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One and done.
That’s one way to describe Wagner junior Jamal Anderson’s victory in the triple jump during the first day of the District 27/28 area championships held at Rutledge Stadium.
Anderson’s mark of 48 feet, 83/4 inches on his first attempt Wednesday was enough to secure the title. He passed on five subsequent attempts as no other competitor reached his mark.
“I felt like I could have gone farther if I had to,” Anderson said. “I was just really confident in that jump, and I was watching and keeping the competition in mind.”
Anderson held off Steele’s Tavian Carter, who logged a 48-31/4 on his fourth attempt.
Anderson’s jump is tops in the area and improved on his personal best by a whopping 1-23/4.
The top four finishers in each event qualified next week’s Region IV-6A championships at Alamo Stadium. The 25/26-6A and 27/28-6A area meets conclude Thursday at Rutledge Stadium.
Anderson let the big mark ride because he is recovering from a heel injury sustained shortly after the Texas Relays three weeks ago.
“I wanted to get it done on the first one, so I wouldn’t reinjure it,” Anderson said. “After I got it on the first one, I just rested the rest of the way.”
That rest came in handy because he later finished third with a 6-6 in the high jump. Marshall’s Dylan Smith, who also cleared 6-6, was declared the winner because of fewer misses. Iturriaga Chandler of Brandeis was second.
UTSA-bound Judson senior Ariel Watson advanced in two events by winning the girls triple jump and finishing second in the long jump.
Watson won the triple jump with a mark of 39-21/2. Although it fell short of her personal-best (40-13/4), it was plenty to win the event. Smithson Valley’s Megan Mann was second at 37-2.
“It was a pretty good day,” Watson said. “It was a lot. I definitely should have taken a couple of jumps off the long jump. I came into the triple jump, and I was a little tired. At this point, you are just worried about advancing. Next week, it’s time to start pulling out PRs (personal records).”
Watson has dominated the triple jump this season. She has reached 40 feet twice and 39 feet another time. No other area triple jumper has marked better than 37-7.
Right before the triple jump, Watson was finished second to teammate Kiara Pickens in the long jump with a personal-best 18-4. Pickens recorded an 18-71/2.
“You always want more,” Watson said. “It’s not always going to be 100 percent, but at the end of the day, I got a good jump in and (am) moving on to regionals.”
dhinojosa@express-news.net
Twitter: @hinojosa_david
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