Waco High senior Montierra Warren came up with the best jump of her career when she had to have it at the Class 6A Region II meet.
Warren stepped up for her last attempt in the triple jump finals standing in third place with a top mark of 39 feet, 7 inches to that point.
She took a minute to give herself a pep talk, then sprinted and leaped to a mark of 40-6 1/2 and the regional title on Saturday at Midway’s Panther Stadium.
“I talked to myself for a long time,” Warren said. “That’s why it took me so long to run. I was like, ‘Mo, you got this. Just jump. Hold your feet up on the last phase.’ I tried to do that. I didn’t think I got that far until they told me.”
When the triple jump meet official announced Warren’s distance, a large contingent that included Waco High head girls’ track coach Jeff Bray, assistants Ricky Torres and Tevin Reese, and football coach Kwame Cavil cheered and celebrated. Torres picked up Warren and spun her around.
“That was exciting,” Torres said. “She focused up and did what we all knew she could do.”
Kennedy Adams of Prosper had the top mark at 39-10 1/2 going into the final jump. She followed Warren and posted a 40-2 1/4.
Warren, who earned a bronze medal in 4A last season for La Vega, is going back to the state meet to compete in 6A, having set a new personal best and upped the Waco High school record in the process.
“That’s all I wanted to do — PR and make it to state,” Warren said. “And I did it, so I’m proud.”
While that was going on, Alexis Tippit of Troy was finishing off a sweep of the jumping events in the 3A Region II triple jumps at an adjacent jumping pit.
Tippit won the long jump on Friday with a mark of 18-4, then added the triple jump victory on Saturday morning by posting 37-9 1/2. Central Texas athletes claimed both state berths in the 3A Region II girls’ triple jump as West’s Makayla Pavelka finished second with a jump of 37-1 1/4.
Cameron’s Brandi Drake ran her way to the state meet in the 100 and 200. Drake won the 200 with a time of 26.6 seconds, .14 of a second in front of Brooke Myers of Little River Academy. Drake finished second in the 100 with a time of 12.21 to qualify for the state meet.
—- WACOTRIB