Texas HS State Meet
Posted: Sat May 15, 2004 9:00 am
http://www.thevictoriaadvocate.com/sports/sports/story/1907285p-2225042c.html
Area athletes win 4 events
May 15, 2004
MIKE FORMAN
Advocate Sports Writer
AUSTIN - The sky may be the only limit for Ari Ince.
Gonzales' Ari Ince appears to be scaling the State Capitol building in the background as she competes in the Class 3A pole vault Friday at the UIL State Track and Field Championships. Ince, a freshman, set a Class 3A record by winning the event with a jump of 12 feet.
The Gonzales freshman came to the state track and field meet hoping to win a medal. She left with a Class 3A state record in the pole vault.
Ince cleared 12 feet on her third attempt, breaking the previous mark by a 6 inches and becoming one of four Advocate area gold medals on Friday at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Hallettsville's Garett Manning won the Class 3A long jump, Refugio's Mallory Adams captured her second straight girls Class 2A discus championship and Weimar's Brandon Burley won the Class 2A long jump..
Ince was looking forward to vaulting at Myers Stadium, where she had set her personal best of 11-3 at the Texas Relays. But she had no idea what was in store for her on a cool and windy morning.
"I came in just hoping for third place," Ince admitted. "I'm very new to this."
Ince has been vaulting for less than a year and her progress has amazed her vaulting coach, Kris Allison, who resides in San Marcos and works with Ince twice a week.
"She's a great all-around athlete who plays almost every sport," said Allison, who said Ince has improved by 3 feet since she started vaulting. "Her height is big advantage. She's gripping the pole a lot better and she has good speed."
Ince took a while to find her rhythm, missing twice at 11-3, and having to clear the height on her final vault to avoid finishing third.
"It's such a technical sport and so many things can go wrong," Ince said. "But when I made that vault (her third attempt at 11-3), it brought a lot of confidence and from then on I felt a lot smoother on the pole."
Ince wrapped up the gold medal and tied the state record set by Jennifer Matthews of Luling in 2002 when she cleared 11-6.
Vaulting alone, Ince cleared 11-9 on her third attempt and pushed the record 3 inches higher on her third vault at the height.
"It felt good going up," Ince said of her 12-foot vault. "When I landed on the mat, I was blown away. I couldn't believe it was happening."
Manning was so stunned, he jumped for joy when the tape measure revealed he had jumped 23-111/4 , nearly a foot over his previous best.
"Can you believe it? A whole foot farther," Manning exclaimed. "I practiced hard all week and I was so happy hitting 23-111/4."
Manning said he felt fresher participating in only one event after competing in three at the regional meet.
"I'm usually doing the high jump at the same time as the long jump," Manning said. "I finally got one event and it paid off."
Adams made her fourth appearance at the state meet a memorable one with her fourth medal in the discus, and her second consecutive gold with a throw of 142-06. She also finished fourth in the shot put.
"I'm glad I'm going out the way, the way I'm going out," said Adams, who will attend Sam Houston State on a track and field scholarship. "I just wanted to stay consistent."
Adams was hoping to reach 147 feet, but wasn't unhappy with her performance.
"You just want to meet your goal," Adams said. "But I'm glad I won and stayed consistent with my throws."
Burley, a sophomore, was making his first appearance at the state meet and came in seeded fourth. But he went 22-1/2 on his first jump and it held up.
"I knew after the first jump that I could win," said Burley, who seemed unimpressed with his feat. "I did all right, but I've had better jumps."
Boling's Jamarick Spradley was also making his first appearance at the state meet and he came in with the fifth seed in the Class 2A 100-meter dash. But Spradley got off to a good start and finished second in a time of 10.87 seconds.
"I wasn't nervous until I got into the blocks," Spradley said. "But once the race started I was just concentrating on winning first."
Yoakum's Broderick Mathis was pleased to record a personal best in the Class 3A pole vault, but was disappointed he missed out on a gold medal.
Mathis and Rio Hondo's Jimmie Heath each cleared 15-9, but Heath made it on his second attempt and Mathis his third, before both missed three times at 16-0. Mathis easily cleared 15-9 on his third attempt, but could never regain his form when the bar reached 16-0.
"I just didn't get it back," Mathis said. "I let him (Heath) stay around too long."
Meg Barrett hung around long enough in the girls Class 2A pole vault to win a bronze medal with personal best of 10-9. Barrett's vault was better than the Class 2A record of 10-6 set last year.
"I did the best I've ever done and I got a bronze medal and that's a plus," Barrett said. "It worked out great for me, so I'm happy."
Bay City's Shanique Roberson recorded her best throw in the shot put this season, 41-101/4, and won a Class 4A bronze medal. Roberson has played softball in the past, but decided to concentrate on the shot put during her senior year.
"Normally I just do this through district or regional," Roberson said. "But this year I was working the whole year through. My goal was to get here and I got here. To win a medal is just great."
Van Vleck's Chris Hudgins won his first medal, claiming a bronze in the discus with a throw of 157-9.
"It was a good competition," Hudgins said. "I just tried to relax and do what I've been doing all year."
Moulton's Nick Rodriguez added his first track medal to his collection of cross country medals when he finished third in the boys Class 1A 3200 with a time of 10:05.52.
