Jumping toward gold
ALLY STEPHENSON lands in the sand pit during a long jump attempt last Saturday. Stephenson won the event as well as the high jump during the KHS meet. [Photo by Russell Stitt/www.stitt.smugmug.com]
It wasn’t how it started for Ally Stephenson in her events on Saturday.
It was how they ended.
Stephenson closed strong in both the long jump and high jump to win the events at the 10th annual KHS Track and Field Invitational.
She won the only two golds for Kingfisher, but there were several other medalists as the team took second behind Weatherford.
In her first attempt in the long jump, Stephenson scratched.
On her second try, she got off on her steps and jumped off the wrong foot.
Still, that jump of 15 feet, 5 inches had her in first place and would have won the event.
But Stephenson eventually got it worked out and leapt 16-6 to beat the runner-up by nearly 14 inches.
Next door at the high jump pit, Stephenson waited until the bar reached 4 feet, 8 inches before making her first attempt.
She grazed the bar with her legs on her first two attempts and the height, leaving her one more miss from being eliminated.
However, Stephenson easily cleared it on her first try and then at the next three heights.
The 2019 Class 4A state champ in the event eventually won when she cleared 5-2.
Stephenson also ran on the third-place 800 and mile relay teams.
She teamed up with Emily Myers and Andrea Becerra in both relays.
Makina Frost was on the 800 team and Ashley Casillas on the mile relay.
Myers also won a silver medal in the 100 hurdles and a bronze in the 300 hurdles.
Zoey Evans won three medals as she was second in the two-mile run, third in the mile and part of the second-place two-mile relay team.
Also in the field, Dani Rios-Ramirez took third in the pole vault.