AUSTIN – Tahlie Brandt showed Friday afternoon she knows all about perfect timing.
The Randall High junior defended her girls Wheelchair shot put state championship in dramatic fashion winning by ¾ of an inch on her final of six throws at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Brandt heaved a personal best throw of 18 feet, four inches on her final attempt eclipsing Dripping Springs freshman Isabel Crew who led at the time with a throw of 18 feet, 3 ¼ inches.
Brandt and Crew were the lone competitors to surpass the 18-foot mark.
“This is such a great feeling,” Brandt said. “I was just trying to reach back and throw it as far as a I could.”
Brandt’s Randall High coach Joe Britten praised Brandt’s mental toughness and said, “I’m very proud of her. She was able to handle the adversity of the lightening delay and on that last throw just let it go.”
A lightening delay was issued during the third competitors’ throws. All fans and athletes were all told to leave Mike A. Myers Stadium.
About an hour later the shot-put competition resumed.
Britten said he and Brandt entered the state meet having worked on remaining positive during stressful situations.
Britten had presented Brandt motivational sayings and then showed her the movie For The Love of The Game, which in part sends the message how worrying about the consequences only adds stress so just go out and free up you mind and enjoy the sport you love.
It worked.
“I tried not to be frustrated with the lightening delay,” Brandt said as her field event was the final one of the day. “The break really kind of helped.”
Brandt was strong throughout her six throws continually improving over the final three as her tosses went 18-0 ½ inch, 18-1 1/4 inch and then the final gold medal heave of 18-4.
Finding heshotput where competitors make all six throws before leaving the ring. She had to wait out the final throwers, none coming close to her distance.
“Like I said I’m so proud of her and the way she has worked so hard,” Britten said. “That was fun to watch.”
Brandt threw 16-1 3/4 last year to take the gold so she improved more than two feet.
Before the Friday shot put competition Brandt finished third in the 100-meter race reaching the medal stand with a bronze, then was fourth in the 400 meters.
“I really tried for first or second (in the 100) but just couldn’t go fast enough,” Brandt said.
Also competing in the wheelchair competition from the Amarillo-area Friday was Caprock sophomore Triston West and Pampa junior Avery Ferguson.
West missed out on the medal stand in the 100-meter dash by an eyelash of 0.49 seconds finishing in fourth. He was also fourth in the 400-meter dash and ninth in the shot put.
“This was a good experience,” West said. “I was off my PRs by just a little bit. I really thought at the start of the 100 I was going to get on the medal stand. And the 400 I thought I could just start faster.
“I learned today they are getting faster down here,” West said. “It motivates me to get better.
“Being at the state meet is a really cool experience. Being in the top of Texas and all the people in the stands. This motivates me to push harder and medal.”
Ferguson had his moment in the sun as well finishing 7th in the 100 and 8th in the 400. He set a Harvester school record in the 400 a 1:38.40.
