Clovers' Young jumps at state finals
BLOOMINGTON -- Saturday saw the 2008 track season come to an end for Cloverdale's Raine Young. Young was among 31 competitors vying for the state championship in the long jump on the campus of Indiana University.
There was a lot of anticipation leading up to Young's jump. There were four jump sessions and he was one of the final jumpers to go. He, along with head coach Kristen Crabtree, sat in the crowd sizing up the competition. At one point, Young pumped his fist and Crabtree cracked a smile. They were obviously enjoying the ride.
When it came to Young's attempts, he didn't hesitate. After setting himself, he tore down the strip and took flight. As his feet buried into the sand, Young had jumped 21-feet-5.5 breaking his own school record, but something less obvious had occurred.
When Young came to rest in the sand, he had turned his ankle and pretty much knew his day was done.
"I was going for it all in the first jump so if I didn't make it there, I probably wasn't going to do anything else," Young said. "Yeah, rolling the ankle probably had something to do with it, but I'm not blaming anything. I guess I'll just jump better the next time, get ready for college."
Young's following two jumps fell short of the first. However, Young said he was content with his performance, but it was hard to hide the disappointment in his eyes. He had set goals for state and was within a couple of inches of achieving them. He also explained the circumstances that led him to his state finals berth after a second place finish at conference.
"I came back mad at sectional, ready to jump again, I went out and jumped 20-feet-11.75," Young explained. "Then at regional I realized that I was close to our school record, so I went out a jumped 21-feet-2-inches, which broke it by an inch and then I just broke my own record today. My goal for today was to just finish in the top 10 and make it to the finals. All in all I think it was a good effort -- I guess.
"I'm kind of let down that I didn't make it," Young concluded.
Young also acknowledged that the competition he got from jumpers such as North Putnam's Jerrett Ban was crucial in helping him achieve all that he had this season.