Regardless of emotions, however, Killeen’s Omar Craddock is the Class 4A boys triple jump state champion and Bartlett’s Ted Crews is the Class A boys discus bronze medalist.
It just so happens that Crews might still be smiling, while Craddock found it hard to crack a grin Friday at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Craddock lived up to predictions with his gold-medal performance and Crews earned his first piece of hardware in his second state trip to headline the effort of area athletes on the opening day of the University Interscholastic League State Track and Field Meet.
Craddock and Crews, who competed simultaneously in the broiling late afternoon sun, were the area’s only medal winners on a day that had just six local athletes in competition.
Rockdale’s Krysten Brooks finished fifth in the 3A girls 100-meter hurdles, Cameron Yoe’s Brook Brashear was fifth in the 3A girls 300 hurdles, Yoe’s Brenda Pena took sixth in the girls 1,600 and Bruceville-Eddy’s Eric Bostick was eighth in the 2A boys long jump.
So the day belonged to Craddock and Crews, who had different feelings about their respective outcomes.
Craddock, a junior considered one of the nation’s top high school triple jumpers, didn’t reach his goal of a 50-foot jump but won the gold with a leap of 48 feet, 9¾ inches - the fifth-best non-wind-aided mark in the country this year.
“I feel pretty good. I’m just not too happy because my goal was to get 50-0 or at least 49-0 and I didn’t get it,” said Craddock, who posted a 50-foot jump indoors earlier this year. “My jump’s not too pleasing, but the result is all right.”
The event was supposed to be a showdown between Craddock and Texas City’s Lee Prevost, the top qualifier from regional competition. But Prevost never landed a legal jump in three preliminary attempts and didn’t advance to the finals. Without his chief competitor, Craddock was pushed only by Corpus Christi Miller’s Chris Grant, who briefly led but finished more than a half-foot back at 48-2.
“I wasn’t expecting (Grant) at all,” Craddock said. “I knew that Lee came in with the best jump from regionals and I was second, so I was really looking forward to jumping against him. I was kind of disappointed when Lee didn’t make it. Then when the other guy jumped like he did, it pushed me a little.”
Even though the numbers on the tape measure didn’t live up to his standards, Craddock finished a long junior season - one that included meets in Idaho and New York - knowing he still has one more year to meet his goal.
“It has been a long season,” he said. “I just need to train, stay on the weights and get back up to normal - back to the 50 feet that I know I can do.”
Less than 10 minutes after Craddock’s last jump, Crews uncorked his final throw in the discus.
The 6-6, 340-pound Bartlett junior threw almost 9 feet farther than he did at the Class A Region IV meet, posting a toss of 159-0 to finish behind champion Johnathon Lindsey (174-3) of Strawn and Cameron Armstrong (168-4) of White Deer.
“It feels pretty good (to get the bronze),” said Crews, whose best mark this season was 164-0. “My goal was to get over 160-0. It just didn’t fall, but I’m happy to get a medal. That was most important to me.”
Crews’ third-place effort came on his third throw. Trying to fight the urge to overthrow in an attempt to catch Lindsey and Armstrong, Crews’ best toss of the finals was 155-0. With a bronze now in hand, he will turn his focus toward today’s shot put event and a chance at a second medal.
“This doesn’t take any pressure off,” Crews said. “I just have to go in there, bear down and do the job.”
Other highlights from the first day included seven meet records, six of which came during the evening’s running session in front of an announced estimated crowd of 15,500.
Saginaw’s Donique Flemings, who was .01 seconds off a 4A record in the 100 hurdles, left no doubt in the 300s with a time of 40.96 - the fastest in the country this year and a mark that broke the overall meet record of 41.01 set by Houston Cy-Creek’s Chava Demart in 1998. Fleming’s performance produced the day’s only all-classification record.
Other record-setting efforts came from Fort Worth Dunbar in the 4A girls 400 relay (45.17) and 800 relay (1:36.17), Lancaster in the 4A girls 1,600 relay (3:40.41), Dunbar’s Victoria Jordan in the 4A girls 100 (11.16), Iowa Park’s Kelsey Johnson in the 3A girls 1,600 (4:53.75) and Pittsburgh’s Kendall Wright in the 3A boys triple jump (50-8¾).
In the battles for the girls team titles, Lancaster won the 4A girls crown for the eighth straight year with 84 points, followed by Dunbar (58) and Saginaw (46). Canyon was the 3A champion with 72 points, followed by Texarkana Liberty-Eylau (52) and Abilene Wylie (44).
Lancaster was the 4A boys team title winner with 44 points, followed by Angleton (38) and Beaumont Central (34). The 3A crown went to Cuero with 62 points, followed by Atlanta (52½) and Dallas Madison (42).
edrennan@temple-telegram.com
