Temple junior Harry Sheppard set personal records twice and went toe-to-toe with heavy favorite Grant Lindsey of Mansfield on Saturday night en route to a silver medal in the Class 5A boys high jump at the University Interscholastic League State Track and Field Meet at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Sheppard, whose previous personal best was 7 inches short of Lindsey’s top mark, finished just an inch back in the duel for the gold. Lindsey cleared 6 feet, 11 inches, Sheppard 6-10 and bronze medalist Fred Brown of Clute Brazoswood 6-9.
“Coach (Wayne Ransleben) told me to speed up quicker instead of bounding at the beginning of my approach like I usually do,” said Sheppard, who set a personal record of 6-8 two weeks ago at the Region II meet. “I did and it created more speed so when I jumped up, it carried me over like he said it would.”
Lindsey passed through the first two heights, when Sheppard went over 6-2 and 6-4 without a miss. Lindsey entered the competition when the bar was at 6-6, shortly after Sheppard had his only hiccup of the early going.
“I knocked down 6-6 on my first attempt and it made me mad,” Sheppard said. “I used that to build me up.”
Both jumpers made it over 6-8 on their first attempt, and Sheppard did the same at 6-9 as Lindsey passed. Guaranteed of a medal with only three athletes remaining when the bar went to 6-10, Sheppard almost became the champion.
He smoothly sailed over on his first attempt, Brown was eliminated and Lindsey was on the brink of elimination before finally advancing on his last attempt.
“I was thinking, ‘Am I really about to be the state champion as a junior?’” Sheppard said. “But things happen and he got it on his last attempt.”
Joked Ransleben: “I was hoping (Lindsey) would slip like he did on his second attempt. But I knew he was too good of a jumper to let that happen. I wasn’t surprised to see Harry go 6-10, but I was surprised that he did it on his first jump.”
Sheppard missed on his first try at 6-11, and Lindsey - who has signed with Kentucky - cleared before Sheppard took two more unsuccessful attempts to seal the outcome. Lindsey had the bar raised to 7-1 but missed on three straight tries.
“He had that one miss at 6-6,” Ransleben said, “but then he had a great series after that.”
At his first state meet and in front of 11,248 fans, Sheppard set a personal mark, tied the Wildcats’ school record set by Art Coley in 1987 and put himself on the map for college recruiters.
“I wanted to have a good showing because I want to get some kind of scholarship so I won’t have to bother my parents that much,” Sheppard said. “I’m second in the state, feeling pretty good and now I’ll get up and go to church tomorrow.
“But now that I’m jumping like this, I wish I could just keep going.”
edrennan@temple-telegram.com
