When it comes to her studies, Tess Parent says she’s an “English, history kind of person. I want to minor in language and hopefully work in international development … my mind changes all the time, but that’s where I’m kind of at right now.”

There’s surely plenty of academic options available for the Yale University-bound student. When the Inglemoor High senior turns on her athlete engine, she similarly cruises from one event to the other with ease: long jump, triple jump, 4×100-meter relay and 4×200-meter relay.

Her 3.95 grade-point average in class is impressive, and Parent is equally successful on the track-and-field scene. Last weekend at the 4A state meet, she soared to second place in the triple jump in a personal-record (PR) of 38 feet, 10 inches; third in the long jump in 17-1.25; second with the 4×100 relay and fourth with the 4×200 relay.

On opening day last Thursday, it was the 4×200 relay first, then the triple jump.

And Parent and her Viking teammates had them both covered in a big way at Mount Tahoma High in Tacoma.

The relay — which included Parent, McKenna Grimsby, Lindsy Johanson and Hannah Stevenson — won its preliminary heat with a PR of 1 minute, 42.51 seconds to earn the top seed in Saturday’s finals.

“It’s all excitement, it’s all good. We’re just hoping to do our best and we’ve been trying to perfect our handoffs this whole season,” said Parent of the relay that finished sixth last year. “We’ve kind of grown together. We’re all really good friends, so it’s been really fun to improve together.”

A few minutes after running the relay, Parent bounced over to the triple-jump area to vie for a state title. Parent nailed the 38-10 on her third jump and slotted into second place behind Tahoma senior Bianca Walton with a 39-05.

After four more jumps for the field, that’s the way it concluded: a Walton-Parent one-two finish.

“She was really happy with the way she finished out here in the triple,” said Inglemoor coach D.J. Baddeley. “Like a lot of great athletes, you give her a cue and she’s able to do it, first go-around. She’s a tough competitor, but at the same time, she’s able to stay positive.”

Parent said that going from the relay to the triple benefited her performance from the runway to the sand pit.

“It energized me. I was a little nervous, but I think I was kind of on a high because our (relay) time was better,” she said.

“I was a little out of breath, but I had a lot of energy — I was ready to go.”

So what does it take to stick a soaring, hair-and-arms-flying, top-two triple jump?

“I needed to go as fast as I could, I knew I needed to stand up when I was going off the board,” said Parent, who finished fifth in the triple last year. “You can always tell, from where you are in the pit and how you feel when you land.

“It just felt right.”

She noted that last year’s triple-jump dynamic was a lot more intense, and she was relieved that this year’s group was fun and kept her relaxed. The Viking girls had their own bit of “little unifying fun” at state by dying strands of their hair pink to match the pink duct tape they use to mark their relay spots, Parent said, adding that some coaches did the same.

Since making an immediate impact for the Vikings as a sophomore, Parent said that she’s not nearly as nervous before competitions as she was back then. Keys to her success have been building confidence and strength through extra training in the offseason.

“I feel this year I want it really bad, I was prepared and was just feeling really good,” she said. “Every year is different, and this year has definitely been a high point — I couldn’t have asked for a better senior year.”

Added Baddeley: “She’s a great athlete — she’s a real humble, hard-working kid.”

And Parent will continue to do so at Yale in New Haven, Conn., in the fall.

“I’m excited, but it’s gonna be a huge change and I’m looking forward to it,” said Parent, who took International Baccalaureate courses in math, English and history at Inglemoor. “I’m just looking forward to improving even more. I wanna challenge myself (by moving away from home), and was really looking for a brand-new experience.”