Edward Manderson
About the article
This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from May 1986.
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Auburn is a national power in football. They lost in the 1986 Cotton Bowl to the Texas Aggies, but produced the Heisman Trophy winner in Bo Jackson, who was made the No.1 draft choice by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1986 National Football League (NFL) draft.
Auburn, where the cry of "Roll Tide" is immediately answered by "Go War Eagle"and is a call to defend one's honour on the gridiron, has produced many a fine football player. Quarterback Pat Sullivan, wide receiver Terry Beasley, and running back Joe Cribbs all went on to the NFL, to mention three.
Down the road apiece, at Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg, Florida 17-year-old Edward Manderson has heard the call of the eagle. Edward is a football player--he played tailback and safety at Farragut. But when the son of Allan and Monica Manderson of West Bay signed a Letter of Intent to attend Auburn in September, football wasn't the sport on his mind.
Athletics was. Specifically, track and field. "I was recruited by the University of Miami, Florida, Florida State, Wisconsin, and Nebraska. There were also offers from a lot of small schools. Once I decided that I wasn't going to pursue football, then that sort of eliminated the first three. Wisconson and Nebraska were interested in me for track, but Auburn offered me what I wanted. They were frank and open and I'm happy with the choice I've made", Manderson said. By virtue of the Letter of Intent, Edward is bound to Auburn for the first semester of 1986-87. Should he decide not to attend Auburn, he then can be recruited by other schools in the second semester. But for a guy who wants to major in Hotel and Business Management, and concentrate on athletics, Auburn offers the opportunity and Edward has much to offer Auburn.
Farrgut, with a school population of just 300, is not exactly a household name. But in Manderson, they have produced the top Cayman Islands athlete and one of the best in United States high schools. Manderson, who stands at 5 feet, 11 inches and weighs in at a solid 185 pounds, is a versatile athlete who has competed in the 100 and 200 metres, high jump, long and triple jump.
In 1984, at the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) Games, Edward won a bronze medal in the long jump, and bettered his performance to capture a gold medal in the same event the following year. In this year's Games, he took silver medals in the long and triple jump.
But his prowess wasn't limited to the Caribbean region.
USA Today newspaper ranked Manderson as the top long jumper indoors for 1986, in spite of the fact that he competed in only two meets. Edward's mark of 24 feet, 1 inch was the best among US high schoolers. The all-time mark is 26 feet, 2 inches. He is ranked the third best in the triple jump with 49 feet, 7 1/4 inches. The all-time mark for the US is 51 feet, 9 inches.
But the story doesn't end there. At the Florida high school championships in Orlando this month, Edward finished fourth in the high jump at 6 feet, 2 inches, fourth in the 100 metres (11.0), second in the 200 metres (22.0) and leaped to victory in his specialty events, the long and triple jump.
Edward, who says that he's decided to concentrate on the long and triple jumps, appears very justified in making the decision.
He won in the triple jump with his second best effort-ever. The state record jump of 50 feet, 11 1/2 inches is superseded only by his 1986 effort of 51 feet, 1 1/2 inches at CARIFTA.
In the long jump, he broke the 25 foot mark, leaping 25 feet, 2 inches-the longest state championship jump in Florida track and field history. That's enough to send several scouts to your door, which has happened. Incidentally, the leap is the current best among US high school jumpers outdoors.
"I chose track over football because I'm better at track, but football was where I gained respect," Edward said. That's not uncommon, for tailbacks and safeties are known to dish out some bruising punishment. That's really in the past now, but don't think that Edward will be walking easy street. "I've had it rough, had to work hard for what I've achieved. It takes dedication and concentration to train for the long hours necessary to succeed. Right now my goal is to make the team at Auburn and quality for the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) championships. I have no doubt that once I get better competition, I'll improve in my jumping," said Manderson, who arrived for a visit last Wednesday and leaves Friday.
"There have been a lot of guys who had the potential, but allowed other distractions to waste them away. These temptations such as sex, and drugs come your way, but you have to decide if you want to succeed and put your foot down and say no. "In the few days that I've been back, people have come up to me and offered me a smoke (of ganja) but you just tell them no. My advice to the young people is to stay away from these temptations for you can't be at your best and achieve your goals once you give in." A distinct impression that young Manderson leaves is that he's very much aware of what's going on around him. Take for instance his response when asked if his achievements have led to a lot of recognition.
"People come up to me and say they've seen my picture in the paper or heard about some of the things I've accomplished. I can get a pretty good conversation going once the subject interests me, but basically I'm a quiet sort of person. Performance speaks for itself. You don't have to go arcund telling everyone who you are.
And on education and athletics. "I'm sure that I could have made better grades with more study time, but so much of my time was taken up in training." The big, brown eyes were alert and frank, staring on behind his thin-rimmed glasses as he continued: "but I was aware of what was going on and had a working knowledge of it." He maintained a 2.5 grade point average at Farragut, and will graduate from the military high school in a matter of days. Like all young men in sports, Edward has his heroes. With him it's Jesse Owens, the legendary American sprinter, who Edward terms as "a natural." He's a real fan of world record triple jump holder Willie Banks, also.
Mental preparation is half the task, Manderson says of competing. He sets the goal of a perfect jump, and like many athletes do, goes over the technique in a kind of "imaging" process. "You just know before the jump it's going to be a good one", he said. Edward has a busy agenda. That's one reason why in his stay which lasted just over a week he worked out twice daily at the Middle School. In the morning session, he worked on approach techniques and then returned to do his jumps in the afternoon.
Looking at a recent newspaper article which dealt in detail with his busy schedule, Edward jabbed a long left index finger at the different events, calling out how he figured to finish in each one, all things being equal.
They ranged from the Golden South Invitational in Orlando on Saturday to the Junior World Championships of Track and Field in Greece. In between, there is the Golden West meet in Sacrmento; the Keebler Invitational in Chicago; the Junior Central American and Caribbean Championships in Mexico; the Pan Am Junior Championships in Orlando and the Commonw-ealth Games in Edinburgh.
"Maybe first and first here, first and second here, second and second here" and he continued on. And the ultimate goal? "Sure I've thought about the Olympics. Thought about them a lot. I would be nice to be the first to represent the Cayman Islands at the Games-the ultimate track meet."
Some of his goals are a way off, both in time and distance. But after spending 30 minutes with him, it seemed that the best was yet to come. And on the Auburn campus, the war eagle screams and waits for another warrior to join its ranks..
