Crystal McBrady continues the Blanks family legacy at Texas A&M

June 9, 2007
By Rowland Garza
Special to LIVE!

Here is the story of the favorite niece of the Blanks family. Crystal McBrady is about to complete a stellar career as an Aggie track and field athlete. Like the legacies of her uncles, the story begins in Del Rio. Crystal is a 2002 graduate of Del Rio High School. While there, she was a four-time high school state qualifier in track and field.

The Blanks family is a large part of the athletic history of Del Rio, for both San Felipe and Del Rio High Schools. In a timeframe spanning more than 60 years, the Blanks family has blazed a trail in sports that no family has ever accomplished here. From the former star running back of the Houston Oilers, Sidney Blanks, to Crystal Mc Brady, the Blanks tradition is rooted in the heart of San Felipe, and few conversations about sports in Del Rio fail to mention one of the Blanks family members.

Among Crystal’s uncles is Sydney Blanks, a San Felipe Mustang standout athlete in the 1960s, who played football with the Texas A&I Javelinas and later with the Houston Oilers. Another uncle is Roger Blanks, also a San Felipe Mustang standout in the 1960s, who played football with Wharton College and Texas A&I. Later, he was the head coach for the Del Rio Rams Baseball team from 1976-1987.

Uncle Larvell Blanks, also a Mustang standout, played professional baseball from 1972 to 1980 with the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and the Pittsburgh Pirates. There is also Lance Blanks, who played basketball at the University of Texas. He was drafted in the first round and played professionally in the National Basketball League with the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Other sports standouts in the Blanks family include: Wayne Benson, Mark Hicks, Jeffrey Blanks, Jerrell Blanks, and Ronald Blanks. “Crystal is very proud of her family and recognizes their accomplishments in sports. It is in her blood to compete,” explained Crystal’s mother Sandy Wilson.

Crystal McBrady was born in Del Rio, December 31, 1983, to Mark McBrady of Indianapolis, Indiana and Sandy Smith Wilson of Del Rio. Crystal was a special surprise to all. She was born three months early and weighed only two pounds. No one then could imagine that small package would grow up to be a five-foot, nine-inch, 120-pound athlete that would dominate high school and NCAA Division I track and field events.

As a child, she moved from city to city with her family since her father served in the U.S. Air Force as a logistical supply technician. Crystal was not able to call Del Rio her permanent home until the family moved from Arizona to Del Rio in 1994. She, along with her mother and two younger siblings, Shante and Alexandria, settled down with their grandmother Stella Blanks in the family homestead on De La Rosa Street near the Blanks family-owned (and legendary) party/dance hall, “The Chicken Shack.”

“We came back to Del Rio to be around family and to get away from the big city life, everybody knew everyone here. We were home in Del Rio and in a better place,” said Wilson. Here, Crystal had a head start on her peers in the track and field world, since her mother had encouraged her to participate in a track program sponsored by the University of Arizona as a sixth-grader. She competed in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) high jump and triple jump competition.

Dance and cheerleading allowed her to develop strength at a young age, which helped her jumping ability in track. She received resistance from her coaches and her family for participating in cheerleading, because participation stole time from training for track and field. “Crystal’s uncles would tell her, ’Cheerleading is not going to get you a scholarship. Track and field is, stay focused, and do not get injured,’” recalled her mother.

“This was a young lady who took every advantage of her God-given ability; it was a destiny for her. She was supposed to accomplish what she has. Most young athletes like Crystal do not realize their potential because they do not turn their gifts into total value. As far as our family is concerned we are proud of our Seminole Indian heritage and know that our ethnic background has helped mold us into tough and resilient survivors,” explained Crystal’s uncle, Roger Blanks.

Crystal is an older sibling in a single-parent household, and that requires above average responsibility, willpower, and maturity. It was never more stressful than in August of 1998, when Crystal and her family lost everything in the devastating flood that washed away the family home.

“I have never been so scared in my life, the flood took everything we owned and it was then that I realized my mom and Grandma Stella were human and that family is all you need. Until this day I still fear water. But track and field and my family help me rebound,” explained McBrady.

Her mother kept Crystal busy and did not allow her to dwell upon what she lost or did not have. “I keep her moving. She went right back to dance classes and stayed on her regular schedule like everything was normal,” explained Wilson.

As with many children, the backbone in Crystal’s life was her Great Grandmother Stella Blanks, who Crystal refers to as her grandmother, “My grandmother taught me to present myself in a positive manner at all times and to be at my best, she taught me a lot about being a strong-minded person,” explained McBrady.

