Lady Cats Stand-Out Freshman Track Star Chasing State Dreams

It is uncommon for a freshman to qualify for a high-level varsity meet at 15 years old. This usually means the athlete is pretty special. Sydney expressed her thoughts on Regionals in an interview earlier this week.

“So, my nerves are definitely up,” Crooks said. “Just the adrenaline going into the events itself. It’s just a whole new scenery, from volleyball on a court to competing outside. It’s a totally different environment, but I’m all in for it.”

For those not in the know, Crooks also made Central’s Varsity Volleyball team as a Freshman last fall. At 14 years old at the time, she was one of the youngest 6A varsity volleyball players in the state.

Sydney will compete in two events at Regionals. She qualified in the High Jump and the Long Jump and now has her sights set even higher, State.

“So this week, I really practiced on one of the events that I’m confident I can have a chance to go to state in. High Jump,” Crooks said later. “I’m going to hit this Regional Track meet super hard and then see if I advance. If I do, it will then be more work and I’m here for all of it.”

Crooks has had one of the most successful Freshman campaigns in Lady Cat history this year. She holds the freshman record for the High Jump and the Long Jump and 2nd place for the Freshman Triple Jump. As far as overall track records go for Central High School, she has some work to do, but she is already biting at the heels of the record books on varsity.

“I think I am fourth right now at the all-time Central record,” Crooks said.

When asked if she wanted to shatter those records by the time she graduated, she was confident in her reply.

“Yes, I’m pretty sure I can do it,” she said.

Sydney began her Track & Field career in middle school, where she attended Lincoln Middle School on the Northside.

“So I ran track (at Lincoln) my seventh-grade year, and I ran everything,” Crooks said. “I ran the 100m Hurdles, the 300m Hurdles, and 100m Dash, triple jump, and high jump. The love started there. I took a break in eighth grade to prepare myself for volleyball in high school, but once I hit high school, I went all in for all sports. So yeah, the love started in 7th grade.”

The up-and-coming Lady Cats star has big aspirations for the future. She hopes to continue to improve in volleyball and track to the point where universities around the country notice.

“Volleyball is my number one dream I would say,” Crooks said of her future ambitions. “But I would love to be a dual athlete in college.”

Like many in San Angelo, she has a good eye for where she wants to attend school in the future.

“Texas Tech has a very successful track and field program,” she said, describing where she would like to run track in the future. “That would be amazing.”

If Division I schools notice her in volleyball, Crooks said that her dream would be to play for the premiere powerhouses in college volleyball like Texas or Nebraska.

Crooks has a bright future at Central, but all the ‘Cats and Lady Cats who qualified for the Regional Meet need everyone's support this weekend. I wish them the best as they try to qualify for state in Austin in a few weeks.