Learning to fly

By Tom Waddill
Sports Editor

May 09, 2008 01:25 am

— Stephen Brown contained himself pretty well two weeks ago after booking a spot in the state track meet with a second-place finish in the boys triple jump. The Huntsville junior celebrated a couple of days later when he finally realized what he had done.
“It didn’t hit me that I was going to state until a couple of days after regionals,” Brown said Thursday before hitting the road for Austin. “When it hit me there was a lot of excitement. I can’t explain it in words, really. It overwhelms you.”
Competing at the state meet, on a huge stage at the University of Texas’ Mike Myers Stadium, may be enough to overwhelm Brown and his young teammate, freshman Kaylynne Wright, today. Brown jumps at 4:30 this afternoon and Wright competes in the girls long jump at 10:30 this morning.
Both of the young Hornets say they are simply going to give their best efforts and see what happens. They have prepared for the big day, and now it’s here.
“I’m very excited because I’ve never done this before,” Wright said. “I’m nervous, though, because I don’t want to mess up. If I don’t get nervous I’ll be worried. I do better when I’m nervous.
“I know I’m going to get higher than I’ve ever jumped before,” she added. “I just feel it. My goal is 19 feet, or more than 19 feet.”
Wright’s regional jump of 18 feet, 4 1/4 inches is the fifth-best mark of the eight state-meet competitors in Class 4A. Wright and coach Devin Gabbard have worked on technique for the last two weeks, and that has Wright feeling confident about today’s season-ending meet.
“I’ve been getting up and getting higher in my jumps,” Wright said. “If I go higher, that makes me go farther. I also need to reach and keep my speed up. I’m so used to just running and jumping. In the last few weeks, coach Gabbard has made me a way better jumper. There’s a lot more to it than just running and jumping.”
Wright knows the competition this morning will be the best she’s ever seen. Still, she has her sights set on some kind of medal. Maybe not gold — silver or bronze would be just fine.
“That girl from Beaumont Ozen, she’s a beast,” Wright said of Region III champion A’Lexus Brannon, who jumped 20-1 1/2 at Bowers Stadium two weeks ago. “I know she’s going to jump 20 feet again. If I get second that would be good for me. What I have to remember is I’m just a freshman.”
Both of the athletes representing Huntsville High School are making their first trip to the state meet. Like Wright, Brown went to Austin with a goal of earning a spot on the medals stand.
“I just need to be focused and have a clear mind,” Brown said. “I’m going to try and remember everything I’ve been taught the whole entire year and put it all together for this meet.
“It’s going to be a good experience no matter if I win or lose. Hopefully I’ll win. I want to try and take it all, first place. I just need to challenge myself. I don’t want to worry about what other athletes are doing. God brought me this far, I’ve just got to stay humble and not get big-headed.”
Brown, who leaped a personal-best 46 feet, 10 inches at the Region III meet to finish second behind Texas City’s Lee Prevost (48-3 1/2), hopes to attract the attention of a college coach or two, someone who might help him with his future education.
“I love track and I would love to get a scholarship in track,” he said. “I just need to show them I am college material. I hope they come look at me.”
Brown and Wright expect a good crowd from Huntsville to make it over to the meet.
“Everybody’s coming to Austin — my mom and my dad, my little brother, my older sister, my older brother and my aunt. “My mom made everyone T-shirts,” Brown said. “A whole bunch of people are going to be there.
“That won’t make me nervous. That’ll make me happy knowing I’ve got family behind me.”