JEFFERSON — Schley County’s Carmetrick Ross didn’t let a few scratches in the long jump ruin his time at the Class A state championship track and field meet this weekend.

Ross rebounded by becoming the state champion in the high jump (6-8) and triple jump (45-10), and he is the first boys state champion in school history. The Wildcats finished fifth as a team.

“I wasn’t too nervous. I kind of adapted from last year since I had a little bit of experience coming in,” said Ross. “This year was more competitive than last year. I felt real bad about it (long jump), but I had to start focusing on the triple jump, and I kind of took out my frustration then.”

Gabby Pina was the school’s first state champion — a two-time champion in both the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs in 2004-05.

Ross had the highest qualifying mark in the triple jump entering Thursday at 44-6, and he exceeded that by nearly a foot. His qualifying mark in the high jump of 5-8 was pretty deceiving, just like coach Tim Peavy wanted. He knew Ross could jump 6-8, and Ross was inches away from reaching 6-10.

“The sky’s the limit for him,” said Peavy. “When he learns all the phases of the triple jump and focuses in on technique, the boy’s capable of jumping 50 feet. He’s got tremendous abilty and has the opportunity to do something really special.”

Ross will be participating with the Quicksilver Track Club in Atlanta over the summer. Christian Taylor of Sandy Creek, who set all-classifications records in triple jump and long jump, participates with the club. Quicksilver has helped athletes who are at Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky and Mississippi State.

“I’m real competitive in everything I do, and I’m looking forward to it,” said Ross. “I’m hoping they will teach me a couple of new things about it, and I think it will be a great experience.”

Charvis Mann finisihed third in the triple jump (43-3), seventh in the 300 intermediate hurdles and eighth in the 100 hurdles.

Jim David McFather and Jontu Solomon each set personal bests. McFather ran a 2:01 in the 800-meter run, and he may consider walking on at Georgia, said Peavy.

“He showed incredible heart coming back from three knee surgeries to finish fourth,” he said. “Their coach was impressed with him. If he trains and continues to work hard, he could go down to a 1:55. I can’t say enough about the job he’s done this year.”

Solomon finished sixth in the shot put with a mark of 48-5, and he finished fourth in the discus after throwing it a distance of 137 feet.

Deondrick Pina was fifth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.2, and the 1,600-meter relay team finished seventh with a time of 3:36 after running a 3:30 to qualify Friday.

But to move up from a seventh-place finish, Peavy said they hope to recruit more kids and move up even higher next year. He looks for Ross to defend his two titles and also bring home a third in the long jump.

“He’ll be training with some of the best athletes, and we’ll expect big things from him again next year,” he said.