Not bad at all

By Tom Waddill
Sports Editor

May 10, 2008 12:01 am

— AUSTIN — Huntsville junior Stephen Brown learned a lesson from his freshman teammate late Friday afternoon.
After a fourth-place finish in the boys triple jump, Brown was down in the dumps, dealing with the feelings that come when one does not meet his expectations.
Freshman Kaylynne Wright can certainly relate.
Five hours before Brown competed in the Class 4A boys triple jump at the UIL State Track and Field Championships, Wright finished fourth in the girls long jump. She fired off a personal-best jump of 18 feet, 10 inches on her fourth attempt Friday, but that wasn’t enough to earn her a spot on the medals stand. And it was two inches shy of her goal for the state meet.
Wright didn’t feel much like talking following her fourth-place finish. After shucking her track spikes for a pair of more comfortable shoes, she joined Huntsville assistant coach Devin Gabbard in the stands at Mike A. Myers Stadium and hung her head for a few minutes.
“I didn’t get 19 (feet),” Wright said quietly. “I guess I did OK, though.”
Wright did better than OK. The soft-spoken ninth-grader nearly won a medal in her first trip to the state meet. She finished 1 3/4 inches behind bronze medalist Tai’Shea Reese of Kilgore.
Had Wright met her goal of 19 feet, she would have been on the medals stand along with first-place finisher A’Lexus Brannon of Beaumont Ozen, who jumped 20-0 1/2, and Whitney Gipson of North Richland Hills Birdville, who leaped 19-10.
By Friday evening, Wright had developed a new attitude about her performance.
“I’m feeling better. I know I’m going to make it back here next year and jump more than 19 feet,” she said with a smile. “I did my best jump all year today. It was fun. I liked jumping in the morning because it was not as hot. And even though I was sleepy, I got in the zone.”
Brown, who landed a 45-foot, 8-inch jump on his second attempt Friday, said he was hoping to better the 46-10 regional mark that earned him a spot in the state meet.
“I should have come out and done better,” Brown said. “I’m highly disappointed in myself. No excuses; I wish I had an excuse, but I should have come out and given my best effort. I did that, but today it wasn’t enough.”
Killeen’s Omar Craddock won the 4A triple jump with a mark of 48-9 3/4. Chris Grant of Corpus Christi Miller finished second with a leap of 48-2, and Marshall’s Darius Jones (47-11) took third.
Texas City’s Lee Prevost, the Region III champ who came into the competition with the best qualifying jump (48-3 1/2), scratched on his first three attempts and did not advance to the finals.
The surprise second-place finisher at the Region III meet at Bowers Stadium in Huntsville two weeks ago, Brown said he truly expected to be standing next to Prevost again Friday, with a medal around his neck.
“Everybody’s saying, ‘Next year, you’ll get it next year.’ I wanted it this year,” he said. “It’ll probably take about a week to get over this. I will get over it and I’ll come back next year.”
That’s the kind of attitude Huntsville coach Mitchell Coey wants all of the Hornet athletes to have. He wants Hornets in every sport to set a high bar with their expectations, then go all out after those goals.
“Kaylynne and Stephen should be happy with their performances today. I’m happy with it,” Coey said. “One is a junior and the other is just a freshman. This is a great experience for them. Kaylynne peaked at state. She jumped her best jump today, which proves she continued to make progress.
“She’s disappointed, and so is Stephen, because they wanted to get a medal. But I’m proud of them because they competed hard in the biggest high school track meet in Texas. Both of them will be back next year barring any major injury. Hopefully we’ll bring a few more with them.”