Rockwall phenom Claire Lowrey desperately wanted to compete at the Texas Relays in Austin this weekend.

“I begged and pleaded,” the junior said.

She’s glad her coach brought the team to the Jesuit-Sheaner Relays instead.

Competing in what she called perfect conditions — a sunny day with temperatures in the 80s — Lowrey cleared 6 feet, 0 inches to win the girls high jump, set a new personal best, break the meet record and record the best mark in the nation this season. After her winning jump, she appeared in shock.

“Oh my gosh, that’s insane,” she said to her coach.

How insane? Her mark would have placed second in the college women’s high jump at the Texas Relays.

Lowrey entered 2022 with a personal best of 5-8.5, and her goal for this season was “maybe 5-10,” she said. But she cleared what was then a national-best 5-11 earlier this season, then Saturday at Jesuit, she easily broke the previous meet record of 5-9, set by DeSoto’s Latyria Jefferson in 2014.

“I would have never imagined 6-foot. The number six is a big monument,” Lowrey said. “Now I have to make a new season goal, which I’m thinking maybe 6-1, 6-2.”

Only three girls in Texas history have jumped 6-2 or better, according to records kept by the Texas Track and Field Coaches Association.

Lowrey didn’t compete this summer because of a back injury, then she played volleyball for Rockwall in the fall, so she didn’t start working on her jumping for this season until January. But a state title certainly appears within reach. Lowrey finished third in Class 6A at the state meet last year with a mark of 5-8, and the winning jump was 5-9.

Elite meet: The Jesuit-Sheaner Relays has hosted some amazing talent over the years, with Olympians Jasmine Moore of Mansfield Lake Ridge and Marquise Goodwin of Rowlett and world champion Deon Minor of Paris all holding meet records. This year’s meet was held on the same weekend as the Texas Relays, so powerhouses such as defending girls team state champions DeSoto (6A) and Lancaster (5A) were missing after competing at Jesuit a year ago, but there was still plenty of star power on display, with 74 schools attending the Jesuit-Sheaner Relays.

The 6A boys 400 meters featured two runners who have run under 47 seconds in their careers — Boston University signee Logan Popelka of Wylie and Nebraska signee Garrett Kaalund of San Antonio Antonian. Popelka ranks No. 1 in the nation this season with a time of 46.66, and Kaalund ran 46.88 last season.

Popelka didn’t break the meet record of 46.09 that was set by Minor in 1991, but he won Saturday’s race in 47.36, while Kaalund finished second in 47.89.

“I would love to PR every single time, but at the end of the day, it’s not going to happen,” Popelka said. “To come out and win the race is all I can ask for. There were no injuries, so it was a good day. [Kaalund] definitely pushed me.”

Lovejoy sophomore Colston Adamson broke the 5A meet record in the boys triple jump with a leap of 49-5, surpassing the record of 49-3 that was set by Fort Worth Boswell’s Jalen Seals in 2017. It was the best mark in the area this season, and it easily beat Adamson’s previous best of 44-1.

Adamson, who has competed in eight different events this season, also won the 5A high jump by clearing 6-2.

Strong starts: USC signee Christine Mallard of Mansfield Legacy competed for the first time this outdoor season after overcoming a quad injury, and she won the girls 200 (24.84) and 400 (55.34) on Saturday, with her 400 time ranking as the best in the area this season. Mallard was the 5A state runner-up in the 200 last season with a time of 23.92, and her personal-best time of 52.66 in the 400 last summer is fourth-best in state history.

“We’ve been training since March, so it’s now just trying to build back up,” she said. “I have high hopes this season — to PR and break state records.”

This is the first season that Carrollton Newman Smith junior Aniyah Bigam has run the 100 meters at the high school level, but she’s off to a great start. She entered this week with the best time in the area (11.65), and she won the 100 on Saturday in 11.89.