Entering the spring season West Deptford High School girls track and field coach Mark Drummond said he had a good problem on his hands. The coach knew junior Megan Kirschling could score for the team in “at least six events.”
He just had to decide which events she would compete in during each meet.
The choices became rather clear early in the season, as Kirschling immediately started dominating the high jump and 100 hurdles–two events she was a state qualifier in a year earlier.
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As the season wore on Kirschling added the triple jump–an event she had not competed in since her freshman season–and, not surprisingly, she became a state qualifier in that event, as well.
By season’s end Kirschling was a state qualifier in all three events, was the school record holder and state Group II champion in the high jump and even earned All-American honors.
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She was also an easy choice for West Deptford Patch’s Female Athlete of the Season.
As impressive as her performances in the triple jump and hurdles were, it was the high jump that defined her season. Already the school record-holder in the event (5 feet, 7 inches), Kirschling set out to clear 5-8 this season. She accomplished her goal midway through the season and never looked back.
Kirschling said the key to becoming an elite high jumper is to keep a consistent approach.
“It is all technique,” Kirschling said. “You have to make sure your steps are measured right, because if they are off even a little bit, that can make you mess up. You have to make sure you are loose, and the biggest thing is, you have to make sure your legs have a pop in them. If they don’t have that pop, you will have a harder time clearing the bar.”
That’s where Kirschling is able to separate herself from her competitors.
“As the height goes up, I have to make sure I stay the same in my form. When I clear 5-4, I have to make sure I do the same jump to clear 5-8. You don’t want to change things just because the bar goes up. I think that’s what messes people up the most. They think because the bar is going up they have to change the way they jump.”
Kirschling’s accomplishments over the past three months included a state title in the high jump and seventh and ninth place finished in the 100 hurdles and triple jump, respectively. She went on to take second in the high jump at the Meet of Champions and even traveled down to North Carolina to compete in the New Balance National Outdoor Games, where she earned All-American status by finishing fifth in the high jump.
“It’s amazing, because I really just wanted to go down there and compete because I wasn’t ready to stop,” she said. “To actually place is an amazing feeling (and) I am so happy about that.”
After all that she has accomplished, it is sometimes easy to forget her track career at West Deptford is not over. Kirschling will return for her senior season next year and will be the unquestioned leader of the team.
It is quite likely that she will once again re-write the West Deptford record books and bring home plenty of hardware, both locally and nationally.
“Knowing that I still improved is a big thing for me,” Kirschling said. “I feel like my technique is a lot better, and I am just looking forward to next year and what is to come.”