"My pace should have been faster," Rodriguez said. "But I'm going to practice over the summer and get them next year."
Area athletes win 4 events
May 15, 2004
MIKE FORMAN
Advocate Sports Writer
AUSTIN - The sky may be the only limit for Ari Ince.
Gonzales' Ari Ince appears to be scaling the State Capitol building in the background as she competes in the Class 3A pole vault Friday at the UIL State Track and Field Championships. Ince, a freshman, set a Class 3A record by winning the event with a jump of 12 feet.
The Gonzales freshman came to the state track and field meet hoping to win a medal. She left with a Class 3A state record in the pole vault.
Ince cleared 12 feet on her third attempt, breaking the previous mark by a 6 inches and becoming one of four Advocate area gold medals on Friday at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Hallettsville's Garett Manning won the Class 3A long jump, Refugio's Mallory Adams captured her second straight girls Class 2A discus championship and Weimar's Brandon Burley won the Class 2A long jump..
Ince was looking forward to vaulting at Myers Stadium, where she had set her personal best of 11-3 at the Texas Relays. But she had no idea what was in store for her on a cool and windy morning.
"I came in just hoping for third place," Ince admitted. "I'm very new to this."
Ince has been vaulting for less than a year and her progress has amazed her vaulting coach, Kris Allison, who resides in San Marcos and works with Ince twice a week.
"She's a great all-around athlete who plays almost every sport," said Allison, who said Ince has improved by 3 feet since she started vaulting. "Her height is big advantage. She's gripping the pole a lot better and she has good speed."
Ince took a while to find her rhythm, missing twice at 11-3, and having to clear the height on her final vault to avoid finishing third.
"It's such a technical sport and so many things can go wrong," Ince said. "But when I made that vault (her third attempt at 11-3), it brought a lot of confidence and from then on I felt a lot smoother on the pole."
Ince wrapped up the gold medal and tied the state record set by Jennifer Matthews of Luling in 2002 when she cleared 11-6.
Vaulting alone, Ince cleared 11-9 on her third attempt and pushed the record 3 inches higher on her third vault at the height.
"It felt good going up," Ince said of her 12-foot vault. "When I landed on the mat, I was blown away. I couldn't believe it was happening."
Manning was so stunned, he jumped for joy when the tape measure revealed he had jumped 23-111/4 , nearly a foot over his previous best.
"Can you believe it? A whole foot farther," Manning exclaimed. "I practiced hard all week and I was so happy hitting 23-111/4."
Manning said he felt fresher participating in only one event after competing in three at the regional meet.
"I'm usually doing the high jump at the same time as the long jump," Manning said. "I finally got one event and it paid off."
Adams made her fourth appearance at the state meet a memorable one with her fourth medal in the discus, and her second consecutive gold with a throw of 142-06. She also finished fourth in the shot put.
"I'm glad I'm going out the way, the way I'm going out," said Adams, who will attend Sam Houston State on a track and field scholarship. "I just wanted to stay consistent."
Adams was hoping to reach 147 feet, but wasn't unhappy with her performance.
"You just want to meet your goal," Adams said. "But I'm glad I won and stayed consistent with my throws."
Burley, a sophomore, was making his first appearance at the state meet and came in seeded fourth. But he went 22-1/2 on his first jump and it held up.
"I knew after the first jump that I could win," said Burley, who seemed unimpressed with his feat. "I did all right, but I've had better jumps."
Boling's Jamarick Spradley was also making his first appearance at the state meet and he came in with the fifth seed in the Class 2A 100-meter dash. But Spradley got off to a good start and finished second in a time of 10.87 seconds.
"I wasn't nervous until I got into the blocks," Spradley said. "But once the race started I was just concentrating on winning first."
Yoakum's Broderick Mathis was pleased to record a personal best in the Class 3A pole vault, but was disappointed he missed out on a gold medal.
Mathis and Rio Hondo's Jimmie Heath each cleared 15-9, but Heath made it on his second attempt and Mathis his third, before both missed three times at 16-0. Mathis easily cleared 15-9 on his third attempt, but could never regain his form when the bar reached 16-0.
"I just didn't get it back," Mathis said. "I let him (Heath) stay around too long."
Meg Barrett hung around long enough in the girls Class 2A pole vault to win a bronze medal with personal best of 10-9. Barrett's vault was better than the Class 2A record of 10-6 set last year.
"I did the best I've ever done and I got a bronze medal and that's a plus," Barrett said. "It worked out great for me, so I'm happy."
Bay City's Shanique Roberson recorded her best throw in the shot put this season, 41-101/4, and won a Class 4A bronze medal. Roberson has played softball in the past, but decided to concentrate on the shot put during her senior year.
"Normally I just do this through district or regional," Roberson said. "But this year I was working the whole year through. My goal was to get here and I got here. To win a medal is just great."
Van Vleck's Chris Hudgins won his first medal, claiming a bronze in the discus with a throw of 157-9.
"It was a good competition," Hudgins said. "I just tried to relax and do what I've been doing all year."
Moulton's Nick Rodriguez added his first track medal to his collection of cross country medals when he finished third in the boys Class 1A 3200 with a time of 10:05.52.
"My pace should have been faster," Rodriguez said. "But I'm going to practice over the summer and get them next year."
