THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 1, 1995 TAG: 9503010587
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Athletes of the Week
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
Last year, he didn't qualify for the Eastern Region indoor track championships.
Last week, they could have called it the Jason Waters Invitational.
The Deep Creek senior won the long jump, high jump, triple jump and 55-meter hurdles in leading the Hornets to the regional boys team title.
``I catch on fast,'' Waters said.
Once Waters catches on, it seems that others can't catch up. The effort earned Waters The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star boys athlete of the week award. It also made him one of the favorites for the Group AAA state meet beginning Friday at George Mason University.
None of this has surprised Hornets coach Richard Cox.
``In my opinion, he's the best athlete in the school,'' Cox said.
But even Cox had to marvel at how Waters has made up so much ground so quickly. Prior to this winter, Waters was best known as a key member of the Hornets' state runner-up football team, a wide receiver and defensive back with a knack for making the key, yet unheralded plays that don't show up in the next day's newspaper.
``I played all sports - soccer, basketball, baseball, football. ...'' Waters said. ``But when it came to track, I listened to everybody tell me about how much running was involved.''
Waters finally gave the sport a try last season and quickly established himself as someone who could become proficient in a number of events. He even dabbled in the vault for awhile before tossing his pole aside.
``Too scary,'' he said.
But it wasn't until this season, after an intense offseason of weight-lifting and conditioning, that Waters, 18, began coming on strong. Strong performances in the Diamond State Invitational, a Delaware tournament featuring teams from eight states, and the East Coast Invitational set the stage for a district season in which he dominated the high and long jumps and was involved in stirring duels with Western Branch's Tony Smith in the hurdles. Smith nipped Waters at the tape in the district tournament; Waters won by one-tenth of a second in the regionals.
After the state meet, Waters will begin gearing up for the pentathlon at the high school nationals in Syracuse, N.Y. The pentathlon includes the shot put, an event in which Waters has never competed.
But the nationals are two weeks away. That should give Waters plenty of time. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Jason Waters
by CNB