NAVASOTA -- Not much more than a year ago, Lamaria Cole wasn't into track and field.

A couple of weeks ago, Rodney Brown wasn't atop the state rankings in the discus.

Time changed those things drastically.

Rudder sophomore Cole and Navasota junior Brown both went double-gold Wednesday on the first day of the District 24-3A track and field championships at Rattler Stadium. Their performances, along with those by three-event winner Mark Jackson of Taylor, were among the highlights as the league crowned champions in field events and the 3,200 meters.

The meet will conclude with running finals at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Cole cleared a personal-best of 5 feet, 4 inches to win the girls high jump, then posted her best mark of 17 feet to take the long jump.

She settled for second place in the triple jump with a leap of 35-1 1/2 that might have been most impressive. Although she fooled around with the triple jump in practice, Cole didn't begin serious work on the event until Monday. She went beyond 33 feet on her first jump in competition, then took the lead with her next attempt. Cole was hampered by a sprained ankle suffered late in basketball season and entered in the 400 relay, so she passed on her remaining jumps until Caldwell's Vantazia Jackson soared into the lead with a mark of 36-2 on her final attempt.

Cole was not able to pass Jackson on her final jump, but still earned her third berth into the Class 3A Region III meet.

"I feel so relieved," Cole said. "I was nervous the whole time. I felt pressure, but I was able to clear my mind for the jumps. Track's never been my sport, but I tried it last year and I liked it. So now I have two favorite sports, track and basketball."

Cole started by winning the high jump, improving 2 inches on her previous best. She missed her first attempt at 5-4, then cleared it after assistant coach Alan Fritsche suggested she start her approach another foot away from the bar. Rockdale's Brittany Frei also cleared 5-4, with Cole winning the event on fewer misses.

In the long jump, Cole's opening mark of 17 feet was never surpassed, and she didn't take any more attempts.

"It was a great day," Rudder assistant coach Carlos Daniels said. "Even when I was at Bryan High, we never had one athlete excel like that at one meet. Lamaria is a pure athlete. Once she gets the mechanics down, she is capable of triple jumping 37 or 38 feet. It's all up to her. The sky's the limit."

The strapping Brown should see his star rise across the state after a stunning discus throw of 198-7 1/2 last week at the Willis meet. Although the mark hasn't yet found its way onto lists of the state's leaders, it is a remarkable 17 feet longer than the previous state leader -- in all classifications.

"A couple of days ago the newspaper guy told me that throw was No. 1 in the state," Brown said. "That's the first time I heard about it. I threw 185, which was my best, and coach said to go out and have fun and try to get 200."

Brown didn't reach his personal best in either event Wednesday but posted comfortable victories in the discus (174-2 1/2) and shot put (50-0). It was the first district track titles for Brown, who was second in 24-3A and regionals last year before finishing sixth at state in the discus.

"I think I did O.K.," Brown said. "I hope I can go on and win state."

A tight end and defensive end on the Rattlers' football team, Brown has already drawn recruiting interest from college track coaches.

Even with the exceptional performances by Brown and Cole, the marquee performer of the meet's first day was Jackson, who has signed with the University of Texas. The outstanding male performer at this year's Texas Relays and the national leader in the triple jump, Jackson won all three of his events handily. His marks in the triple jump (49-7) and long jump (24- 1/2) were more than 2 feet better than the nearest competition. Jackson matched his personal best in the high jump at 6-6, then barely caused the bar to fall on a couple of attempts at 6-8.

Rudder's Alvin Moore took second in the high jump and earned a trip to regionals by clearing 6-6. His previous best was 6-4.

The top three finishers in each event qualify for the upcoming regional meet in Humble.

Casey Brinkman of Caldwell and Juan Rubio from Rockdale claimed gold in the 3,200. Brinkman finished in 12:18.22, while Rubio ran 10:22.82 on an overcast, windy afternoon.

The other girls winners in the field events were Cameron's Kyle Hrozek in the pole vault (8-6), Emily Brinkley of Rockdale in the shot put (37-1 1/4) and Zaire Holt of Cameron in discus (108). Emily Surovik of Caldwell matched Hrozek's height in the vault, taking second on misses.

Taylor's Koby Huckabee cleared 13-6 to win the boys pole vault. Rudder's other regional qualifier was Colton Jackson, whose 13-0 was good for second in the vault.