One giant leap to UH
TRACK AND FIELD: CALEB MALBROUGH, SR., MANVEL
Caleb Malbrough was unaware he saved his best for last. Malbrough triplejumped a personal-record 48 feet, 5½ inches on March 5 at the Generation Park Track and Field Invitational at Summer Creek High School.
It tops the Manvel senior and University of Houston signee’s gold-medal jump from last summer’s state track and field meet by four inches. The coronavirus ensures it is his final jump as a high school athlete.
“It’s all about cherishing the things you have, really,” Malbrough said. “Because they can come and then they can be taken away just in an instant like that, and you’ll never see it coming.”
This year’s University Interscholastic League state meet was supposed to be Saturday. The missed opportunity eerily reminds Malbrough of his sophomore year at Pearland High School when he reached the regional meet in the triple jump before being grounded by a back injury.
Transferring to Manvel to finish his high school career, Malbrough redeemed and solidified his name as a junior. He spent the entire 2019 outdoor season on the medal stand, with seven first-place finishes in the triple jump to go along with one silver and two bronze medals. He high jumps 6-4, too, having done so outdoors at the Purnell Relays in 2019.
Malbrough’s best indoor long jump of 20-5¾ came in January at the Texas A&M High School Classic. His best outdoor long jump of 22-11¾ followed a month later in the Manvel-Dawson Invitational. The 48-5½ triple jump from this season ranked fourth in the Houston area and tied for seventh in the state.
Since then, Malbrough said, he’s reveled in isolation. He trains with father, Ridge Point boys track and field coach Anthony Malbrough, building on good habits with the next jump in mind.
Caleb will take part in
Manvel’s graduation ceremonies on June 5 and turn his attention to the New Balance Nationals outdoor meet, tentatively set for July 16-19 at North Carolina A&T University.
It will end Caleb’s fourmonth layoff from competition.
“I feel like I’m built for moments like this,” he said. “I never feel like it’s a moment that’s too big for me. I feel like I can do anything if I put my mind to it.”