The long-term goal for every athlete and every team is to be celebrating a championship at the end of the season, but it’s only a few who get that opportunity.

On Friday in the Mississippi Association of Independent School’s overall meet at Jackson Prep Academy, Ben’s Ford Christian School’s Dionte Fernandez reached that goal.

The junior captured the triple jump — and did so with his best distance of the season.

Fernandez jumped 43 feet, 2 inchesto win the Class AA championship.

His mark came on his third jump.

“It felt good to win,” Fernandez said. “From meet-to-meet kind of prepared me for the upcoming meets, and South State kind of showed me the competition I’d have in the overall state meet.”

Fernandez said on a scale of 1 to 10, the excitement level of winning the title is a 10.

Fernandez admitted he was nervous going into the meet.

He also said he was thankful for all of the support he got from his coaches.

Fernandez needed to work his way through a pair of qualifying meets to reach this point.

He needed to come in the top four at the District 6AA Meet and the South State Meet.

Fernandez won both meets going 42-0 at the district level and 42-6.5 at South State to get to the overall meet.

Also Bowling Green School’s Daniel Bischoff finished sixth in Class AA for the 1,600 meters.

He ran at 5:13.

Kirk Academy’s Matthew O’Brien is the champion after running the event in 4:47.

Bischoff qualified for state after finishing runner up in district and South State.

Bischoff ran a 5:10 at the district level and 5:05 in the South State Meet.