By Jim Irish
Courtesy photos
Bastrop High School’s Ramonz Adams’s primary focus is football, but he is displaying elite form in track and field.
Last week, Adams, a junior, qualified for the Class 5A state track and field meet with a second-place finish in the triple jump with a distance of 46 feet, 8½ inches, a personal record.
Adams is the only state qualifier from Bastrop County
In his 30th season at Bastrop, head track coach Steve Mayberry says Adams’ distance is the farthest he’s seen and thinks it’s a school record.
Adams is the only state qualifier from Bastrop County.
Jayden Thrower, of Mont Belvieu Barbers Hill, won the triple jump at the 5A Region III meet in Humble with a leap of 47-11, more than a foot beyond Adams.
Adams’s distance ranks second among the eight state qualifiers.
Adams, a transfer this year from Smithville, also took fourth at 22 feet in the long jump at region.
He prefers the triple jump, saying “I’m better at it.”
Adams, 6-foot-1 and 160 pounds, takes seven steps to the liftoff board before leaping. He says he does not chop his steps to the board.
He has also shown speed in the relays with a split of 50.3 in the 400 and 22.5 in the 200.
Mayberry is impressed with Adams’ athleticism.
“He’s able to get height on his jumps,” Mayberry says.
Because of his quickness and athleticism, Adams was selected first-team in District 13-5A last football season and is ranked in the top 10 among cornerbacks in Texas football recruiting.
He has already received scholarship offers from Texas Tech, Houston, Vanderbilt, Texas State, North Texas, and Arkansas State.
Adams will compete at the state meet at 2:30 p.m. Friday, May 3 at Mike Myers Stadium on the UT Austin campus.
At track's biggest event of the season, he has set his sight on 48 feet, which only one athlete accomplished at all the region meets.
”I think he can get it,” Mayberry says.
If Adams continues to improve in the triple jump, he may receive offers from college track coaches.
Jim Irish is a freelance writer in Bastrop, Texas.