Palm Beach Central High School senior track athlete Adina Jackson had a medal-winning performance at the 2023 Florida High School Athletic Association’s (FHSAA) Class 4A State Track and Field Championships.
At this year’s Class 4A state meet, held on the campus of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville on Saturday, May 20, Jackson finished in sixth place in the triple jump, which garnered her a spot on the medal stand. Her best leap was 38 feet and a quarter inch (11.59 meters). It was the sixth medal that she has earned at the FHSAA’s Class 4A state track and field meet in the last three years.
Looking back at Jackson’s high school track and field career at Palm Beach Central, when she was a freshman in 2020, that year’s state meet was canceled due to the pandemic. As a sophomore in 2021, Jackson finished third in the long jump and sixth in the triple jump. She was also a member of the 4×100-meter relay team, which finished in ninth place. As a junior in 2022, Jackson was fifth in the long jump and seventh in the triple jump. She was also a member of the 4×100-meter relay team, which captured the Class 4A state championship with a first-place time of 46.47 seconds. That time was a new school record for girls track at Palm Beach Central. The other three members of the relay team last year were Brooke Jacob, Jada Smith and Brielle Mindley.
As a graduate of Palm Beach Central, Jackson leaves the school with a glowing résumé of success in track and field. She graduated with a GPA of 3.4 and plans to run track and field in college, but she has yet to make a final decision on where she plans to attend. She wants to pursue a degree in political science.
Jackson is the Palm Beach Central record-holder in two events, the 4×100-meter relay and long jump, with a leap of 19 feet, two inches. She was Palm Beach County champion in 2022 in the triple jump, two-time district champion in the long jump, triple jump and 4×100-meter relay, a two-time regional champion in the long jump, triple jump and 4×100-meter relay, and a one-time FHSAA state champion in 2022 in the 4×100-meter relay.
When Jackson is not running for the Broncos at Palm Beach Central, she competes for the West Palm Beach-based Fast Lane Track Club.