Marble Falls’ Jordan Wright bests Leonel Manzano’s record, heads to state
JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF
SAN ANTONIO — Marble Falls High School senior cross-country runner Jordan Wright always admired former Mustang and Olympian Leonel Manzano. After all, Manzano sets the pace for middle-distance runners at Marble Falls with his nine state titles, two NCAA national championships and a silver medal from the London Summer Olympics in the men’s 1,500 meters.
Now, Wright has etched his name in the Marble Falls cross-country record book, right above Manzano’s.
Wright finished third at the Class 4A Region IV Meet on Nov. 2 in 15 minutes and 10 seconds. According to school officials, Wright’s time eclipses the school record of 15 minutes and 20 seconds, previously held by Manzano.
“Jordan is the only state qualifier from our district (25-4A) on the boys’ side,” head coach Anthony Torns said. “The time he ran here today wasn’t a fluke. I knew he could do it.”
Wright was in a car accident about two weeks ago, so Torns didn’t know what to expect from him. But the coach knows why the senior was successful at the meet.
“He started to run himself back to where he was,” he said. “He wasn’t able to run for two weeks, and it disrupted the process. He’s getting back into shape.
“I didn’t think he was going to run that fast,” Torns continued. “I was hoping he’d get into the top three at the beginning of the race, but he got to the top two and started fading to fifth. And then, three-quarters of the way, he got back to the top three. I thought he was going to run 15:40. But in the last 300 meters, he pushed and gave it everything he had. It was awesome.”
Darby Hibbs and D’Anthony Wall also competed at the regional meet for the Mustangs. Though Torns didn’t have their officials times or places, he did say both set new personal records.
The state meet is 12:10 p.m. Nov. 9 at Old Settlers Park, 3300 E. Palm Blvd. in Round Rock.
jfierro@thepicayune.com