CALEDONIA — Focus.
That word played in Tyler Lowe’s mind repeatedly Monday at the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A State track and field meet at Pearl High School.
The Caledonia High School senior knew he was capable of clearing 6 feet, 4 inches. After all, he had cleared 6-8 earlier in the season, so he knew he had the form, explosion, lift, and kick to take his body over the bar. Now it was just a matter of executing.
“That is when the self-motivation came in,” Lowe said. “I was thinking to myself, ‘I have done this plenty of times this year, and I know I can get 6-4, so just calm down and use your technique and just get it.”
Lowe’s ability to clear 6-4 on his second attempt proved to be the difference that helped him win his first state title. His torso 6-6 on his first attempt, but his leg hit the bar going over. He said he jumped too far out on his final two attempts and then had to wait through some nervous moments as the two other competitors scratched to give him the crown.
Lowe said he was able to use that moment of relaxation to put himself in the right frame of mind to perform. He tried to remember “up and over” to put himself in the perfect position to clear 6-4. He said the trick is to get enough speed on his approach and to take the right angle and then go straight up off his left foot and not into the bar like he did on many of his scratches.
At just under 6-3, Lowe’s length gives him an ideal body type to be successful in the high jump. Lowe also was a member of the school’s boys basketball and football teams and its band. He said he had special motivation in his third and final season with the track and field program to win a state title. Lowe was able to accomplish that goal thanks to some tweaks in his form that eliminated choppy steps and leaning jumps.
“Instead of going up I was going at the bar,” Lowe said.
Lowe competed in track and field as a freshman, and was fourth in the high jump at the Class 4A State meet as a junior. He said competing at that meet last season gave him the confidence to know he belonged. It also gave him the peace of mind to know that he could block everything out and take the time to focus on his goal.
“I was more prepared this year,” Lowe said.
Lowe will graduate Saturday from Caledonia High. The school will have its graduation ceremony at Mississippi State University, which is where Lowe will go in an attempt to pursue an engineering degree. He isn’t sure what his future holds in athletics, but he said he plans to stay busy and hopes to keep jumping.
“It felt pretty good because it was hot out here at practice,” Lowe said. “I just kept thinking to myself that it is going to pay off when I get that medal, and I just used the medal as motivation. I wanted it.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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