Vernon's Kameron Plyler rallies to win Class 3A high jump championship
Vernon's Kameron Plyler spent his day at the UIL Class 3A track and field championships chasing the high jump field after two early misses.
That long pursuit ended up with a golden ending, as Plyler's first-attempt clearance at what turned into a winning height of 6-foot-6 moved him from third to first and landed him a state championship.
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After finishing fourth in the high jump as a sophomore, then winning the 4x400 relay last year, Plyler closed his career the way he wanted to.
"Just running, that's my key: Running fast," Plyler said. "This sounds crazy, I don't do high jump practice at all, I just run. I have natural ups. ...
"I've been here three times, this is my third time. I was hungry for high jump, we didn't make it in anything else. This is what I was here for."
He opened the competition with a miss at 6-0 before a clearance moved him into eighth, then later missed his first jump at 6-5 and was third going into 6-6. Plyler nailed that and left Austin with a gold medal.
Henrietta's Essler nabs silver
Henrietta's Klein Essler fell just short of his dream of a Class 3A state discus championship, but the silver medal around his neck proved he left his first trip to state with plenty of consolation. Seeded second coming in behind Goliad's Caden Reagan, he was second throughout with a best throw of 173-1.
That was 22 inches behind Reagan, who had the four best throws of the competition.
"It was all right, it could have been worse," Reagan said. "I felt like I could have won it, but I'm good with second."
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Vernon's Kameron Plyler rallies to win Class 3A high jump championship
