Cherokee Trail triple jumper Kaeli Powe carries on legacy started by record-setting mom

LAKEWOOD Before she could claim consecutive Class A triple jump state titles Kaeli Powe needed to win a bet with her mom Powe Cherokee Trail s senior star who won the triple jump crown again on Thursday at Jeffco Stadium was a sophomore when she first surpassed the mark of her mom Joni Johnson-Powe As a Cherry Creek standout in the late s Johnson-Powe set the state record with a triple jump of feet inch and became the first Colorado girl to break the -foot mark By the time Kaeli got to high school Joni knew her daughter had enough foreseen to proffer a proposition We had a little bet If she jumped further than feet I would buy her a car and she definitely took that one to heart Johnson-Powe recalled with a laugh At the time she was driving my old car from So she had to drive a hooptie for a little while before she earned that new car The day she broke for the first time and also broke my old record it was at my old middle school I wasn t there at that meet but right after she called me and she was like Guess whattttttt I beat your record Powe says the legacy of her mother who won four overall state titles in triple jump and long jump before going on to compete at Nebraska was a motivator as she s emerged as one of the best triple-jumpers in state history Powe s best jump of - ranked fourth in the nation heading into Thursday s state meet where the Central Florida commit earned another title by jumping - For Powe who was undefeated in the triple jump over the past two years her emergence was underscored by bitter runner-up finishes her first two prep seasons As a freshman in she took second after being tied at - with Fort Collins senior Brooke Naughton at the end of the finals The tiebreaker was the second-best jump which Powe narrowly lost Then as a sophomore Powe underperformed with a mark of - and was second to Pine Creek senior Pleasure Nnantah As a junior she was determined to break what her family described as the Jeffco Curse Powe proceeded to jump - to win her first state title by more than two feet over runner-up Zenobia Witt of Eaglecrest Cherokee Trail s Kaeli Powe warms up for the Class A girls triple jump during the CHSAA track and field state championships at Jeffco Stadium in Lakewood on Thursday May Photo by Hyoung Chang The Denver Post After sophomore year a switch flipped in my head because I definitely didn t want that to happen again Powe noted I knew me and Jeffco aren t best friends because I hadn t performed that well there up to that point but I longed to get the place where even if I jumped poorly I would still be jumping better than everyone else Johnson-Powe saw a noticeable shift in her daughter s performance last year when she not only emerged as a champion but also began to flirt with Mullen grad Agur Dwol s state record - from Powe jumped Dwol s record on scratches a inadequate times this season including at last week s Centennial League meet when she scratched with the end of her toe I see a different kind of confidence Johnson-Powe mentioned When she was younger when she had a bad jump or scratch she would start to get really nervous But I ve seen her grow in confidence and maturity and knowing that one bad jump doesn t matter She s really blossomed because she doesn t get intimidated or nervous at big meets anymore As she s extended the distance between herself and the rest of the state Powe hasn t been content with absolutely winning A quiet competitor who leads by example for her teammates and excels in the classroom Powe has her eyes set on being competitive at the next level She s not really concerned about what the other competitors are doing Cherokee Trail jumps coach Arthur Nelson announced From the point of looking forward to competing at the next level where you need to be jumping consistently she s focused on that and made sure she s consistently in that -plus category at every meet Related Articles Colorado state track Utah football commit Soren Shinofield cruises to shot put title Colorado state track meet Day Live results from Jeffco Stadium Colorado state track meet Storylines returning champions and what to know ahead of this weekend Colorado school district sues CHSAA state to clear way for transgender athlete ban Colorado school district approves transgender athlete ban though questions about implementation remain On Thursday Powe jumped - in her first attempt then declined her next two preliminary jumps to protect an arch injury she s been nursing In the finals she scratched on her first two attempts before uncorking the - on her final jump That would ve been a new A state meet record surpassing a - by George Washington s Shaquania Lundy in but the record didn t count because of the wind The wind was on Thursday and the threshold for any record to count is That first jump really hurt my arch which is kind of jacked up Powe explained We retaped it so I could jump in the finals On the last one I figured might as well try and go for it I knew my first jump was far enough to win and I was in a safe spot heading into that final jump Next up for Powe the long jump on Friday an event she finished second in last year to Witt by inches Powe holds the state s top mark in the event at - and she s also ranked second in A in the -meter hurdles The finals for that event which she placed third in last year are Saturday morning She ll have to manage her arch injury in both events We anticipate that will be a much closer competition between her and Witt in the long jump Nelson revealed But Kaeli is thinking about urgent that -foot barrier again trying to get -foot mid and I feel confident that she will get there It s just part of her DNA Want more sports news Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver s teams