Lake Ridge freshman aims for gold at UIL state track meet

There’s something about jumping competitively that gets Jasmine Moore, well, jumping.

The Mansfield Lake Ridge freshman is one of the best jumpers in the state. She is a favorite in her events as numerous athletes from the Fort Worth area will compete in the UIL State Track and Field Meet in Austin, Thursday through Saturday.

Moore enters the triple jump as the top seed in Class 5A. Her best jump of the season, 41 feet,  1/2 inches, is tied for sixth-best in the nation this season.

Moore enters the long jump as the No. 2 seed, and has a best jump of 20 feet that was also once ranked in the top 10 nationally.

“It’s been phenomenal coaching her. She’s a once-in-a-lifetime find,” Lake Ridge jump coach James Whisenhunt said. “Her dedication, her work habits, her academics, everything is just great with this girl. It’s pretty easy on my part to coach her.”

Moore’s family history gave a strong indication that she might be successful in track. It also indicated that she might be a jumper.

Her mother, Trinette, was an All-American jumper at Florida State in 1992 and ’93, and her dad Earl Moore was a successful hurdler at Western Michigan from 1988-92.

So, in one form or another, it seemed jumping was in her future.

“My mother said she had so much fun jumping, but I had to find out for myself,” Moore said. “Now that I have found out, I know exactly what she was talking about.”

Moore also runs the leadoff leg of Lake Ridge’s top-seeded 1,600-meter relay, but it’s jumping that is her first love.

Moore simply loves to jump, whether it’s on the track or as part of her competitive cheer team with Spirit of Texas. In fact, immediately after last month’s District 13/14-4A area meet, she and her cheer team went to Florida, where they won a championship.

“Her No. 1 thing is drive,” Whisenhunt said. “She loves to compete every chance she gets.”

“I really have to balance my time,” she said. “I do have to keep a very tight schedule.”

She doesn’t waste any time. She already has her sights set on a short list of colleges, including Michigan, Florida State, Southern Cal, Duke and Texas A&M.

And, she hopes to fulfill another dream, one her coach believes it within her grasp.

“If she wants to be in the Olympics, she’ll be in the Olympics,” Whisenhunt said. “She’s that good and has that kind of dedication.”

And she does want to be in the Olympics?

“That’s my goal, long term,” she said. “I know it will take a lot of work, but if I stay in shape, watch my nutrition, keep my body healthy, and stay driven, I know I can do it.”

Teammate Jimmy Enobabor, a senior who is competing in the triple jump at the state meet, agrees with his coach that Moore is a rare talent. He said it’s hard to believe she is only a freshman.

“If I didn’t know her, I’d think she’s a senior, or even a college jumper,” he said. “I have no doubt she’s going to do amazing in her career. As for now, she’s pushing the bar higher for anyone else who comes through this program.”

ATHLETES TO WATCH

Girls

Tonea Marshall, Arlington Seguin, senior, 5A 100 hurdles, 4x100 relay, 4x200 relay: At state for a third consecutive year, her fastest hurdles time this season, on the same track at Mike A. Myers Stadium, was 13.04 seconds, just .04 seconds off of the Olympic Trials qualifying time. Last season, with largely the same teammates on the relays as this year, she won gold in the hurdles, helped the 4x100 to gold and the 4x200 to silver as the Cougars won a team state championship.

Sanaa Barnes, Trophy Club Nelson, 6A sophomore, high jump: Last season, Barnes was one of five athletes to clear a top height of 5-6 at the state meet, but she had to settle for a silver medal because of more misses than Ellyana Long of The Woodlands, who is back to defend her title. Barnes has cleared a Fort Worth area-best 5-9 this season, which would once again put her in gold-medal contention.

Alexandra Barnes, Fort Worth Paschal, senior, 6A 800: Perseverance has been the forte of Barnes, who qualified for state as a wild card and holds the school record in the 800 (2:12.05), 400 (56.12) and 200 (25.43). This multi-sport talent was also voted all-district in basketball and soccer.

Ariel Ford, Mansfield Lake Ridge, sophomore, 5A 400, 4x400 relay: Ford qualified for the state meet as a wild card in the 400, but her time of 55.48 has her seeded third. She also anchors the 4x400 relay, which has a top-seeded time of 3:48.42.

Zoe Barnes, Joshua, senior, 5A discus: Barnes qualified for the state meet with a throw of 127-4, which has her seeded fourth. However, her season-best throw of 145-7 is tops in the state in 5A this season.

Boys

Brandon Bowen, Trophy Club Nelson, senior, Class 6A high jump: The defending state champion in this event cleared 6 feet, 7 inches for a state title last season, and that is the height at which he won the Class 6A Region I meet last month. He has cleared 6-10 this season, an inch higher than any other state-qualifying height.

Reed Brown, Southlake Carroll, junior, 6A 1,600, 3,200: Brown came close to a winning two state championships last season, and seems primed for a strong shot at both again this year. His time of 4 minutes, 7.17 seconds in the 1,600 at the 6A Region I meet is the third-fastest in the nation.

Peyton Weissmann, Grapevine, junior, Class 5A pole vault: A state qualifier for a second consecutive year, Weissmann’s second-seeded qualifying height of 14-9 from the windy Region I Meet in Lubbock is deceptive. He has cleared 16-6 this season, which is 6 inches higher than anyone in Class 5A.

Tyson McDaniel, Saginaw Chisholm Trail, senior, and Keishawn Everly, Fort Worth Trimble Tech, sophomore, 5A 100: These two share the Fort Worth area’s fastest time in this event, 10.38 seconds. They also tied for the top qualifying time in the state, 10.64, so barring the rarest of occurrences, the deadlock will be broken this weekend.

This story was originally published May 11, 2016 at 4:28 PM with the headline "Lake Ridge freshman aims for gold at UIL state track meet."