Two-time champ: Albany’s Cotter wins high jump title weeks after tennis championship

Albany’s Sarah Cotter competes in the high jump at the state track and field meet in Austin on Friday.

AUSTIN – Albany’s Sarah Cotter couldn’t have asked for a much more successful end athletically to her senior year.

Cotter won the Class 2A girls high jump Friday, just 2½ weeks after she won the girls tennis singles championship. The senior cleared a height of 5-6 on her first try to win by three inches.

“It’s really special,” Cotter said. “I’ll remember this forever and when I go to college. It will always be with me.”

Cotter’s height of 5-6 was her best of the season.

She clinched the state title before she even had to attempt her 5-6 jump, and Cotter cleared that height on her first try. She didn’t miss until her first attempt at 5-7.

Albany coach Ryder Peacock (right) congratulates Sarah Cotter after clearing 5-6 in the high jump at the state track and field meet in Austin.

“She just stayed clean,” Albany coach Ryder Peacock said. “She was able to make first jumps. That’s big when you’re not having to make second or third attempts.”

As someone who had competed twice at state tennis, she was ready for the big stage.

“I definitely had confidence, and being a senior helps, as well,” Cotter said. “Just being in that competition environment gave me a lot of confidence. There were some nerves, but not as many as I would have if I didn’t play tennis.”

Hardly any high school athletes win state championships in multiple sports. Even fewer do it in a span as short as Cotter’s.

Cotter’s dominance in her final few weeks of high school athletics sets a hard-to-match legacy within Albany’s athletic department.

“I really hope it sets an example for our girls athletics,” Cotter said. “Maybe it will give them a goal. I’m just glad that I’m leaving them with something to look forward to for the future.”

More: Albany’s Cotter doubles as state champ; Stephenville girls, Breck boys take team titles

Carson Field is the area sports reporter for the Abilene Reporter-News. He covers primarily Big Country high school sports. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to reporternews.com.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Albany senior Sarah Cotter wins state high jump title