Exceeding all expectations
KynnedyAfter injury qualifyingshe Flannel suffered didn’tfor at the the make state Texasit meetto Relays Austinas a freshman,kepta year her ago. froma knee• going back, so new Alvin coach Reggie Taylor’s first goal simply was to help her return. • The junior did that — and then some. • Flannel won the 100 meters in 11.43 seconds, after narrowly qualifying at the regional meet, as well as the 200 (23.34) and set a Class 6A record with a leap of 21 feet, 2¾ inches en route to gold in the long jump, making her the Chronicle’s All-Greater Houston girls track athlete of the year. • “She was fabulous because she PR’d in every event, so she went out there and ran her best races,” Taylor said. I told her it was going to take her best races to win, and it definitely did.”
afterQ: What missing was state your last goal year? this season
and A:I wanted“I just wantedto PR (personalto stay healthy, record). I that PR’d was in oneall of of my my eventsmain goals,this year, and and then staying healthy the whole year.”
Q: Did you expect to have a shot at gold in all three events?
A: “No. I really was going for 1, 2 and 3, so it was a change of plans. All my times were up and down all season, and I was pretty consistent in the long jump. So when I got to state, I just left it all out there.”
Q: Which sprint race was tougher to win?
A: “The 100. I don’t start well in my 100, so that’s what I really tried to work on, just getting out hard, and then with the 200, I needed to finish strong. We worked on that a lot at practice – the blocks, the starts and finishing the 200.”
Q: What is it about getting off the block that gives you trouble?
A: “I honestly don’t know. I’m really tall (at 5-9), so that’s one thing, and I’m not quick with my first step. So that was our main focus, and we got that down, which helped a lot, and then I had to stay low and run hard out, but that was my biggest problem this whole season.”
Q: What did it mean to you to sweep the sprints?
A: “Oh my gosh, I didn’t even believe it when I first did it. I finished the 200, and then I went over to my coaches and my parents, and I don’t know, it was weird. I didn’t believe I did it.”
Q: You were chasing 21 feet all year in the long jump. What was your reaction to not only reaching that goal to win state, but setting a 6A record in the process?
A: “I jumped that jump and I didn’t think it was 21 at all. It didn’t feel like I jumped that far. But all year I’ve been around the same jump, 20-4, 20-8, around that distance, and then when I got to state I jumped 19-5 twice and then I jumped 21, so it was a big shocker. But that was the main thing I wanted to do this season because everybody was talking about it and I wanted to get it over with.” Q: You’re only a half-inch off the overall state record. Is that something to shoot for next year? A: “Yes. Next year, I want to go 22 and break all those (long jump) records.”