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Soaring to a state title

Magi’s Davis-Aguilar perseveres to become long jump champion

Alex Eisen/MDN Minot High senior Adrian Davis-Aguilar after winning a state title in the Class A boys long jump Friday evening in Bismarck.

BISMARCK — Adrian Davis-Aguilar strolled into last year’s Class A long jump competition as the top-seeded favorite.

He took 10th and didn’t place.

The Minot High School senior in his final go around wasn’t going to let that happen again Friday at the MDU Resources Community Bowl in Bismarck.

With a jump of 22 feet, 9 inches, Davis-Aguilar finished what he had set out to do and captured what was a rather elusive state championship.

“(This journey) has been discouraging at times,” Davis-Aguilar said. “Being ranked first last year and not doing as well as I wanted to do, or in the other years by not being able to place or even make it on the podium. It’s definitely been a process of learning – figuring out what works, what doesn’t work and how to improve myself.”

Davis-Aguilar’s winning jump on Friday was nearly two feet longer than what he posted at the 2017 state meet.

“This feels amazing,” he said. “Still feels surreal. It hasn’t really hit me yet, but I’m just happy. I put in a lot of time this year and I’m glad I was able to get it done.”

The speedster got to tune-up his legs before heading over to the long jump pit by running in Minot High’s 4×100 relay, which placed fourth in the preliminaries.

“I felt fast after the relay,” Davis-Aguilar said. “The momentum from that and being able to run with my team definitely gave me a boost to jump. Then, it was just about staying relaxed and not getting into my own head.”

The winning leap came on Davis-Aguilar’s second jump in the finals. The former Magi running back in the fall and the soon-to-be newest North Dakota State track and field prospect flew down the runway and stuck the landing.

“I felt good taking off,” he said. “I felt like I had that pop that I usually get when I jump far. So, I hit what I needed to hit and it came out alright.”

Davis-Aguilar outjumped podium placers in Bismarck High’s Derek Leingang and West Fargo’s Nsengiyumva Corode – the only other two competitors who reached 22 feet.

So, in bouncing back from a forgettable disaster a season ago, Davis-Aguilar now has a state title plaque to complement the MHS long jump school record that he also holds.

A fitting way to leave his lasting mark on the Magicians’ track and field program.

“If you don’t get discouraged and keep working hard, you can get there,” Davis-Aguilar said. “You just got to practice, trust your coaches and trust your marks.”

Alex Eisen covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.

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