What Smyer's Ashtyn Burriss told herself before gold-winning final jump
Ashtyn Burriss' mind was racing after a foul on her penultimate attempt at state. How did she gather herself going into her final jump of high school?
Bronze is great, but it doesn't shine as bright as gold. Ashtyn Burriss wanted to make sure she left high school with the latter. To do so, she had to summon an all-time best with everything on the line.
The Smyer senior made a small adjustment before her final attempt and executed a leap of 39 feet, 1 inch, to vault from third into first place in the Class 2A girls triple jump at the UIL state track and field meet Friday. Previous leader Jamia Birmingham of Linden-Kildare scratched to end the competition and secure Burriss' spot atop the podium. It was Burriss who fouled on her penultimate attempt to set up the do-or-die situation.
"I immediately just started freaking out because I just wanted to win so badly," Burriss said. "By my last jump, I'm usually pretty tired. I was like, I don't know how I'm gonna do this, but I just wanted to give it my all on that last jump.
" Burriss trailed Birmingham and Chilton's Zanoviah Coleman from the second round on. Each reached 39 feet on her first attempt, so Burriss knew the bar for achieving her longtime goal. She was especially motivated after finishing in third place last year.