Brownsville
Fayette County Student/Athlete Scholarship Program No hurdle too tall for Jackson to clear
Jenna Jackson’s very first attempt at jumping a hurdle ended in embarrassment.
“I tried and I fell flat on my face,” the Brownsville senior said with a laugh in recalling the moment at middle school.
Jackson didn’t give up though, and during that season in the team’s second-to-last meet, a hurdler was needed. She filled in, with surprising results.
“The coaches threw me in there and I finished in second place,” Jackson said. “Since it seemed I might be pretty good, I kept at it.”
Jackson kept at it enough to qualify for the WPIAL Class AA Track and Field Championships as a senior by running a personal-best 51.7 seconds at the WPIAL qualifier at South Side Beaver.
Jackson, the daughter of Bill and Jan Jackson of New Salem, was selected as the top female student/athlete at Brownsville Area High School and will receive a $500 scholarship through the Fayette County Student/Athlete Scholarship Program.
The program, sponsored by Davis and Davis Attorneys at Law in conjunction with the Herald-Standard, will provide $7,000 in scholarship money to 14 of Fayette County’s best and brightest student/athletes.
The program will culminate with a banquet, to be held at 5 p.m. Sunday, June 8, at Uniontown Country Club. At that time, each of 14 honorees will receive $500 toward a college education. HSTV will videotape the program for tape-delayed broadcast.
Jackson is ranked in a tie for first in her class with a 4.0 GPA. She’s a member of the National Honor Society, the Spanish National Honor Society and the Interact club, and was the student representative for the school board at Brownsville.
Jackson was on the track team for four years in high school. In addition to the 300 hurdles, she has participated in the 100 high hurdles and the 1,600 relay. In fact, she holds the school record in the latter event, having combined with Angela Fraley, Amber Jackson and Melissa Pankratz to run a 4:39.
Hurdling has been her specialty, however.
“In the beginning, (former Brownsville coach) Jack Hank helped me out a tremendous amount,” Jackson said. “He taught me everything you could possibly know about hurdling when I was a freshman. I eventually learned technique and form and steps and things like that. Hank was so good, he could listen to my footsteps and tell me what I was doing wrong without even watching me.”
Jackson decided to join the Lady Falcons’ cross country team as a junior, and was happy she did.
“I noticed the girls in cross country had such an unusual bond,” said Jackson, who has two older sisters, Jenny Rankin and Jill Jackson. “I wanted to be part of that. They’re very team oriented, always pulling for each other and helping each other out. I had moderate success, but I loved it because it was so mentally rewarding.
“And (cross country coach) Joe Carei is just awesome. He makes you believe in yourself.”
Jackson and teammates Fraley, Julie Kromer and Jill McClelland were good enough in cross country to earn a KDKA Extra Effort Award.
Jackson commended Holly Peters, Brownsville’s 2002 female Fayette County Student/Athlete Scholarship winner, for helping her along the way in her high school career.
“We’ve always been close,” Jackson said. “She was a year ahead of me, and she would always give me advice on what to expect, and really helped me a lot, and I appreciated that. She’s actually the one that got me involved in cross country, too.”
Jackson has had to balance athletics and academics with a job for the last four years.
“I’ve been working at Jackson Farms, which is a family business,” Jackson said. “My schedule was pretty full sometimes. At first there were days where I would go straight from school to practice, then have to leave practice early to go to work, and then get home from work and stay up until at least midnight to get my homework done.
“Eventually I got used to it and learned how to juggle it all better, but sometimes it just seemed impossible.”
But now, anything seems possible for Jenna Jackson.
Crable has plenty of fun on the run
There are those who look at running as a sport too lacking in excitement for them to take up.
Don’t tell Brownsville’s Josh Crable that, though.
“To anyone who says running is a boring sport, I say they should get out and try it, and they’ll see how fun it is and how competitive it is,” said Crable, the son of Jerry and Tammy Crable of Adah.
Crable certainly had plenty of fun in his three-year cross country career with the Falcons.
He was 10-0 in section meets his senior season, was named to the all-county team, reached the WPIAL championships and qualified for the PIAA finals. He also was the team captain and was named the Falcons’ most valuable runner the past two seasons.
Crable placed high in the classroom, too. He is 22nd in his class with a 3.83 GPA.
Crable was selected as the top male student/athlete at Brownsville Area Senior High School and will receive a $500 scholarship through the Fayette County Student/Athlete Scholarship Program.
The program, sponsored by Davis and Davis Attorneys at Law in conjunction with the Herald-Standard, will provide $7,000 in scholarship money to 14 of Fayette County’s best and brightest student/athletes.
The program will culminate with a banquet, to be held at 5 p.m. Sunday, June 8, at Uniontown Country Club. At that time, each of 14 honorees will receive $500 toward a college education. HSTV will videotape the program for tape-delayed broadcast.
Crable was a two-year member of the National Honor Society, and also was a member of the Spanish National Honor Society, Interact club and Chess club.
In addition to cross country, Crable participated in track and field for two years as was highly successful in that sport as well.
Crable reached the WPIAL championships the past two seasons in two different events. He qualified in the 800 last year and the 400 this year. He was the 400 champion in the Fayette County Meet and the Mid-Mon Valley Meet. He also ran in the 1,600 relay for the Falcons.
Running cross country was more difficult than the 400 or 800, according to Crable.
“I think running cross country is harder to do. You have to concentrate a lot more,” Crable said. “You need to think. In something like the 400, you just go all out.”
Crable pointed out there’s much more to cross country running that just moving your legs.
“You have to actually concentrate on your breathing and maybe use different running tactics,” Crable said. “My best tactic is the way I run downhill. I open my stride up and am able to catch people or pull away, whatever I had to do.”
Crable wasn’t a huge fan of running early in his high school career, but then someone helped open his eyes to the sport.
“I didn’t really get into it until (Brownsville cross country coach) Joe Carei introduced me to it,” Crable said. “I pretty much owe all my success to him. He told me to try track, too. He said he thought I’d do well at that.”
Crable was a hit for the Falcons cross country team almost immediately, running at No. 2 for the team as a sophomore.
“I ran 19’s and 20’s then,” said Crable, whose career best time came at Albert Gallatin during his senior season when he finished in 17:50.
Crable will compete in cross country and track and field when he attends California University of Pa. where he intends to major in criminal justice. His long-term goal is to become a United States marshal.
Sometimes the success he had in his Brownsville career even amazes himself.
“I’m satisfied with everything,” said Crable, who has one brother, Jerry, 23, and one sister, Jessica, 20. “It turned out a lot better than I thought it would when I first started.”
Crable put in many hours of training, but never let sports get in the way of his studies.
“I guess I’ve always been a good student,” Crable said. “My mom and dad brought me up to concentrate on grades, and worry about athletics second.”
As a result, Crable has wound up as a first-rate student/athlete.