• Originally published July 3, 2008 at 12:32 a.m., updated July 3, 2008 at 12:32 a.m.

Will Littleton is being honest with himself and he doesn’t see any reason why he should try to fool anyone else.

“Twenty years of jumping will come down to one meet,” Littleton said.

From the time his father, Bill, taught him to high jump at the age of 4 in Iraan, Texas, to the gold medals he captured at the state meet in high school at Cuero, to the NCAA Division II championships he won at Angelo State and the All-American honors he earned at Texas-Pan American, Littleton has been building toward his dream of qualifying for the Olympics.

Littleton hopes to turn his dream into a reality when he competes in the U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. The preliminary round begins today and the finals are scheduled for Saturday.

“I’m sure I’ll be a little nervous,” the 24-year-old Littleton said. “I’m going to try and turn that nervousness into excitement.”

Littleton laughs when asked about performing in such a high-pressure environment. He is comforted by past experience and the knowledge his father will be in the coach’s box and his mother, Brenda, a breast cancer survivor, will be watching from the stands.

“The pressure has never really bothered me,” Littleton said. “People don’t understand that. A lot of it comes from playing football in Cuero where my dad was a coach in that high-pressure atmosphere. It’s not any different than playing on Friday nights in Cuero.”

The stakes were high in Cuero, but they didn’t include a trip to Beijing with a chance to win an Olympic medal while representing his country.

Littleton missed qualifying for the 2004 trials by a quarter-inch, but he met the qualifying standard for this year’s trials in March of 2007 by clearing 7 feet, 5 1/4 inches at the Texas Invitational in Austin.

At 6-foot, 1-inch, Littleton is “one of the short guys” competing in the high jump, but he compensates with his form and work ethic.

“My technique has always been good,” Littleton said. “I always felt I had the upper hand on everybody. I’ve kind of grown with the event. I’ve gotten a little better with my technique and my strength every year.”

Littleton improved nine inches between his freshman and sophomore years in high school when he won his first gold medal by clearing 6-7. He cleared 6-10 to win the gold medal during his senior year at Cuero before improving to 7-3 3/4 during his freshman season at Angelo State.

Littleton’s recent improvements paralleled his decisions to stop playing football after his freshman season at Angelo State and to transfer to Texas-Pan American in 2005 so he could work with his father, who is the head football coach at McAllen Memorial.

“When I stopped playing football, I became a lot more consistent and did not gain as much weight,” Littleton said. “I also got to train year round. The move to Pan Am allowed me to get back to the things I was doing.”

Littleton competed for three indoor and one outdoor season at Texas-Pan American before traveling to Africa and Europe where he got a taste of the international scene.

“It was a neat experience,” Littleton said. “In this country, track and field is popular once every four years, but they love it in Europe. You’re like a rock star over there. Everywhere you go people know who you are. It was a lot of fun, but it was kind of nice to get back to normalcy.”

Littleton arrived in Eugene on Monday and visited Hayward Field to get a feel for the jumping surface.

Littleton is seeded seventh and figures it will take a jump or around 7-6 1/2 to finish in the top three and make the team.

Littleton will be among familiar company as three of the other top high jumpers are from Texas, including No. 1 seed Dusty Jonas, who went to high school in La Vernia before attending Nebraska.

Littleton is anxious to compete before what has been a large and enthusiastic crowd, which will not only bring back memories of Friday nights at Cuero, but also of Friday and Saturday afternoons at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin where he won gold medals on his final jump.

“That’s what it’s all about,” Littleton said. “The state track meet, the national championships. I always jump well at the bigger meets. That’s what I live for.”

Mike Forman is a sports writer for the Victoria Advocate. Contact him at 361-580-6588 or mforman@vicad.com, or comment on this column at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.

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