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Columbia jumper Asherah Collins celebrates on the podium with her gold medal after winning the Class 3A state title in the triple jump last May at Hodges Stadium at UNF. (FILE)
With a gold medal dangling around her neck, Asherah Collins raised her fist in the air in celebration as she stood tall on the podium.
It was May 4, 2019 and Collins had just won the state title in the triple jump. It was a euphoric moment for Collins, one she was eager to feel one last time in her senior season at Columbia.
Instead, she’ll never get the chance. Covid-19 forced the Florida High School Athletic Association to cancel the spring sports season on Monday, an announcement that officially ended Collins’ dream of back-to-back state titles.
Collins, who signed to jump at UCF, was one of the favorites — if not the favorite — to win it again.
“Two months ago I would have never thought that this was going to happen,” Collins said. “I was so ready for state two months ago and now to not even go, it really breaks my heart.”
Collins was aiming to make history at Columbia. Her title last year was the first in track and field since 1981 and she was aiming to become the first female to win back-to-back championships in the sport ever at the school.
When the news came down from the FHSAA, Columbia coach Bruce Johnson says he was heartbroken.
“It’s very unfortunate because she had a mindset all year of going to defend her state title and trying to do something that hasn’t really been done,” Johnson said. “To see all that hard work, not to say it was all for nothing, but just to see it come to an abrupt end for her is sad. She has UCF to look forward to but with this incident happening, it’s very unfortunate. I just hate it for her.”
Collins starting coming to grips with reality when the FHSAA announced in March that sports would be suspended through May 3. That came after the association had previously postponed athletics through April 15.
The timeline kept getting pushed further and further away and Collins knew the inevitable outcome before it ever came.
“I knew they weren’t coming back, but I was still working out and trying to stay in shape just in case,” Collins said. “I kind of figured they weren’t going to come back.”
“I am disappointed. I’m real disappointed. But things happen.”
Collins picked up right where she left off a season ago, winning the triple jump in all five events this spring. That included a season-best leap of 39 feet, 1.25 inches at the Bolles Bulldog Classic.
No other athlete ever got within a foot of her this year either. And Collins hadn’t even peaked, yet to match her state final performance last year of 41 feet, 3.75 inches.
“It’s a bummer. It’s a huge bummer man,” Collins said. “It’s my senior year. It really makes me want to cry, but I can’t cry because I’m going to do bigger and better things.”
There isn’t much hesitation from Johnson about Collins' chance to win another state title. He says there was no doubt in his mind that Collins would have repeated.
Johnson constantly preached that other athletes were coming after Collins to knock her off the pedestal. It kept Collins hungry for more.
“She’s a hard worker and she had a chip on her shoulder,” Johnson said. “We talked all the time that somebody is coming for her, so she always had it in the back of her mind that she didn’t want anybody to catch her. Me knowing her athletic ability and just the drive that she has, if somebody jumps further than her I know the next time she was going to make up for it and jump further than them. That’s just what she has in her. So I had no doubt in my mind that she was going to go back and win it again.”
It’s a bittersweet end for Collins, who says she’s looking forward to jumping at UCF. Having the chance to compete in college has helped take some of the sting away from losing her senior season.
As depressing as it is to lose an opportunity to repeat as a state champion, Collins says she’s even sadder that she may never get the chance to run competitively again. Collins, who has ran the 100m, 200m and relay events for the Tigers, is currently set to only jump at UCF.
Knowing that heading into her senior season, Collins was aiming to make it to state in the 100m. She had her time down to 12.2 seconds and was trying to get it under 12 to have a shot at regionals and beyond.
If anything, losing out on that chance will push her even harder to prove to the UCF coaching staff that she can run track, too.
“I’m going to work real hard in college to show them that I can be a multi-athlete,” Collins said. “I’m going to try my hardest.”