BRANFORD — Jadyn Mosley entered the track season with modest expectations.
For good reason.
Prior to this spring, Mosley had never competed in track. But the Branford junior was looking for a way to stay in shape for volleyball as well as compete and, hopefully, have some fun.
Mission accomplished and then some.
“I really didn’t think I’d go as far as I did for sure,” Mosley said.
But after feeling her way through numerous events, Mosley and coaches Erin and Tim Clark finally found Mosley’s featured event late in the regular season: the javelin.
Thrust into the throwing event due to an injury, Mosley quickly adapted to it and launched her way to a school record, a district title, a Class 1A state appearance and, now, the title of LCR Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year.
“District champion, regional qualifier, state qualifier, school record holder, it was a phenomenal year for her throwing the stick,” Tim Clark said.
Erin Clark, the Branford girls track coach who also coaches the Buccaneers’ javelin throwers after competing in the event in college, added: “Jadyn, honestly, was an unexpected surprise.”
Prior to this year, Mosley had spent her spring on the diamond with Branford’s softball team. However, when she joined a travel volleyball team, it meant softball was out.
So the competitor looked for a new way to stay active. That meant track. It also meant a steep learning curve, a lot of trial and loads of running.
“In the beginning, it was a bit of a struggle,” Tim Clark said, noting that when athletes come out for track, they get thrown into lots of different events, including on the track.
“You tell us you want to run, we tell you that you better be OK running. From there, we’ll figure out what you can do.”
For Mosley that meant competing in the 200 meters at the start of the season as well as the shot put. She also took part in the long jump and triple jump. In practice, she also ran some 400 and even the 100.
“We definitely put her through some sprinting workouts,” Erin Clark said.
But Mosley, whose older brother Devin medaled in the shot put last year while also qualifying for regionals in the javelin and discus, was also intrigued by the throwing events. She competed in the shot put throughout the season, throwing in every meet through the District 5-1A meet. In early March, she tried the javelin at Cedar Key, winning the four-team meet with a best throw of 21.12m.
“She didn’t really like it,” Erin Clark said.
For a long-time softball player, adapting the throwing motion from the diamond to the unique motion required in javelin isn’t easy. It took time, effort and film sessions.
“I was very nervous and scared because I did not know how to throw,” Mosley said. “I basically threw it like a softball because that’s the only thing I knew how to do.”
Erin Clark would video Mosley throwing so they could then watch what her body was actually doing as compared to what Mosley “felt” like she was doing.
There were also two-handed throws and other drills to find the right release point and keep the body parts in the right spot.
And then in mid-April, Mosley got the opportunity to show off what she had learned in a home meet.
The work turned into a throw of 23.05m. A week later, at districts, she unleashed a throw of 28.20m to win the district title. She also qualified in the triple jump at districts, finishing second with a jump of 9.09m — her personal best — while scoring points in the shot put with an 8.36m throw.
Mosley was hooked.
“Once she realized she was pretty good at it, she committed to it and it’s one of those things, input-output,” Tim Clark said. “She put the work in and she really improved.”
Mosley said the district title led to focusing almost solely on the javelin. Every day, every practice, she’d learn another point, a new technique, a new form and the distance on her throws kept coming.
Those practices extended to home as well with Devin helping out.
“Jadyn likes to succeed in things that she does, and when she is good at something, she puts her mind to it and will work hard,” Erin Clark said. “There’s a learning curve and we’ve come a long way in a short time.”
At regionals, Mosley’s work translated to a throw of 32.24m and a trip to the state meet.
There, she had a best throw of 32.83m, which left her one spot off the medal stand, just behind Evangelical Christian’s Sierra Sharp, who threw 33.20m.
“She was disappointed and I had to remind her of how far she’s come,” Erin Clark said.
But Mosley is more worried on how far she still has to go.
That close finish at state? It’s just motivation for her senior season.
“I’m going to get up there next year for sure,” she said.
ALL-AREA TEAM
100m: Stacy White
Columbia, senior
Ran a sub-13 second race five times with an area-best 12.71 seconds to place second at the Bronco Bob Track Meet. Placed seventh at District 2-3A meet (12.84).
200m: Stacy White
Columbia, senior
Ran a sub-28 second race five times with a season-best 26.64 seconds to place second at the Bronco Bob Track Meet. Placed ninth at District 2-3A meet (26.82).
