Lakewood — High jumping is all about rhythm, and Taylor Holand’s got messed up Thursday.
The piece of tape she puts down to tell her where to turn gotten taken off when another competitor stepped on it, throwing Holand out of her mental zone.
The Florence sophomore still did well, finishing tied for third at the Class 3A state track and field meet at Jeffco Stadium.
Matthew Miller also qualified for the finals by finishing ninth in the 110-meter hurdles. He was seeded 13th entering the day.
“I could’ve done better. I just didn’t,” Holand said, disappointed after missing her personal record of 5 feet, 3 inches.
Pagosa Springs senior Taylor Strohecker won with a jump of 5 feet, 6 1/2 inches, and University sophomore McKayla Bauer took second with a jump of 5 feet, 5 1/2 inches.
Last year as a freshman, Holand tied for second place behind Strohecker.
Holand puts down three pieces of tape. One tells her where to start, another where to turn and the third tells her how far out from the bar to leap.
“A girl took my medium step off when she stepped on it, so I was kind of guessing where to turn,” Holand said. “I guess that didn’t really help.”
Huskies coach Tom Torres was sitting in the stands where he was able to watch Holand’s rhythm closely.
If you don’t know exactly where you are, you’re just kind of guessing. Instead of concentrating on jumping, you’re thinking about that,” Torres said. “She just didn’t seem like she was in rhythm at the end there.”
She hadn’t missed at all before the height when she missed three times.
As for Miller, he said he was extra nervous before his only event Thursday. He’ll also run in the 300-meter preliminaries Friday.
The nerves pushed him enough to finish with a time of 16.02. The fastest time in prelims belonged to Holy Family’s Ryan Younggreen (14.76).
Morgan Weaver finished 18th in the 200-meter. It ended her career. She was a three-time state qualifier.
Miller’s event Friday is the only action for Florence. It’ll happen at 11:25 a.m.
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