Jumpin' Josh

By TJ MAXWELL
Cove Leader-Press

ARLINGTON – Josh Canete knew setting his new personal best height of 6-feet, 9-inches, set last week at the 7-6a/8-6A Area meet, would pay off in the future and that future came quickly.
The 6-feet-9 mark was the region’s best coming in, earning him the right to watch all of his competitors go in front of him allowing him to see exactly what he needed to win.
Canete, along with his competitors, missed their first two attempts at 6-feet-6 in 30 miles per hour gusty conditions. Competitor after competitor then missed their final attempt setting up one last chance for Canete to claim gold with one jump.
The senior then willed his way over the bar for gold.
“It feels good,” said Canete. “I’m very excited to go to state again. Last year I did this and I felt like I had to do it again. I think I’m going to take the gold or, at least, I hope so.”
Cove boys’ head track coach Keith Stifflemire was confident his senior would do what he needed to do on that final fateful attempt.
“I felt like Josh was probably going to clear it because he is a competitor and he knew that he needed one jump and he had it won,” he said. “There wasn’t much doubt in my mind.”
The determination was evident on Canete’s his face as he arched his way to the gold.
“I don’t really know what was going through my head,” he said. “I just knew what I had to do to keep the tradition going for Cove. It was something I just had to do.”
Canete, who was centimeters away from clearing the 6-feet-11 mark at the Area meet on April 20, needed every inch to get over the 6-feet-6 mark in the blustery conditions at the UIL Region I-6A Track and Field Championships held at the University of Texas at Arlington’s Maverick Stadium on Saturday.
“I think the wind badly affected the guys that finished first, second and third with me,” said Canete. “I think it was affecting all of us really.”
Stifflemire also knows the conditions affected the competition.
“It affects everybody but it affects everybody equally,” he said. “If you let it affect you mentally then is costs you but physically the wind affects you greatly. It changes your stride pattern, it changes your approach and it changes your jump. 
“Wind is a big deal with the vertical jumps.”
Although he knows Canete is capable of more, Stifflemire knew that he just needed to clear the 6-feet-6 mark and keep some in the tank for the Mecca of high school sports that begins in nine days – the UIL State Track and Field Championships to be held May 11-13 at the University of Texas’ Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.
“At this time, you just want to advance to the next level,” said Stifflemire. 
Canete did just that, along with Midland senior Courtney McMaryion who had no misses until the 6-feet-6 mark to take the second qualifying spot to the state meet.
Some other Cove Bulldawgs just missed out on the dance.
Sophomore Kyle Stifflemire finished fourth in the pole vault with a vault of 14-feet-6 inches. The sophomore hit his three previous heights on the first attempt and was on track to nab one of the top sports but he couldn’t get over the bar at 15-feet to fall out of the competition just before the provisional third spot.
“(Kyle) went into the last attempt with no misses and everyone else had one so we felt like he had a good chance at that point but he didn’t clear the 15-foot bar,” said head coach and father Keith. “He’s just a sophomore and he’s set personal records and school records. We wanted him to improve as the year went on and that’s what he did. We’re real proud of him and hope that he continues to improve next year. 
“Maybe next year when we come back we’ll have a different result.”
Coach Stifflemire also knows the experience was invaluable for his young athlete.
“You cannot replace the experience coming up as a sophomore and getting to compete at this level,” he said. “It’s a tremendous experience for him and because there are a lot of seniors graduating, he’ll be one of the leaders to watch next year I think.”
Logan Freeman of Keller Central and Connor Gregston of Keller Fossil Ridge took the two qualifying spots with vaults of 15-feet-6. Freeman had no misses while Greston had one miss at 15-feet. Eric Etie of Keller (15-feet-6) finished third with one miss at 15-feet-6.
Fellow Cove sophomore Aidan Chace also had a flawless run in the high jump until three-straight misses at the 5-feet-6 mark gave her a fifth-place finish. Northwest Nelson junior Sanaa Barnes cleared 5-feet-10 to take the top spot and sophomore Jillian Johnson of Mansfield cleared 5-feet-8 for the other spot. Sophomore Alyssa Miller of McKinney Boyd cleared 5-feet-7 for the provisional spot.
Senior Amber Boyd finished well under her personal best time in the 800-meter run with a mark of 2:23.16 to finish seventh in the event. Sophomore Isabel Van Camp of Keller won the gold with a time of 2:15.16 and fellow sophomore, Jennelle Jaeger-Darakjy of Coronado High, took the second qualifier with a time of 2:15.73. Senior Steffi Jones of Plano (2:16.59) finished in the provisional spot.
Boyd also finished 11th in the 1,600m run with a time of 5:23.60. Junior Quinn Owen won the even with a new meet record of 4:50.08 that bested the 12-year-old record of Plano West’s Erin Bedell (4:50.40) set in 2005. Abilene senior Ashton Endsley (4:51.74) took the second qualifier and Flower Mound junior Laura Fairchild finished third.
The foursome of Boyd, freshman Anayah Copeland, junior Talia Kinslow and senior Imari Neal made the finals on Saturday with a sixth-place finish and new personal best time and school record of 3:55.43. The foursome finished seventh in the blustery finals with a time of 4:05.88. McKinney Boyd won the event with a time of 3:44.58 and Desoto took the second qualifier with a time of 3:45.06.
Senior Eric Caine ran the 100m dash in 10.89 seconds to finish tied for 13th. Senior Jaylen Allen of Allen (10.73) and Arlington Bowie senior Darien Porter (10.74) claimed the two qualifying spots.
Seniors Reginald Mouton and Dahmir Pearson were caught up in the wipe out Lweisville Marcus’ Zach Vineyard as both Cove runners had to leap over the tumbling Vineyard. Mouton (2:11.66) finished 14th with Pearson (2:12.69) following.
Canete will compete for a state championship beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday, May 13.