It meant that he’d have to be his best in the long jump if he wanted to see any success at the state meet against some standout jumpers.

Competing for the last time in his career at Shippensburg, Bellefonte senior Zane Hummel made it count. The Red Raider did great in the boys Class AAA long jump and walked away on a chilly Saturday with a fourth-place medal in the event.

“You know I’m happy with it. Last year I was down at Class AA, knew moving up to Class AAA would be a little bit more talent, so being able to jump a 23-5, I was feeling a little sore at the beginning but put it all together. I’m happy with it,” Hummel said.

Hummel advanced to the finals after recording a 22 feet, 4 1/4 inch jump on his third attempt. In the finals, Hummel was consistent. He hit a 22-1 1/2 on his first jump, his fourth-place winning leap of 23-5 1/4 on his fourth and closed out with a 22-6 on his final jump.

CHRIS MANNING/For The Express Bellefonte's Zane Hummel competes on Saturday at Shippensburg in the PIAA Class AAA long jump.

Hummel noted that while it wasn’t a PR, it “probably is like a second-best.”

Reading senior Xavier Beatty won state gold with a jump of 24-4, Downingtown West’s Andrew Ernst took silver with a jump of 24-0 1/4 and bronze went to Penns Hill’s Ronald Porter (23-6 1/2). Having competition like that trio is what Hummel pointed out made him jump solid times.

“Oh it pushes me a lot. In a way I look up to them, you know?” Hummel said. “I see them jump far and I wanna do that too.”

In addition, Hummel had to compete with standouts like New Oxford’s Brayden Billman (fifth, 23-4 1/4), State College’s Landon Bassett (sixth, 23-2 1/2), Palmyra’s Jacob Burgess (seventh, 22-11 1/2) and Liberty’s Anthony Otero (eighth, 22-9 1/2).

The Red Raider wasn’t happy with his first attempt on Saturday. He opened with a distance of 20-10 3/4 and knew that wasn’t the best he could do.

“I actually wasn’t feeling good at all at first. My hips were tight, I had a back problem since last year because of the triple jump with a herniated disc,” Hummel said. “I started feeling that from the triple jump yesterday. I just was determined, I wanted to take top 5 at least and I did that.”

Hummel noted that he grew leaps, no pun intended, from the beginning of the season and indoor competition to where he is now.

“At the end of indoor, I was only hitting 21s which I was upset with myself for. At the very beginning of the season, I was at 22-11,” Hummel said. “I couldn’t get back to that though until about three-fourths of the way through the year and, after that, I got my confidence back. I kept working hard and pushed to the state meet.”

The Red Raider was the only medalist for Bellefonte this year, and he’s glad he could represent the Red Raiders in Shippensburg on the podium.

“Oh of course (I’m glad). I’m happy to represent everyone back home and my teammates that push me and all the good times they bring me,” the Red Raider said.

Bellefonte only had two competitors on Saturday attempting to reach medals in Hummel and Madison Miller, who competed in the afternoon in the girls Class AAA javelin.

Miller ended her day with a 22nd-place finish in the javelin. Miller threw a 112-6 on her first attempt, 113-10 on her second and closed the day strong with her best throw of the three with a 117-9. Derry Area’s Sophia Mazzoni won gold in the event with a throw of 158-2.