Long-Jump Champ Needs Desire to Really Take Off

Adversity, be it in the form of physical problems or limitations, mental or emotional stress or just bad luck, threatens every champion.

The best athletes overcome adversity by concentrating on the task at hand.

That’s what Torrance High’s Jenifer Tully is trying to do as she prepares for the CIF-Southern Section Masters track and field meet that begins Friday night at Cerritos College.

Tully battled shinsplints on her left takeoff leg, a strong wind, time constraints and heady competition Saturday in the CIF 4-A finals at Cerritos to become long-jump champion with a leap of 17-10 1/2.

“I was surprised and excited that I was able to advance,” said Tully, a junior. “I had to sit around for a long time before the event, so I just tried to keep busy by jogging and stretching. Then there was a lot of head wind that picked up at the end of the day, and that made it harder. And I knew how good the other girls were, so I was happy to jump that good.”

A swelling on her left calf developed over the long track season and prevented her from serious training.

And she had recently taken a part-time job as hostess at a Torrance restaurant, which cut into her training schedule.

At the finals in Cerritos, a wind had picked up by the time the long jump started and Tully’s numbers reflected the obstacle.

Also, a strong field presented more challenges. Juliana Yendork of Walnut jumped 19-8 in the 2-A finals, and Morningside’s Lisa Leslie matched Tully’s mark of 17-10 1/2 in 2-A.

Nine long-jumpers are entered in the Masters. The top five will advance to the state finals the following weekend at Cerritos. The pressure is on.

And Torrance track and field Coach Don Kalmar said Tully has not yet learned how to deal with it.

“She lets it bother her and it ends up hurting her confidence,” he said. “The pain in her leg prevents her from working harder, and that’s what we need to do at this point in the season.

“And she has not yet learned how to train hard. She kind of knows she’s good already and figures, ‘Why train hard . . .?’ ”

That’s not to say Kalmar is dissatisfied with Tully. He acknowledges that his frustration is caused only because Tully has so much potential.

Two weeks ago in the Southern Section preliminaries, Tully jumped 18-10 1/4, her personal best and the sixth-best mark in the state this year. Her jump in the finals, though 12 inches shorter than the week before, was still good enough to earn her a spot in the Masters.

“She had a day in the prelims when she felt good and everything just went right for her,” Kalmar said. “She got off a good first jump and that gave her confidence. Every jump after that was really out there.”

Kalmar thinks that with work and commitment Tully could be California’s best long-jumper in girls competition.

Tully agrees and insists that she knows what it will take to reach the next plateau.

“I think I could go 19 or 20 feet because on my best jump in the prelims I didn’t really get my feet up that high and didn’t think I went that far,” she said. “I need to start working out harder and get some special training in the long jump and practice everyday.

Said Kalmar: “I think she could be going 20 feet by now if she just ran her sprints hard. She has all this potential just waiting.

“You can see the explosion in her legs, but she just hasn’t conditioned everything right yet.”

So far Kalmar has not been able to help Tully move up the ladder. He persuaded her to try the triple jump and Tully enjoyed nominal success, yet failed to advance to the Masters in the event.

Because “she has so much spring,” Kalmar introduced Tully to the high jump. She cleared 5-3 on her first jump but has not entered the high jump since.

Tully is Kalmar’s fastest natural sprinter, but she refuses to go all out, he said. Kalmar said he’s trying to persuade her to try hurdling next season.

Yet it all comes back to training.

“I’m trying to ease her into working harder,” he said. “But you really can’t push her that hard because that’s just the way she is.

“I figure once she gets into the habit of really training and seeing how it pays off, she’ll just get into it.”

To her credit, Tully has continued her track career in the off-season, running with a Palos Verdes club team and entering several amateur competitions.

Last summer she won the long jump in a club meet in San Diego and says that winning has spurred her on.

She plans to participate in club and amateur events this summer and says she has begun to reap the benefits of competing year-round.

“I really haven’t been doing anything different to help me improve except running and participating during the summer,” she said. “I have improved about a foot a year on my long jump since I was a freshman, but I think it has to do with the fact that I’m maturing.

“But I know that if I work hard everyday, I can still improve a lot more.”

On Friday, Tully will leave Torrance High around 2:30 p.m., then meet her mother for the ride to Cerritos.

She’ll join other athletes on the infield for practice, jogging and stretching. When she’s called to her event, she’ll have no expectations or unrealistic goals hampering her performance.

“I don’t really get nervous,” she said. “And I know that I’m not going to go 19 or 20 feet this weekend because I haven’t been able to practice and train this week as I should have.

“I hope I can get off another 18 or so just to qualify. I know I can do that.”

Said Kalmar: “This weekend there are no excuses. There are nine jumpers and five go (to the state finals), so she knows what she has to do.

“If everything is clicking right for her, her natural ability will bring her through.”