Alex Loving has been all over the track and and all over the field out in west Texas. His versatility has paid off and will result in an address change from Amarillo to Austin in the upcoming months.
The Amarillo HS star will get the opportunity to become the next University of Texas at Austin star decathlete, "I signed a NLI with the University of Texas in November to be a decathlete."
Although Austin is the future, Amarillo is where it all began. "I realized that I had great jumping ability as a child. I was always able to out jump people whether it was jumping up to catch a football while playing with friends or it was jumping up to grab the basketball rim on the court in middle school," Loving said.
That outstanding ability to jump high and far produced the state's top long jump mark this weekend. Loving's 24-4.5 top mark of the weekend out distanced Houston Strake Jesuit junior Matthew Boling who also had a 24 footer. Boling jumped 24-2.75 which is now the state's #2 mark.
Loving not only holds the best jump in the state, but he also leaped over two Georgia jumpers to grab the top national jump. "My mind set going into this season was really just to relax, enjoy my senior year, and try leave my mark as an athlete, not only at my school, but at every track meet ." This weekend, he left a mark on the nation.
Loving is more than just a long jumper. He has some big time marks in the 100m, 200m, high jump, and the 110 hurdles, hence being considered a future multi athlete. He sees the strengths in other events helping his performance in the other events. Loving said, "Speed is very important on the runway. I was blessed with a lot of speed, and I believe that speed is 80 percent of the jump if not, more."
He entered the season focusing on technique. "The more technical things I tried to work on prior to this season were getting more height on my jumps and working on the "right" and very technical long jump landing."
Since the season began, he is putting more focus on his running. "I usually just workout for sprinting and attend an occasional long jump workout, but as the season progresses more, I will work on my jumps just as much as my sprinting."
As the season moves forward, the goal for every athlete in Texas is to make it to the state meet. Loving's senior season is off to a great start and on a high note heading into the upcoming district meet. Being the number one jumper in the state is a good indication that you're on the right path.
