McALLEN — For those not familiar with all the different events in track and field competition, don’t be alarmed by theawkwardness of those competing in the triple jump.
What looks akin to a baby giraffe attempting to walk for the first time is an event that was inspired by the earliest OlympicGames and has been a part of those games since their inception in 1896. It has also been known as the hop, skip and jump.
No matter the name, it still looks awkward and it’s tremendously challenging.
Those are precisely the two reasons McAllen High’s Miranda Quintanilla decided to compete in it.
“There isn’t anything like it. It’s such an odd jump,” the junior said. “That’s what attracted me to it. I basically tried every otherevent and it just clicked. I continued doing it until now.”
Now, Quintanilla is headed to the UIL Class 5A regional track championship Friday and Saturday at Heroes Stadium in SanAntonio, after winning the area meet last weekend with a jump of 35 feet, 5 inches. She is ranked third overall in Region IV witha personal best jump of 37-3. Zaniah Hoskins from Johnson High is third at 37-5, while Leander Rouse’s Ella Lewis is second at38-7. Leading the region with a 39-8.75 jump is Georgetown freshman Lily Muzzy.
The top two finishers advance to the state meet.
“The plan moving forward is to stay in the right headspace and just jump,” said Quintanilla, who also competed in the 200-meterdash, the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, the long jump and the 4×100 relay this season. “When I relax and just jump, let it happen, it works better. I’ve been doing that the past couple meets. Right before I jump my coaches say relax. I just jump better when I don’t focus on a PR.”
McHi head coach Luis Cantu said Quintanilla is starting to jump well at the right time and her fitness is also at a peak level.
“The big thing is that some people get to a point where they start looking at numbers like, ‘I want to get a 38 or 39,’ and forget about working the little things that get you to that mark. Once you forget about those things everything plays itself. Once she gets on her mark, then on the board, all other phases will come through and she will jump well.”
Quintanilla also has some emotional inspiration as well. Her father, Robert Quintanilla, died on New Year’s Day 2022. He was a Pharr Police Department patrolman, K9 handler, task force officer and criminal investigator during his 12 years with the department.
For those who know Miranda, more than likely they knew her father, omnipresent when his oldest of two daughters was competing and, often times, there when she was practicing.
“That’s been the hardest thing to happen to me, but also one thing that has pushed me to keep going,” she said. “That’s what he wanted. Traveling was our thing. He was always with me, talking about track. So I’m going into it with my full heart.
“I took a break and coming back was a bit hard. But after that first practice, I knew I needed to be back here. He would want me here.”
Cantu said the timing is right and with a breakout day Quintanilla could end up on the podium and maybe with a trip to state next.
“That event challenges your body to do different things. You don’t just wake up and say, ‘I’m going to do the triple,’” Cantu said.“It’s a very complicated thing to teach. You have to have rhythm, to find a little rhythm.
“Come regionals and on any given day, sometimes jumpers that are doing 37 or 38 (feet) are not having a good day and we’re hoping she has one of those breakout days. She just needs to put everything together and work all her phases.”