Wooten, Ruiz atop honors list

Tomball Memorial seniors finish with gold, bronze in pole vault

Tomball Memorial’s Jacob Wooten and Antonio Ruiz went back and forth in the pole vault all season, and it continued at the UIL Track and Field State Meet last week at Mike A. Myers Stadium.

Wooten wound up with a gold medal in Austin, and Ruiz took bronze.

“They battled it out and Jake came out on top,” coach Kevin Webb said.

Ruiz dominated the postseason rivalry before state, winning the district, area and regional championships. But Wooten always was right behind him.

“It’s the reason why they were as successful as they were,” Webb said. “They fought with each other and practiced together, and the competition was good for them.”

Wooten secured the track team’s first state championship by clearing 17 feet for the first time this year. He jumped 17 feet last year at the regional meet but was slowed this season by a hamstring injury.

“He looked good,” Webb said. “He’s been injured and crippled up with a hamstring, and he finally got healthy enough to pull a 17 off. He’d gone 18 a couple times this week in practice.”

Now he’s a state champion after failing to place last year at state.

“That was big for him,” Webb said. “Jake is a great kid, he’s worked hard, (and) he’s been behind Antonio a little bit with athleticism and injuries, but he was able to put one together when it counted.”

Ruiz cleared 16 feet for the bronze medal. He was fourth last year at state.

“He was nursing a hamstring injury, too, so that may have had something to do with his third-place finish,” Webb said. “But he worked hard and did the best he could do with what he had.”

Now they’re both gearing up for the next phase of their careers – college track and field. Ruiz is a Texas Tech signee and Wooten’s a Texas A&M signee.

“They’ve got the ability to possibly be in the Olympics one day,” Webb said.

Tomball Memorial’s Akuira Young also came home with a medal, finishing third in the 300-meter hurdles (43.22). She was eight in the 300 hurdles in 2012 and fourth last year.

The area boasted two other state medalists.

Klein Oak’s Brianna Johnson won the Class 6A championship in the triple jump, and Natashia Jackson was third in the 400.