Crystal’s high school track and field performances were good enough to earn state qualifications every year, even as a freshman. She made Del Rio High School history by qualifying in the triple jump at state her freshman year. That event, the triple jump, became Crystal’s ticket to a college education.

“I started working with Crystal when she was in junior high,” said former Del Rio Queens Head Track and Field Coach Carol Mireles. “I saw her at a junior high track meet and was impressive. I asked her mother if I could train her and we started working on her skills. No matter how hard the competition was, she always remained composed and rose to the occasion.”

No one has broken Crystal’s records set at Del Rio High School. McBrady won four straight district triple jump championships. She also captured the regional triple jump championship crown and was named Del Rio’s 2002 Female Athlete of the Year as a senior.

McBrady’s efforts in track were not limited to jumping. She also participated in the 100-meter dash, 400-, 800- and 1,600-meter relays. Her high school career was capped by making the school record in the triple jump with a distance of 40 feet, 7 inches. She also claims the school record in the long jump, with a distance of 19 feet.

As her high school career came to a close, college recruiters were calling. She was a highly touted track and field recruit for major Division I schools. Crystal chose to become a proud Aggie. “The family atmosphere was great and the spirit around the school is awesome. The quality of education meant a lot too!” McBrady said.

Coach Abe Brown, a horizontal jump expert, now assistant head coach at Abilene Christian University, recruited Crystal to A&M. “Everyone was talking about Crystal at many of the high school track meets. With her jumping skills, I also projected her as a great hurdler.”

Her college roommate is her best friend and a fellow Del Rioan and Texas-Ag Elite cheerleader, Valerie Cadena, daughter of Susan and Val Cadena Jr. “It made it easier to be from the same hometown,” said Cadena. “We relied on one another a lot. We are like sisters. We were kids when we got here, and now that we are almost done we are definitely a lot more mature,” Valerie said.

“Here at A&M they expect a lot from us. Fifty percent of the time we are away from the classroom at meets or practice. We go to school five days a week and practice six days a week, not to mention the time we have to put in the gym and at study hall,” said Mc Brady.

McBrady has made her family and coaches proud at A&M. Despite losing her beloved grandmother in September 2003, and injuring her knee early in the track season of 2004, McBrady lived up to the Blanks family legacy. “Losing my grandma and hurting my knee was tough, but it made me stronger, and I appreciate the challenges. When I lost my grandma I wanted to quit. It was hard,” said McBrady.

In 2003, her first season at A&M, she made the NCAA regional qualifier meet in the triple jump and got 10th place with a distance of 38 feet, 11.50 inches. For comparison, Olympic jumpers achieve distances of 46 feet or more.

In 2004, McBrady’s track/field season was cut short due to her injury. However, she received a medical red shirt so she could have time to recover and resume the 2005 season as a sophomore again. She impressed coaches with her commitment to recover. “She always showed up to practice even when she did not have to. She stayed involved and did what she could,” recalled Coach Brown.

In 2005, McBrady achieved her best triple jump distance ever of 41 feet, 1¾ inches. It earned a seventh-place finish at the Big 12 Conference outdoor meet.

In 2006, her junior year, she posted a personal best of 42 feet, 2 ¼ inches, which won third place at the Texas Relays. McBrady’s long jump of 18 feet, 3 ¾ inches at LSU Alumni Gold was her season best.

This year, her senior year, McBrady captured a share of the Team Big 12 Conference Championship for both indoor and outdoor track/field. “I am excited about getting a conference championship ring, and by far this is my greatest sports moment,” stated an excited McBrady.

McBrady will be competing at the NCAA Regional meet May 25 and 26 in Des Moines, Iowa, where the top five jumpers there will advance to the NCAA Nationals on June 6 -9, Sacramento, Calif. Depending how McBrady does at both the Regional and National meets, she will have a chance to participate in the USA National Track Meet and the Qualifying World Championships, to eventually participate in the 2008 Summer Olympics.

“Crystal’s situation at A&M is fairly unique in that the coaching staff has changed, and she has the greatest time frame in knowing both staffs at A&M,” said Coach Jim Van Hooeegem, assistant track coach.. “Her elasticity is very impressive, and she is a leader on our team and will be missed.”

When asked about her chances of participating at the professional level in track and field, McBrady replied that she is ready to pursue her career out in the real world and put her Texas A&M human resources degree to work.

McBrady plans to attend law school after earning a college diploma from Texas A&M University this month. Then McBrady will be jumping through legal loopholes helping clients win cases, rather than triple jumps and long jumps for track and field medals.