RIDGEFIELD — Adam Kruger walked away from the long jump pit with a personal best and a second-place finish. But instead of celebrating, he made a calculated decision: skip his final three jumps to save energy for his specialty, the triple jump.
It nearly cost him everything.
Kruger scratched on his first two triple jump attempts, putting his medal hopes in serious jeopardy. The Toledo High School senior, who earned a state medal in the triple jump last spring, suddenly faced the very real possibility of coming up empty.
"I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I better get in the finals at least,'" Kruger recalled.
But like he's done countless times on the football field and basketball court, Kruger delivered when it mattered most. His third preliminary leap sailed 43 feet, 4.25 inches — securing a spot in the finals and setting the stage for something bigger. One jump later, he topped it with a 43-05, good enough for second place at Friday's Spudder Invite at Ridgefield High School.
Back-to-back personal bests left Kruger breathing a sigh of relief. It's been a season of wins and close seconds, built on a foundation of strength training rather than extensive offseason work.
"I've put in the work, my coaches have put me through the right training," Kruger said. "It is fun to see the results."
His practice sessions have focused more on perfecting his steps than actual jumping — a strategy that's kept him healthy and explosive for meets. Even so, Kruger admitted his marks felt slightly off during the triple jump, explaining the early scratches. But when the pressure mounted, he found his rhythm.
Kruger has now cleared 40 feet six times this spring, matching his total from last season. But he's not satisfied with consistency — he wants the top spot on the podium.
"All it takes is a couple inches," Kruger said. "That's really pushed me to be the best version of myself I can be. I know what I can do in my mind and seeing people are out there doing that, like, why not me?"
The long jump offers another opportunity for a state medal. After failing to advance past districts as a freshman and again last spring, Kruger finally broke through with his first 21-foot jump on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Riverhawks finished fourth in the team standings with 45 points, led by Trevin Gale's second-place performance in the 400-meter dash. Gale went stride-for-stride with Elma's Ricardo Guadarrama through the staggered turn, and both runners shattered the previous meet record of 50.41 seconds set by Hockinson's Nick Barclay in 2014.
Guadarrama edged Gale with a time of 49.37 to Gale's 49.95 — personal bests for both athletes.
"It is mostly mentality," Gale said. "Last year and the beginning of this year, I was always like..."