FOXBURG — On Baylee Blauser's first attempt in the long jump Tuesday, she felt her right ankle buckle.

The panic set in.

Blauser had torn multiple ligaments and tendons in that ankle while playing softball during the summer and worried she had re-injured it.

She fretted about another long and painful recovery.

“I was freaking out a little bit because I didn't want that to happen again,” Blauser said. “So, I just calmed myself down and hoped nothing had happened.”

The A-C Valley junior swiped the sand off her uniform, took a deep breath and tested the ankle.

She was relieved to find it sound.

“I was nervous, but everything was fine,” Blauser said. “I was like, 'Thank you!'”

With the scare over, Blauser made history on her next jump.

With a leap of 17 feet, 6½ inches, Blauser put herself in the A-C Valley record book by herself, breaking the tie at 17-1 she had forged with her Falcons' jumping coach, Shanna (Klingler) Tharan.

Blauser first equaled Tharan's mark as a freshman with an eighth-place finish in the event at the PIAA Track and Field Championships in Shippensburg.

Blauser didn't get a shot at breaking it as a sophomore because the coronavirus pandemic canceled the season.

She was determined to get it out of the way early.

“Shanna and I, we've been working and putting in extra hours so that I could get it,” Blauser said. “I'm just really thankful and lucky I have coaches as good as they are and as eager to help me succeed.

“It was a relief. I was kind of stressed out about it,” Blauser added. “I was just happy to get it early.”

Blauser said Tharan might have been more excited about the record than she was.

“When I hit that mark, we were both ecstatic,” Blauser said. We were both jumping up and down and screaming. It was awesome. She was shaking.”

Tharan originally set the record in 1995 during her senior year. Tharan also holds the triple jump mark at the school, which Blauser is also threatening.

Tharan predicted Blauser will have both record before her career is over and that they could stand for another 25 years.

“She has confidence in herself,” Tharan said. “She's just determined and has that fire and athletic ability that can't be coached.

“It's come full circle,” Tharan added. “It's a great feeling to be involved with it.”

One of Blauser's big concerns was with her technique because of the two-year layoff.

She was active in the meantime — with softball and also with staying in track and field shape by running and lifting.

One thing she couldn't reliably do was work on her form.

Blauser was surprised it all came back to her so quickly.

“I gained a lot of speed. I did a lot of speed training,” Blauser said. “I worked really hard during the pandemic so I could start from where I left off.”

Blauser, who is also a standout softball player, has gotten quite good at juggling the two spring sports.

She makes sure she puts in enough time at the track while still getting to softball practice and games on time.

As a freshman, Blauser had to hustle from Shippensburg and the state track meet to pitch in a softball playoff game the same day in Clarion.

“It's kind of easy now, but hard in a way, you know?” Blauser said. “You have to make sure you're at the track at certain times and do equal stuff for both sports. I have fun with both of them and wouldn't trade it for anything.”

Blauser homered and drove in six runs for the A-C Valley softball team a day after setting the long jump record.

Her focus in the long jump is simple this season.

“I just want to keep adding to it,” Blauser said. “I don't really have a distance in mind. I just want to continue working on my form and keep bettering myself. Maybe get to 18 feet.

“I definitely would love to go back to states,” she added. “I think back to that day and it was so much fun.”