Outrunning the boys in second grade just wasn’t enough for ShanitaBryant. Even at such a young age, she wanted more than just braggingrights.

“That’s when I found out that I really wanted to go to the Olympics,”she said.The Concord native has since taken several steps toward reaching thatgoal. But it has been on the long jump runway where she has excelled,not the track.

Bryant, now a freshman on Sac State’s up-and-coming track and fieldprogram, claimed the Big Sky Conference Indoor Championships women’slong jump title earlier this season at Montana State University.

At the conference competition, she leaped a personal best, indoor andoutdoor, 20.5 feet on her last jump in the finals en route to thefirst-place finish. Bryant’s jump tied the Worthington Arena record andtopped Sac State’s previous indoor mark. Bryant also earned the NCAAprovisional standard, placing her 27th in the nation. But the top 12collegiate jumpers advanced to the NCAA Championships.

“That surprised me,” Bryant said. “I used to just dream about touching19 (feet) and I never dreamed about getting to 20. I at least didn’tthink it would come this soon.”Hornet coach Joe Neff noted that the mark was a remarkable feat,considering her relative inexperience in the event and the fact that shebroke the 20-foot barrier indoors.

“We see a bright future with Shanita,” Neff said. “There’s no questionthat Shanita has long-term goals, which include the NCAA Championships,the USA National Championships and the U.S. Olympic Trials.

“We’ve had some good jumpers here, and she’s already the second bestjumper we?ve ever had. The outdoor school record is probably in jeopardythis year.”

Stacey Rogers set the school’s outdoor record of 20-01 in 1992.

During her first year of organized track at Ygnacio Valley High inConcord, Bryant was ready and willing to try any event that was thrownher way. But her coaches had a tough time convincing her to participatein field competitions, namely the jump events.

“They knew that I was fast, but they didn’t have very many femaleathletes, so they tried to get me to do whatever I can do,” Bryant said.”I didn’t know how to do the long jump and I was like, ‘Long jump? Allyou do is run and jump ? that’s boring.'”

But when a pulled hamstring hindered her from sprinting, she decided totake a shot on the long-jump pit during a league meet. She won.

Later in the season, she out-jumped Brionne Dawson of Carondolet High,who was then a senior and was considered the area’s best jumper. Dawsonwent on to Georgetown on an athletic scholarship.

It was then that Bryant found her niche.

“I beat (Dawson) and I figured that maybe I was good at this,” Bryantsaid. “Plus, the workouts were a little bit easier, so that?s when Istarted to do the long jump.”

Bryant, who also ran cross country, played volleyball, and led theWarriors’ basketball team averaging about 17 points per game, went on towin three North Coast Section championships and was undefeated in thelong jump in the Bay Valley Athletic League all four years.

Her sophomore year, Bryant placed 10th in the California InterscholasticFederation Track and Field Championships and seventh the following year.Bryant sprung a 19-04, then a personal best, on her final jump of hersenior season at the state meet and even had the lead within her grasp.But seconds after Bryant’s jump, Michelle Sanford, of Woodbridge High,notched a 19-07 to snatch the title away.

After graduation, Bryant was honored by the Pacific Gas and ElectricCompany and the Alameda Newspaper Group at an Oakland A’s pre-gameceremony this past July for her athletic accomplishments, and formaintaining a 3.83 grade point average in high school.”I try to do the track thing, but I also keep my grades up,” saidBryant, who entered Sac State undeclared but is currently leaning towarda health-science major. “I don’t want to be known as just a jock. Iwould like to get my degree.”

Turning down scholarship offers from other interested universities,including Fresno State and several Pac-10 schools including Cal, Bryantfelt that Neff and Sac State were the best fit for her.

“I really wasn’t interested in any school for its track program,” shesaid. “It didn’t matter where I went. It was the coaching staff that Iwas interested in. I talked to a lot of recruiters, but Sac State, in mymind, was the most persistent and honest. They didn’t just talk abouttrack. I liked that.”

And Neff liked her.

“In addition to having one of the greatest facilities in the world fortrack and field, we have some great academic offerings, and Shanita wasmature enough to see that,” Neff said. “She was an easy recruit.”

What really enticed the Hornet coaching staff was Bryant’s room forgrowth. In high school, Bryant didn’t have a long jump coach during hertenure with Ygnacio Valley and learned tips on jump techniques via theInternet.

“She has never really lifted weights before coming here, and she hasnever really trained year-round like we do,” Hornet sprints and jumpscoach Mike Gibson said. “She’s already had gains in technique and speed,but I think over the next three years, the thing that’s going to takeher further is a gain in strength, size and power.”

Bryant attributed the eight-inch improvement in her jump to Gibson, Neffand the rest of the staff.

With the outdoor season just underway, Bryant said that she iscautiously looking to build from the confidence gained from theconference indoor meet.

“Anything can happen,” Bryant said. “That could be the highlightof my life. I might not ever jump 20 again. Yeah, I?m the indoorchampion, but I’m forgetting about that right now. That’s indoor, we’retalking about outdoors. I want to see what I can do outdoors.”So does the U.S. Olympic Committee.