State Champion spotlight: Erick Seekins Brewer HS

State Champion spotlight: Erick Seekins Brewer HS

Brewer senior Erick Seekins won the Class A long jump state title with a jump of 21-2. Seekins went on to to finish 2nd in the New England Championship meet with a personal best 21-9 1/4 leap. He had entered the meet as the 17th seed. We caught up with him to ask about his meet preparations, his goals and his new england runner-up.

What were your preparations leading up to the state meet?

The week of states was very relaxed because I knew I was in as good of shape as I was gonna get, it was mainly just a mental preparation, especially in the 400. 

How did you deal with the pressure and emotions that come along with competing in a state meet?

You won the long jump on your second attempt of the prelims, but make sure no one was going to beat you with your best jump of the day in round 6. What did it mean to jump your furthest on the last jump, and do you think you were able to because you knew you had the title won?

I still had another jump left when I found out that I won, so it was really easy for me to focus less on trying to win and more on the actual jump itself. I really wanted to break the 21' barrier, so I was pretty hyped up when I did it on my last jump.

Coming into the season what were your goals and did you achieve them?

Coming into this season my first goal was to win the state title in long jump, check, and then to break 22', but I guess I'm gonna have to push that one to outdoor. I also wanted to place at New England's, but when I saw I was seeded 17th it seemed like that was a little out of reach. So when I made it to the finals that's when it first registered to me that, wow, I'm really in this.

You had your best jumping day at the New England Championship where you leaped a new personal best 21-9 1/4. What did it mean to finish as the NE runner-up, and did you think you would be able to jump as far as you did? What does this do for your confidence heading into outdoor?

It was an awesome feeling to finish 2nd, especially with all the competition in New England and I definitely didn't expect to, but it just sets the bar higher for me coming into outdoor