Newtown High School track and field star Aashni Shetty broke her own school record in the long jump event with a big leap at the New England Championships, at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston on March 1.

Shetty jumped 17 feet, 5 inches, good for 15th place in all of New England. She initially broke a record that had stood since 2008, during the 2023-24 campaign, then surpassed her mark with her 17-1.75 in this year’s State Open before bettering her distance in the regional meet.

“A lot of time and effort went into breaking the record. We practice speed and strength work every day, and specifically long jump twice a week at the Bethel facility. I also spend a lot of time running and lifting on my own,” Shetty said.

“Aashni has worked tremendously hard all year and has done a great job in the hurdles as well as in the long jump all season,” Newtown Coach Nick Fraticelli added.

It was a great opportunity for Shetty to go against, and socialize with competitive athletes from the region — and the talented competition brought out the best in her.

“Competing against the best athletes in New England was an amazing experience. It was my first time competing at this level so it was really cool. Seeing all the great athletes there really pushed me to do my best,” she said. “It’s really nice to see all the athletes at States, Opens, and New Englands. Just seeing a friendly face and chatting with them really helps with nerves and it’s good because we all support each other.”

Shetty had quite a winter season, including a fourth-place finish in the State Open after a third-place result in the Class L State Championships.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.