MIDDLETOWN — Each year at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association track and field championships Chautauqua Lake’s Jada Cole improved in the high jump and on Saturday at Middletown High School it was her final chance to reach the top of the podium.

Coming down to her final jump at 5-feet and 6-inches, Cole had the opportunity to separate herself from Pulaski’s Vanessa Trumble for the Class C title.

Then on the final attempt, Cole cleared the bar, officially clinching a state championship in her senior season with the Eagles.

Following her 5-6 clearance, Cole missed three attempts at 5-7 as a trio of competitors managed to advance. Cole’s mark of 5-6 and efficiency reaching the height put her at 4th overall in the event, while Paige Fessler of Valley Stream North won the overall championship and Class B title at 5-9 ahead of Manhasset’s Kate Voelker and Anna Eells of Cicero-North Syracuse won Class A and took third overall at 5-8.

Southwestern junior Mikayla Johnson nearly joined Cole with a championship of her own in Class C discus, but after leading heading into the final throw at 132-6, the title was snatched by the Section VI champion Nyla Wilson-Epps of Tapestry. While Johnson set the standard with her first throw, Wilson-Epps gradually worked her way up from 107-8 to an eventual winning throw of 144-3 on her sixth and final opportunity.

Johnson’s mark would have been good for first in Class A which was won by Clarkstown South’s Maggie Hansen at 132-5 and she finished third overall in the state as Miller Place’s Jillian Scully posted a throw of 169-10 to claim the Class B and Federation title. Scully’s throw bested a meet record which stood since 1992.

Falconer junior Mary Lundmark landed herself on the podium in the pole vault, grinding to fourth in Class C reaching a height of 11 feet. Lundmark was down to her final vault at 10-6 before clearing the mark. Then on just her second attempt at 11 she passed, matching Cazenovia’s Susie Pittman and Trinity School’s Madeline Magliaro.

Lundmark, Pittman and Magliaro all topped out at 11, but in order of efficiency at the meet they finished 4th, 3rd and 2nd as Oakfield/Alabama’s Paige Harding went on to win the Class C state championship. Harding won Class C at 11-6, Cornwall’s Anderson Farina claimed Class B at 12-3 and the overall and Class A winner is Shaker’s Ruby Miracle reaching 12-6.

Southwestern nearly claimed two championships on the track with both relay teams taking second by tenths and hundredths of a second.

Beginning the day with 1,600, Southwestern finished just behind Oneonta for the Class C title with a time of 4:05.00 besting 4:05.19. The effort earned M’Kenzie Zavala, Emma Lewis, Tryniti Card and Marlana Cresanti a second-place medal in the event.

The heartbreak was greater in the 3,200 relay, losing to East Aurora by .07 seconds. After claiming the sectional title, Southwestern ran six seconds slower at the state meet with a time of 9:26.15 to fall to East Aurora’s 9:26.08.

Collecting a Class C second-place medal for the Trojans are Cresanti, Avery Johnson, Card and Lewis.

Frewsburg’s Grace Lennon raced in two Class C finals, placing 7th in the 100 and 8th in the 200. Lennon’s 100 time was 12.75, while the winner was Port Jefferson’s Alexa Jacobs at 12.03 and in the 200 she ran 26.33 as Rye Country Day School’s Payton Richardson won at 24.73.

Prior to helping Southwestern earn a pair of second-place relay medals, sophomore Emma Lewis ran in the 2,000 steeplechase, however she did not finish the event. The Class C champion was Tri-Valley’s Anna Furman with a time of 7:00.30, while Frontier senior Lillie Bogdan won the overall event at 6:34.34.