AUSTIN — Waco High senior Charles Silmon had more than his share of painful moments as a high school athlete.

On Friday, he put them behind him along with the rest of the field in the Class 4A boys’ 100-meter final.

Silmon clocked a time of 10.41 seconds to edge Donte’ Moore of Manor by .22 as Silmon finished his high school career as an individual gold-medal winner at the state track and field meet at Mike A. Myers Stadium.

Lions fans will vividly remember Silmon’s junior and senior football seasons both ending with knee injuries — and they’ll likely wince when they think what might have been on the football field.

But Silmon lived up to his potential on the track, claiming a relay gold medal in the 4x100 as a sophomore in 2007 and now an individual title to go with it.

“Our 4x100 was better because it was a team effort,” Silmon said. “This hasn’t hit me yet. I’ll probably bust out in tears when I realize I finished my senior year out with a first-place gold.”

Silmon said it was his strategy to explode out of the blocks, and that’s precisely what he did, pushing out in front in the first 50 meters and staying there.

Although Silmon wasn’t completely satisfied with his time at the state meet, he has a promising career ahead of him to improve on it. Silmon signed in February to run track at TCU.

Waco High's Charles Silmon won the Class 4A 100 meters with a time of 10.41. Silmon suffered a season-ending knee injury during football. (Rod Aydelotte photo)

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Chilton's Mantraze Landrum leaped 23 feet, 10 1/2 inches on his last attempt to win the Class 1A boys' long jump Friday at the state track meet. Meridian's Torrance Allen was second. They will face off again today in the triple jump. (Rod Aydelotte photo)

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Marlin junior Jasmine Armstead got out to a good start to win the Class 2A girls' 100 meter title in a time of 12.27. Alvord's Paige Klein was second, and Amarillo Highland Park's Mariah Williams (right) took third. (Rod Aydelotte photo)

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But he’s also glad to have stamped his legacy as a Lion.

“I’ll be remembered,” Silmon said. “Right now, this is behind me, and I’m moving on to bigger and better things at the collegiate level.”

Silmon’s victory followed a win by another Central Texas athlete.

Marlin junior sprinter Jasmine Armstead ran to the front midway through the 2A girls’ 100 and won the gold medal with a time of 12.27. Armstead was .13 in front of Paige Klein of Alvord.

“My start was the big major thing, and I think I got a good start,” Armstead said. “I came out of the blocks pretty good and I had a lead.”

Armstead said she’s looking forward to a senior season in which she can hopefully bring a larger contingent of Lady Bulldogs with her to Austin.

“It’s a big accomplishment because we had a rough time in regionals,” Armstead said. “I just wanted to make it happen for the team.”

In the 1A long jump, Chilton junior Mantraze Landrum struggled to find his mark, fouling on four of his first five jumps.

The one that counted at that time was a 20-11, which would have fallen short of the medal stand.

So before his final jump, he decided to make a change.

“I was just doing what I was coached to do, and I knew I’d be OK,” Landrum said. “I asked my coach if I could do what I did last year, which was a three-step jogging prep.”

Landrum got the green light for the change and responded with his best jump of the day, a 23-10 1/2 that put him at the top of the medal stand.

He admitted coming in as the top seed after finishing second at state last year made him nervous and put a lot of pressure on him, but there was nothing but euphoria after his winning leap.

“I was just like, ‘Yes,’ ” Landrum said. “I saw my coach in the stands (with his arms in the air), and I knew I had it.”

Meridian senior Torrance Allen was having the same problems as Landrum.

In fact, he didn’t have a qualifying jump at all until his last, when he soared to a 23-3 1/4 that had him in the lead. But Landrum did him one better, and Allen settled for the silver after winning the gold in the triple jump last year.

“I felt pretty confident coming in, but I knew it was going to be tough,” Allen said. “My mark was off. I kept scratching, and my last one was my only good jump. On the last one, I just moved my mark back and was just trying to get a good jump.”

Logan Mynar of Kopperl won the silver medal in the 1A boys’ 3,200 at 10:01.10. He was 2.22 seconds behind Jonathan Lira of Plains.

Crawford’s Chase Rathke claimed the bronze medal in the 2A boys’ 3,200 with a time of 9:58.00. He was 26.40 seconds behind gold medalist Nathan Collier of Pottsboro.

Sarah Vann of Evant placed third in the 1A girls’ pole vault by clearing a height of 10 feet. Sudan’s Mariah Steinbock won the event with a mark of 10-6.