Hopatcong Athlete Jumps to National Track Stage

Hopatcong's Connor Cooper is about to step foot on the national stage.

And he's only 9-years-old.

Cooper, a Durban Avenue School student, placed fourth in the long jump Sunday during the qualification tournament for the USATF Youth Indoor National Championship, set to take place March 9 and 10 in Landover, Maryland.

Cooper's jump of 3.53 meters (11 feet, seven inches) at the Northeast Zone Championships in Toms River secured him a spot in the national tournament. He competed against nine and 10-year-olds from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Deleware, Maine, Three Rivers, Adirondack and Mid-Atlantic.

The fourth-grader runs with the Morris County Track Club.

Information provided by Gregory Cooper.