Scott Kane / For The Telegraph
GODFREY – A brief shot of rain washed away the marks for Katie Mans’ approach in the high jump on Thursday at the Alton Invitational girls track meet.
So after she ran her leg in the 4×200 relay, the Alton Redbirds sophomore returned to the high jump and opted to just wing it.
And Mans soared.
She converted at 5 feet, 4 inches to match the standard she has been stuck on for most the season. Then Mans cleared 5-6 to tie the school record she set as a sophomore before coming back with a leap of 5-7 to set a school and meet record.
“I have not been able to get over 5-4 this season, so getting over 5-6 was a big deal,” Mans said. “And then getting over 5-7 and a new PR was just amazing.”
No marks, no problem.
“I had to guess on 5-4, 5-6 and 5-7,” Mans said, “but I guess it did something for me. Maybe I’ll have to do that from now on.”
O’Fallon scored 155.5 points to claim the team championship. East St. Louis (137.5), Cahokia (124), Edwardsville (110), Alton (105), Triad (67), Granite City (27), Hazelwood Central (22), Carrollton (9) and Madison (9) completed the field in the first major meet held on the new track at Piasa Motor Fuels Field.
For Mans, surpassing the 5-4 that had become an annoyance represented the clearing of a mental hurdle.
“I was very frustrated with myself, mad that I was doing better as a freshman than I am as a sophomore,” Mans said. “So today definitely scratched that out of my brain.”
Mans won a Class AA state championship in the high jump as an eighth grader at Alton Middle School with a jump of 5-3. She made an immediate impact at Alton High, winning a Southwestern Conference before going 5-5 to win a Class 3A sectional title. As a freshman at state, Mans tied for eighth place at 5-4.
She will be seeking an upgrade as a sophomore.
“I was really disappointed in my finish at state last year,” Mans said, “so I really want to come back and make a name for myself, as LaJarvia has done.”
Alton senior Lajarvia Brown, a two-time state champion in the triple jump, won three events at the Alton Invite. Her victories in the long jump and triple jump produced meet records.
Brown went 19-1.5 in the long jump and 40-7 in the triple. Brown won the 100-meter hurdles in 14.2 seconds. Her bid for a fourth win in the 300 hurdles ended when she took a fall going over a hurdle and finished sixth.
Alton got 14 points in the shot put with Chayvon Buckingham third with a toss of 40-2 and Jewel Wagner fourth at 39-4.
Edwardsville won the 4×400 freshman-sophomore relay and the 800 sprint medley.
