Tyrone Clemons of Big Spring High School clears the bar at 6 feet, 9 inches to win the Class 4A high jump title at the University Interscholastic League State Track Meet in Austin Friday. BSHS placed fifth in the overall team competition. (HERALD photo/James Schwartz)

By JONATHAN HULL
Sports Editor
AUSTIN — The hardware was pouring in for the Big Spring Steers track team after the first day of the Class 4A state track and field meet at Myers Stadium in Austin.

Highlighting the Steers' first-day performances was the leaping abilities of Tyrone Clemons. Clemons claimed a state title in the high jump Friday, clearing six feet, nine inches, which was an inch better than Justin Benavidez of Corpus Christi Calallen and Jevin Colbert of Arlington Seguin.

The victory didn't come without drama, though.

Clemons was facing elimination at the 6-8 height. Benavidez and Colbert had already cleared 6-8, but Clemons missed on his first two attempts.

With a state title on the line, he regrouped and launched himself over the bar, advancing to the next height.

After being the only athlete to clear 6-9, Clemons could rest easy because the state gold was his. He did try to clear 6-11, but this was after the championship was already in the bag.

"There was a lot of pressure," said Clemons, whose personal best jump this season was at 6-10. "I hadn't cleared 6-8 in the last few track meets."

Powered by Clemons' performance, a silver medal finish by senior LaRay Woodard in the long jump and a bronze brought home by Clemons' cousin Mike Menefield in the triple jump, the Steers found themselves ahead in the team standings with 34 points through the first 10 events.

However, Big Spring ran out of athletes and four teams eventually surpassed the Steers. Lancaster eventually won with 54 points, while the Steers placed fifth.

Woodard's second-place finish in the long jump matches the performance he put forth at last year's state meet. He leaped 22 feet, 11.5 inches, which was a foot and three inches short of winner Darius Jones of Marshall.

Menefield, a sophomore who was a surprise winner in the triple jump at the District 4-4A meet, also fell short of Jones, who claimed his second gold medal in the event. Menefield cleared 48 feet, seven inches. He was slightly more than an inch shy of second-place Derek Edwards of Brenham and less than a foot away from eclipsing Jones. Clemons finished fifth in the event.

The Steers first got on the board thanks to senior Kade Parker. Parker finished fourth in the 3,200 meters with a time of 9:32.61. Nathan Christianson of Boerne Champion won the event with a mark of 9:21.52.

In their final qualifying event, the Steers 4x100-meter relay team made up of Woodard, seniors Zamir Linton and Darius McCalister and junior Monte Anderson finished fifth, earning Big Spring its final four points of the competition. At that point, the Steers led by 12 in the overall team standings.

Garden City High School senior Jake Schwartz had a state title in mind, but he couldn't get off a clean jump at the height of 6-4 in the high jump, forcing him to settle for bronze.

Schwartz cleared 6-10 at the regional meet a few weeks ago, but couldn't get over the bar at 6-6 in three attempts Friday.

On his second attempt, Schwartz appeared to clear 6-6. He was off the mat and celebrating as he headed to the waiting area. However, the bar fell off and he wasn't awarded a successful jump.

Forsan freshmen Ty Johnson and Ambra Hill made their attempt at bringing home a gold medal Satuday in their respective events in the Class A competition.

Johnson qualified in the 100-meters on the boys side, while Hill was due to run in the girls' 100-meter hurdles.

Hill had to hurry to Myers Stadium from McCombs Field, though. The athletic freshman played shortstop earlier in the day as the Lady Buffs won the Class 1A state softball title Saturday morning over Alto, 21.

The softball game began at 8:30 a.m., while Hill wasn't supposed to run until 12:45 p.m. She just missed another medal, placing fourth in the hurdles.

Results of Johnson's and Hill's state title bids will be available in Monday's edition of the Herald or check online for updates at www.bigspringherald.com.