STATE COLLEGE - Pottsville senior A.J. Stevens saved his best for last.
Now he has plenty of momentum heading into the upcoming high school track and field season.
On his final jump of the day, Stevens reached 48 feet to win the triple jump title at the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association State Indoor Track and Field Meet on Saturday at the Multisport Indoor Facility at Penn State University.
Crimson Tide senior Paige Stoner also took part in the meet, finishing fifth in the 3,000-meter run in 10:10.02.
Stevens came into the triple jump seeded 18th at 44-1.25 and, prior to his final jump, his best attempt was 46-2, putting him 4.50 inches behind first place. But Stevens came through on his last attempt to win his first state title in the event.
State College's Bryce Williams was the runner-up at 46-6.5, while Neshaminy's D'Andre Pollard (46-0.5) was third.
Last spring was a breakout high school season for Stevens. He won his first Schuylkill League championship in the triple jump and was second in the event in Class AAA at the District 11 Championships to qualify for PIAA Track and Field Championships. There, he finished 18th in 45-11.75.
Stoner came in to Saturday's meet with a seed time of 10:19.82 and ran around nine seconds better than that time.
Tessa Barrett from Abington Height's won the event in 9:36.45, while Dallas' Regan Rome (9:57.36) was second, Unionville's Courtney Smith (10:10.69) third and North Hills' Mary Malone (10:06.93) fourth. Barrett and Rome finished second and fourth, respectively, in the 3,200 run in Class AAA during last spring's PIAA Track and Field Championships, while Stoner finished seventh.
The first official practice day for spring sports is Monday.