Bronze is great, but it doesn’t shine as bright as gold.
Ashtyn Burriss wanted to make sure she left high school with the latter. To do so, she had to summon an all-time best with everything on the line.
The Smyer senior made a small adjustment before her final attempt and executed a leap of 39 feet, 1 inch, to vault from third into first place in the Class 2A girls triple jump at the UIL state track and field meet Friday. Previous leader Jamia Birmingham of Linden-Kildare scratched to end the competition and secure Burriss’ spot atop the podium.
It was Burriss who fouled on her penultimate attempt to set up the do-or-die situation.
“I immediately just started freaking out because I just wanted to win so badly,” Burriss said. “By my last jump, I’m usually pretty tired. I was like, I don’t know how I’m gonna do this, but I just wanted to give it my all on that last jump.”
Burriss trailed Birmingham and Chilton’s Zanoviah Coleman from the second round on. Each reached 39 feet on her first attempt, so Burriss knew the bar for achieving her longtime goal. She was especially motivated after finishing in third place last year.
When Burriss’ last opportunity arrived, she tweaked her starting position at the behest of her coach. She shortened her runway and delivered a personal best.
“I just wanted to have no regrets on that last jump,” Burriss said. “I just wanted everything to come together that I’ve been working over the four years that I’ve done this. I was happy with third place last year, but I wanted to win very badly.”
Burriss won a much more competitive field than 2025. Birmingham won that event at 37-7¾, with Burriss’ third-place mark 36-8. The Smyer jumper improved her PB by a foot over the course of her senior season.
Burriss said a hunger for state gold fueled her training. She began working toward that goal one month after leaving Austin. She credited coaches and her dad, who was a cherished gym partner throughout the process.
This offseason may look similar. Burriss is set to join the track program at Lubbock Christian University, so she knows there’s plenty of work still to do.
“I’m super excited, but I also know that college is very different from high school,” Burriss said. “I’m going to be surrounded by the best of the best, and I just want to prove to the coaches and my new teammates, just continue to earn my scholarship that I have received. Always my biggest fear every year is being worse than what I was, so I just train super hard throughout the summer.
“I just want them to see that I do deserve to be there and prove to them that I do.”
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Smyer’s Ashtyn Burriss wins gold in triple jump at state track meet