400m: J’Liyn Smith
Columbia, freshman
Dropped under 1:01 to place third in District 2-3A (1:00.96) before running an area-best 1:00.40 to place seventh in Region 1-3A.
800m: Abigail Candler
Columbia, junior
Ran a sub-2:40 six times with an area-best 2:34.16 to place second at Santa Fe Mini Meet #3. Won Santa Fe Raider Classic, placed sixth in District 2-3A (2:35.11).
1600m: Ryleigh Hermanson
Suwannee, freshman
Placed second in District 2-2A (5:38.29) before finishing 10th in Region 1-2A with an area-best 5:34.27. Won Raider Invitational and Santa Fe Mini Meet #1.
3200m: Ryleigh Hermanson
Suwannee, freshman
Placed second in District 2-2A (13:15.55) before finishing ninth in Region 1-2A with an area-best 11:57.57, which set a new school record. Won Raider Invitational.
100m hurdles: Libby Beach
Lafayette, sophomore
Ran an area-best 18.63 seconds to place third in District 3-1A before placing 12th in Region 1-1A (19.21).
400m hurdles: Anna Moore
Branford, 8th grade
Set a new school record at 1:12.03 to place sixth at the Region 1-2A meet after a runner-up finish in District 5-1A (1:13.22). Won at Branford Mini Meet #1, #2 and #3, Lafayette Home Meet and Bell Home Meet.
4x100 relay: Columbia (J’Liyn Smith, Omari-Briana Foster, Ta’riyah Hunter, Stacy White)
Ran a 50.50 to place third in District 2-3A for a regional berth. Won the Bronco Bob Track Meet.
4x400 relay: Branford (Alex Whitfield, Kayley Johnson, Anna Moore, Leiah Thompson)
Set new school record to place 12th at the Class 1A state meet (4:12.14) following a runner-up finish at districts (4:33.03) and a fourth-place finish at regionals (4:12.35).
4x800 relay: Suwannee (Alondra Castro, Ryleigh Hermanson, Montana Lewis, Madison McMillan)
Placed third in District 2-2A (10:38.22) and 10th in Region 1-2A (10:53.87).
High jump: Madison Ward
Branford, sophomore
Runner-up in District 5-1A with area-best jump of 1.42 and placed ninth in Region 2-1A (1.37m). Won at Branford Mini Meet #3 and Lafayette Home Meet.
High jump: Kennedy Jennings
Suwannee, freshman
Runner-up in District 2-2A with area-best jump of 1.42m and placed 10th in Region 1-2A (1.37m).
Pole Vault: Madison McMillan
Suwannee, junior
Hit two meters or higher six times with an area-best 2.30m to win Santa Fe Mini Meet #3. Runner-up in District 2-2A (1.95m) and 11th in Region 1-2A (1.95m). Also win Suwannee Mini Home Meet.
Long jump: J’Liyn Smith
Columbia, freshman
Leapt an area-best 4.87m at the Bolles Bulldog Classic. Placed seventh in District 2-3A (4.72m).
Triple jump: Stacy White
Columbia, senior
Only area jumper to leap over 10 meters, jumping a season-best 10.19m to place seventh in District 2-3A.
Shot put: Kay’lyona Cuffy
Suwannee, junior
Won District 2-2A title with throw of 10.24m and then placed eighth in Region 1-2A (9.83m) to qualify for state, where she placed 12th in Class 2A (10.15m). Threw an-area best 11.37m to win at Santa Fe Mini Meet #3 and also won at Suwannee Home Meet, Santa Fe Mini Meet #1 and Raider Invitational.
Discus: Emma Clary
Branford, senior
Placed 18th in the discus at the Class 1A state meet with a throw of 21.89m after placing fourth in District 5-1A meet (23.68m) and fourth in Region 2-1A, where she had a season-best throw 31.62m.
Javelin: Jadyn Mosley
Branford, junior
The LCR’S Girls Track & Field Athlete won the District 5-1A title (28.20m) and then placed fifth in Region 2-1A (32.24m) before throwing an area-best 32.83m to place ninth at the Class 1A state meet, which also broke her own school record. Also won at Cedar Key Field Meet.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Erin Clark, Branford
Led the Buccaneers to a runner-up finish at the District 5-1A meet, just finishing behind champion Oak Hall. Clark’s girls had district champions in two events and runner-up finishes in seven more. Those seven were part of a whopping 43 regional slot berths, which were by far the most in the area. Three of them qualified for state, with Jadyn Mosley posting a team-best ninth in the javelin.