Crispin Kamundala does the triple jump at the River City Rivals track and field meet at Lewiston High School on Saturday, May 18. Kamundala won the triple jump as well as the long jump. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal
Crispin Kamundala was on his way to a state title in the triple jump during the 2018-19 indoor track season before taking a family trip to Florida during the state meet.
Lewiston coach Paul Soracco was bummed, but told Kamundala that big things could be in store for him during the outdoor season if he stayed on the same path.
At the Class A outdoor track and field state meet, Kamundala earned a state championship in the triple jump and finished third in the long jump. Now, he is also the Sun Journal All-Region Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
“I was kind of riding his butt during the winter season, and I told him, ‘You have the potential to be a state champion in indoor and outdoor,’” Soracco said. “That gave him some fuel for the spring. I said, ‘This is your last chance if you want to leave here with a state championship. If that’s your goal, then let’s get it done.’
“He was driven all year. He sets his mind to something and he gets it done. He was all business this year. His attitude was good, he was putting the time in and all that stuff pays off.”
Early in the season, Kamundala jumped onto a lot of people’s radar when he broke the Lewiston school record with a triple jump distance of 45-04 at a home meet May 1.
From there, Kamundala had one goal in mind: “Win states.”
And it never really was in question for the Lewiston senior. Triple jump comes easy to him, so a state title was looked obtainable from the get-go.
“There is something about triple jump, I am sure about it,” Kamundala said. “Something I am sure about. Triple jump is what I am good at and what I am sure about. I am never worried about triple jump. Something in my legs, I never get worried about it.”
The triple jump is a comfortable event, but Soracco knows that Kamundala put in a lot of work and had no quit.
“If someone beat him by an inch, it gets him pumped up and he doesn’t fold,” Soracco said. “He’s not a quitter, and that’s what I love about him. That’s going to follow him later in life. Stuff like that, a lot of kids don’t have that and it’s instilled in him.”
Kamundala took first place on his home track at the Class A state meet with a jump of 44-05, beating out teammate and good friend Jeremiah Williams. Kamundala also took home third in the long jump with a leap of 20-09. He plans to enroll at Central Maine Community College for a year before attending the University of Maine at Orono.
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