Xavier Prep sophomore Malia Strange cemented herself among the best triple jumpers in the state again this year, with a fifth-place finish at Saturday's state finals meet, validating her remarkable freshman effort last year when she finished in fourth place.

Competing at Buchanan High School in Clovis, Strange finished 11th out of 32 competitors in the qualifying round, doing just enough to be in the 12-person championship round. But in that final round, she used her best leap of the day to climb up to fifth place (38 feet, 5.75 inches).

In finishing fourth last year, Strange topped out at 39-3.75. Her career-best leap was at Arcadia this year with a jump of 39-7.25.

It was an impressive start to her high school career for the sophomore star.

Palm Desert hurdler Kingston "Jax" Penny wa

See Full Page