Aubrey Cindia seeks redemption in LC8 encounter – Morning Journal

Keystone senior Aubrey Cindia high jumps at the Vermilion Invitational on May 3. She will compete in three consecutive state meets. (Randy Meyers – For the Morning News)

Aubrey Cindia qualified for the Division II track and field meet last year, and she remembers the LC8 conference well.

Before heading to Columbus for the second consecutive season in high jump, the talented Keystone athlete failed at Firelands in her signature event. She finished second behind teammate Jessica Linden while battling pain.

Cindia has been jumping well lately and she is aiming for a different result this year.

“I’m extremely excited this year, especially since I was injured last year and didn’t compete the way I wanted to,” Cindia said. “I’m just ready to come back.”

After a strong sixth-place finish at the state meet, Cindia was in a good place heading into her senior season. However, the start of his season was eventful. In addition to battling a minor injury early on, Cindia spent a week in California advocating for the same unique back surgery she underwent a few years ago.

Even though she’s doing great things across the country, it took her a while to get back up to speed. The natural talent is there and it took some adjustments to get back into shape.

“She had very little practice at the beginning of this year,” Keystone coach Jeff Holzhauer said. “Lately, things have been better. She was a little incoherent at first but I think she’s starting to settle down at the moment. We’re hoping that in this stretch run she can get back up into that 5-5 to 5-6 range.

“She’s super talented, so we can’t wait to see what she can do with a few weeks of training under her belt.” I hope it is 100% and I can use it to organize events as well. She is capable of more than (high jump and long jump).

Cindia jumped to 5-2 at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium last year and won in the event at the Vermilion Invitational in a three-way tie at 5-2 with Megan McClain of North Olmsted and Macie Miller of North Ridgeville. That came from a 5-4 jump in a meet earlier in the week.

It took her a while to find her feet, but Cindia is starting to look like the high jumper the region is used to seeing.

“The start of the season was tough because I was out of town a lot,” Cindia said. “I was barely jumping 5-0 and last Wednesday I was inches from 5-5. It’s definitely at its peak right now.

This is Cindia’s last chance to put up a good number before the playoffs begin next week. The road takes her back to Firelands, where she returns to the disappointment of having finished second a year ago. Then she flipped the script and climaxed at just the right time, in June.

While aiming for a third straight state appearance, she is determined to do better this time around in conference.

“It definitely puts pressure, but ultimately I think it makes me compete better,” Cindia said of the quality of competition. “It makes me want to do better for myself.”