Out of the six high school jumping competitions at the 2025 Penn Relays, only one was won by an American. That one was the high school girls long jump championship won by Lilly Ver Beek of James River in Virginia.
Lilly, a multiple-time state champion and national champion from Virginia finally got her gold watch after numerous tries. This year the stars aligned and she took care of business.
The stats tell one story, given an impressive story, but the background information makes this win even more special. One of the leading causes for Lilly just now getting the win at Penn, despite being favored in some previous competitions, is the change in schedule and a tiny bit of luck.
See, one thing you should know about Lilly is she is a team player. She wants to be with her teammates and if that means sacrificing her own goals, so be it! That is normally how her Penn Relays would go, she would get into a rhythm and then have to run over to the exchange zone and run the relay with her team. This year, it finally worked out where she could focus on her jumps before the relay.
In the competition itself she started out strong. Her first mark was her second attempt where she landed a 19-2.75 wind-legal mark. That jump moved her to second overall. She would then foul her third and fourth attempt before jumping the exact same 19-2.75 on her fifth attempt.
Then it was time for her sixth and final jump. By this time she was sitting in third place trailing two Jamaicans with one Jamaican right behind her in fourth. She did what she does best, stormed down the runway and jumped a monster 19-11 mark in negative 2.1m wind to take over the lead.
" Last one, best one! Lilly seems to always show up for her last jumps. She did the same at nationals last year, Penn, and in many other competitions she has had" - James River Coach Cornell Core
Though she had to wait for one more jumper for it to be official, she was already celebrating her big mark and how she took care of business the best way she could. Ultimately, it would be enough as St. Elizabeth Tech's Chloe Palmer jumped 19-9 on her final attempt.
After the dust settled, Lilly took down the Jamaican national champion and national runner-up for Class 1, finally got herself that Penn Relays Watch, and she would say her biggest prize was her team's 48.16 school record in the 4x100m relay just minutes after the awards podium.
Penn Relays: Results - Photos - Videos
