Darius Jones knows a thing or two about pressure situations.

And he knows a thing or two about how to overcome them.

Kevin Green/Cox East Texas (ENLARGE)

Marshall High School's Darius Jones jumps in the long jump Tuesday at a track meet in Hallsville.

"He understands what it takes mentally," said Marshall head track and field coach Steven Grant. "It's going to come down to who's the most mentally prepared and focused on that particular day and I think he'll be one of them."

Grant, of course, was speaking of today's UIL State Track and Field Championships, of which Jones qualified for in the Class 4A long jump and triple jump competitions.

Jones will compete in the long jump at 10:30 a.m. today at the University of Texas, Austin's Mike A. Myers Stadium before taking part in the triple jump at 4:30 p.m.

The meet will continue Saturday but Jones will be done after Day 1.

"I'm actually anxious to see what's going to happen," Jones said. "Mostly to see what I can do, to see how far I can push myself."

If it's anywhere near how far Jones pushed himself at the regional meet in April, Jones might find himself on the medal stand.

The junior qualified for three regional events — the other of which was the 100-meter dash — but entered the meet without a top-three seed in any of them.

Being that only the top two finishers are awarded a trip to the state meet, the upper seeds typically come in as the favorites, which would've classified Jones as the underdog.

He didn't think so.

His performance proved it.

"Pretty much, right now, I think I'm at the top of my game," Jones said, speaking of the confidence boost he's had since enjoying a personal-best day at the regional meet, during which he set season bests in the triple jump (46 feet, 11.25 inches; second place) and 100-meter dash (10.82 seconds; third place).

Jones, who came into the regional meet with the 12th best time in the 100 meters, missed out on the state meet by mere hundredths of a second.

And don't forget his 23 foot, 9.75-inch-long jump — good enough for a regional gold — which Grant said was the longest jump he'd seen by anyone in the Marshall program in the six years he's been at the school.

"That means, he was stepping way beyond what he'd done all year," Grant said. "And I think he can do that again."

Grant said that experience and work ethic played the largest roles in getting Jones to the state meet.

"He's willing to work hard, he's willing to listen and he does exactly what you ask. That's important," Grant said. "He's very critical of himself and you don't find a lot of guys that are critical of themselves."

Especially when there's not much there to criticize.

Jones has been running track on varsity since his freshman year, when he captured the District 12-4A gold in the triple jump after having only competed in the event for less than three weeks prior to the meet.

"He's been doing this for a while now," Grant said. "Experience tells him that he has to be on top of his game from the first day out and he understands that."

Jones also said that he has seen a significant improvement in his natural talent level since his freshman season, which he felt helped him gain a berth at the state meet.

Now there's just one pressure situation left.

Grant said if Jones came into the state meet and immediately matched his 23-9 jump on his first try, the standard would be set.

"I think that would put a lot of pressure on the field," Grant said.

It would be just the type of situation Jones would prefer.