If track fans aren't familiar with Carlisle sophomore Isa Paschall, it's not a big surprise -- he's only in his first season with the Thundering Herd squad.
What is surprising is Paschall's remarkable growth in the sport in just a matter of months. Weeks and even years from now, we could be hearing the rookie's name quite a bit.
Paschall, heavily inexperienced and relying on little more than his God-given athletic ability, captured a gold medal in the triple jump at Saturday's Mid-Penn Championships, held at Chambersburg's Trojan Stadium.
Paschall won the event with a hop, skip and leap of 44-1.5 to best a senior-laden field that included defending PIAA Class AA long jump champion Danny Jackson of Trinity, among others.
He was one of the area's top field competitors at Saturday's rainy conference meet.
It wouldn't have been out of the ordinary for Paschall to take victory in a sprint or even a different jumping event. But the triple jump is a highly technical event. It takes some athletes years to achieve the degree of success that Paschall has earned in just months.
Paschall is a youngster brimming with confidence and talent. He says fans are only seeing the beginning.
"It's the hard work I've put in. It's the coaching, my family and the ability I've been blessed with by God," Paschall said. "When I first started track, I was just doing it to stay in shape. The first time I did the triple jump, I got a 43, which I thought was terrible. Coach told me I could get into districts with that jump. I said, 'you're kidding.'"
"It's come to me so easily. Now I have to use the talent given to me to do something."
Paschall not only takes the lessons learned from his coaches, but also spends a significant amount of time online studying olympic jumpers.
His goal for this season is simple -- make it to states.
After this season, however, Paschall's goals get much bigger.
"My goal is to make states, but I'm in districts in my first year, so I can't really get mad," Paschall said. "No matter the outcome, I'm going to be happy with myself.
"My goal is to be in the 50s by my senior year. This is just the beginning."
While Paschall is at the start of a brilliant career, Cedar Cliff's Zac Collins is at the tail end of his.
Collins, a senior, launched a throw of 50-0.75 in the shot put to capture Mid-Penn gold. He scored the win over runner-up Andrew Paterno of Waynesboro, who registered a heave of 49-2.5.
Collins knew the winner was either going to be him or Paterno, the No. 1 seed.
"It came down to who got the best throw and fortunately, it was me," Collins said. "It's a good accomplishment and I'm happy to succeed, but next week at districts is my big goal.
"I'd like to qualify for states. That's really what I'm going for."
In the other throwing events, Red Land's Philip Overton captured the discus title with a launch of 138-8 and Mifflin County's Zachary Long won the javelin with a throw of 177-0.
Milton Hershey senior Ibn Short seems primed to defend his PIAA Class AA title in the high jump. He turned in a big leap of 6-8 to win the event Saturday.
CLICK HERE FOR TRINITY'S TEAM TITLE AT MID-PENN TRACK MEET
CLICK HERE FOR PALMYRA'S TIM MOSES RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE IN THE POLE VAULT
CLICK HERE FOR THE MID-PENN TRACK ROUNDUP, LED BY CUMBERLAND VALLEY'S ALEC KUNZWEILER
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