From the indoor track season to the outdoor season, winter to spring, it has been one continuous line of progress for New London High School sophomore Darielys Arnold.

There was the first time Arnold ever long jumped, Jan. 22, at an Eastern Connecticut Conference Developmental Meet indoors at Providence Career & Technical Academy, what she called a “confusing” day as she tried something new and beat the rest of the field by a foot.

From there it was non-stop until the weekend of June 17-18, the culmination of the outdoor season, when Arnold rode the train to Philadelphia with New London coaches Natalie Bowens and Jelani Lucas to compete in the New Balance Nationals at the University of Pennsylvania’s storied Franklin Field.

“It was pretty cool, an awesome experience seeing future professional track runners, really fast; it’s amazing to see that in person,” Arnold said. “There were pieces I didn’t know were going to be pieces. I took pictures.”

Arnold, who won the long jump title at the ECC Division I, Class MM and State Open championships, with her personal best of 18 feet, 4.5 inches coming at the Greater Hartford Invitational, was 14th in the nation in the rising stars division with a leap of 17-9.5.

She was named The Day’s 2023 All-Area Girls’ Track & Field Athlete of the Year.

“Honestly, I thought it was going to be fun to try something new,” Arnold said of her introduction to long jumping indoors, having competed primarily as a sprinter and a hurdler prior to that. “It was kind of confusing to not foul out on the board.

“I heard them call my name. I didn’t know what was going on. The person calls out the number (for the distance) and coach has this surprised look on her face. Everybody was looking at me like, ‘Who is she?’”

Arnold said with a laugh that she doesn’t mind trying new events as long as she’s good at them. She tried the 800 meters and had an asthma attack — “I did not like that at all,” she said. The shot put wasn’t so bad; she threw it 26-4, despite her diminutive 5-foot-2 frame.

Arnold had her first taste of success at the Class M state championship during indoor season, winning the long jump at 17-11.5, while finishing second in the high jump (5-0) and fourth in the 55 meters (7.38).

She continued to excel outdoors, setting the meet record in the 100 meters at the Marty Roberts Invitational in 12.56 seconds, named Best Female in Sprints.

She began the postseason as a triple-winner at the ECC meet, winning the 100 (12.63), the long jump (17-11) and running a leg of the first-place 4x100 relay along with teammates Kmara Royster, Tatiana Pemberton and Leilani Robinson (50.09).

At the Class MM state meet, Arnold won the long jump at 17-3.75 and again paced the 4x100 team to victory (49.87), finishing fourth in the individual 100. At the State Open, she skipped the 100 to focus on the long jump and the relay, taking the long jump at 18-4 despite being seeded eighth.

Arnold has become more “comfortable and confident” over the last year, according to Bowens, a former standout in the jumps, as was Lucas.

“She understands her potential,” Bowens said of Arnold. “She understands the outcome when she works hard and has a positive attitude. ... I definitely think because of my history, she trusts me and she trusts my opinion and the things I have to say. We’ve built a pretty good rapport over the last two seasons.”

New London teammate Kenya Snell also competed in the New Balance Nationals in the 100-meter freshman race. Arnold’s aunt met her niece in Philadelphia for support, as well.

The group of Whalers took in the Philadelphia Museum of Art while on the trip, including the stairs that are prevalent in the movie “Rocky.” Arnold’s summer assignment from the coaches now includes seeing the classic boxing film.

“It was nerve-wracking, normal just to be nervous to be there (at nationals),” said Arnold, who plans to work for the New London rec department this summer. “From the state competition to that level, there were double or triple the amount of people.

“I would have wanted to do better than that, to be honest. (During the 100), I flinched a little bit. They held ‘set’ for a little bit of time. When the gun went off, I just ran. I’m glad I wasn’t left behind.”

Said Bowens of Arnold: “These next few years, the talent is already there. Now it’s just about developing her mental strength. Just indoor to outdoor, it’s improved. It’s really only up from here. The world is hers. She is going to have a lot of possibilities.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com