STARKVILLE — As Jalan Catledge approached the finish line in the 400-meter dash last week at the Class 6A North State meet, he counted all seven opponents ahead of him.
Starkville High School”s utility runner, who already qualified for the state meet in the triple jump after a personal-record jump of 43 feet, 4 inches, suffered from a muscle cramp during the open 400.
Disappointed and fatigued, Catledge knew redemption was under an hour away in the 4×400 relay.
The same distance he had to cover when he broke down would carry greater weight when he competed as the anchor leg for three teammates.
“I didn”t think I”d be loose in time after running the open four,” Catledge said. “Just hearing the time I ran kind of discouraged me. I thought, ”If I”m running that (in the open 4) I”m gonna slow down the 4×4 team.” God just gave me the power to run.”
Embracing the role of the anchor, Catledge”s last leg helped the Yellow Jackets win the 4×400 relay with a season”s best time of 3 minutes, 25.04 seconds. The Yellow Jackets finished seven-tenths of a second ahead of Southaven.
“He”s one of those kids who if he”s not done as well as he”s wanted to, he makes sure he makes up for it,” Starkville High coach Chris Barnett said. “In that 4×4, he knew he had other people counting on him. We”ve been counting on him all year in multiple events. He”s been that guy for us.”
Catledge, described by Barnett as a kid who “has a passion for the sport,” has competed in the 800, 400, triple jump, high jump, and 4×400 relay this season. At one point, he was an option to run the 300 hurdles. Catledge, primarily a sprinter, also ran cross country in the fall.
Though he”s settled into his role, as evidenced by his performance at North State, Catledge wasn”t always receptive to shuffling around the lineup.
“The 800, which is what I first started in, is my favorite race and the one where I think I can perform the best,” Catledge said. “The first time we had a meet and I wasn”t on the 4×800, you should have seen me. I was like, ”What?! Why am I not on here?!” Coach wanted me fresh for the high jump.
“I finally realized he knows what he”s talking about, so if I”m on different events it”s what”s best for the rest of the team. And hey, it worked out pretty good for me because I”m going to state in two events.”
For much of the season, Catledge has trained with the distance runners, sprinters, and jumpers. For some athletes, a narrowed focus in training is needed to maximize their talents; Catledge has proven himself talented and determined enough to excel in the role.
Catledge”s triple jump personal record is nearly five feet longer than his distance at the beginning of the season. His anchor leg of the 4×4, his fastest of the season, is another example of the junior using his well-rounded training to full advantage.
However, if he focused on the one or two events instead of four or five, could his times or distances be greater?
Barnett says yes, but he feels Catledge”s regimen has been just as valuable to his development.
“You look at (hurdler) Charles Hughes and the improvement he”s made, and yes there”s an advantage (to training in less events),” Barnett said. “If we would have trained (Catledge) in the 400, could he have run a 50 and made it to state? Sure, but he may not have made it in the triple or in the 4×4.
“He”s not gonna be number one in the state in every event, but he can fall in that two to four range in a lot of events. That”s especially important because we have the ability to put Jalan in another event and score if we”ve got another kid who is really good at just one meet.”
Catledge is ranked eighth in the triple jump in 6A entering the 6A state meet Saturday at Pearl High School. He”s 20 inches away from earning Milesplit U.S. Second Team Elite status.
In the 4×400, Starkville is ranked fourth in 6A.
While medaling in the triple jump would be special, Catledge admits there”s greater pride in bringing the 4×400 title back to Starkville.
In back-to-back state championship seasons from 2008-09, the 4×400 was Starkville”s signature event and a guaranteed 10 points wherever the team competed. Then, current Mississippi State All-American Tavaris Tate was the anchor of the team.
Catledge was a freshman when Starkville last won a state title.
“I used to think our team wasn”t gonna be that good because Tavaris was gone,” Catledge said. “We dropped last year, but everybody”s back to being on top of their game. Having the 4×400 win North Half feels even more amazing because I”m not just a part of it, I”m the anchor.
“The 4×400, there was a lot of pride in it then, and it”s starting to come back.”
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