pretty good but not as well as she could have jumped,&uot; Adams Christian head coach Warren Whitaker said. &uot;She had to jump at 9 o’clock. It was a pretty good challenge for her, but she stepped up to the challenge. She is a better jumper than that, but that was good enough to win. I’m really proud of her.&uot;

The finals came down to misses between DeLaSalle and Margaret Long of Indianola Academy after both cleared 5-1 and couldn’t get past that. DeLaSalle has jumped a personal-best 5-3 at South State last week to head into the state meet in good shape at taking home a medal.

When neither could get 5-2, both were tied at 5-1, but DeLaSalle won it in misses. On each girl’s first try, Long missed while DeLaSalle cleared the bar.

Riverfield had a girl who cleared 5-0 but couldn’t get any higher.

&uot;I felt like she had it then,&uot; Whitaker said. &uot;Really and truthfully, all the girls out of the South didn’t do as well as they normally do. Ariana got up and traveled from Natchez and had a ball game last night. You know she had to be a little weary.

&uot;But she’s worked hard this year. She’s just getting started. If she’ll keep herself in shape and keep running, when basketball is over she can take off from wherever she’s at and is capable of getting 5-4 or 5-5. She’s got good technique.&uot;

Heath Williams came up just short in his bid for the top spots in the shot and discus Friday. Williams threw the shot 46-3 to come in second and the discus 123-9 to come in third for the Rebels.

A thrower from Lee Academy won the shot at 47-6, but Williams may have had his best throw in discus after sitting back in the standings heading into his final throw for the day when he posted the 123-9.

&uot;He did a good job on his discus,&uot; Whitaker said. &uot;They were giving six attempts, and he was in fifth or sixth place. He wasn’t getting his discus high enough, and he wasn’t getting distance. The last one he got it high enough and got a pretty good throw. It’s technique and getting everything right. As a whole, he did well. For him to get second in one and third in another, that’s really good.&uot;

Other state champs Friday were WCCA’s LaValle Johnson in the discus. His throw of 141 feet won the boys’ Class A title.

Tensas Academy’s Cody Hill won the Class A title in the shot put for his second straight title in the event.

Also Friday, Huntington’s Krystal Arnold had a solid day but couldn’t match up against the throwers from the North. Arnold threw the shot 30-4 1/2 to finish in sixth place, while Leslie Wagoner came in eight with a throw of 27-5.

&uot;Competition was really tough,&uot; Huntington head coach Penny Moak said. &uot;The Rebul girl threw 35 feet to win it. Krystal didn’t really throw her best, but she still threw an inch less than last week. The competition was really tough.&uot;

WCCA’s Derek Tubbs came in second in the discus behind Johnson at 118 feet, and Erin Ashley came in fifth in the shot at 30-5 just ahead of Arnold. Spike Deville couldn’t go in the high jump due to a staph infection in his knee.

Running events start at 10 a.m. today with the 3,200-meter at Jackson Prep and ends with the mile relay races at near 4:30 p.m. Adams Christian’s Katilyn O’Quinn will go in the 3,200 in the morning after winning the South State title in a time of 13:42.

&uot;She’s going in as second seed,&uot; Whitaker said. &uot;A girl in North has time 30 seconds better. I call (Katilyn) the running machine. We’ll have to wait and see. She’s a hard worker and has a good attitude.&uot;