Braeden Holcombe hovered for a moment while officials checked and double checked their numbers before scribbling them down.
Moments early he soared, arms up then wide while he took massive strides through frictionless thin air inside the Mountain Lion Field House in Colorado Springs.
The field house was alive Friday night - Friday Night Track! - as Kelly Christensen said (exclamation point included.)
Excited echos ricochetted around the building while eager athletes spiked up, double-knotting their laces. Anxious parents and coaches mingled, as if it would make the waiting any easier.
While it was Friday night (and we're all at the spot), all eyes on that southwest corner were reading Holcombe's eager sway while he waited for his result.
Sand still clung to his calves and inside his spikes from the effort, but that didn't matter. His light blue eyes bore down on that clipboard, waiting to see what number would sit to the right of "2."
Given the amount of air-time, Holcombe knew the numbers had to agree that this was a long, long jump.
And then it came.
The Palmer Ridge senior added his own excited echo to the pandemonium, letting out an excited scream and clapping as he energetically bounced off back to his clothes (he still had the shot put.)
Holcombe's air-time amounted to a new personal best - and Colorado No. 1 - of 23-0.
The big jump came sandwiched between his dominating 8.32 victory in the 60 Hurdles, and his 42-9.5 victory in the shot.
Holcombe - who is currently the No. 2 pentathlete in the country - was three-for-three Friday night.
And he wasn't the only one bringing the fire to Friday Night Track(!) inside the Mountain Lion Field House.
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