Middle School State Championship Coverage

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Meet Coverage

Highlights

Emare Hogan Smashes Joe Franklin's 9-Year-Old 800m Record with 1:56.65!

Emare Hogan not only lived up to the hype, but exceeded it! Entering with a seed time of 2:02, we knew he could be knocking on the door of Joe Franklin's 800 meter record that has stood since 2004. Rumor had it that Hogan had gone under the super-elite 2-minute mark at a club meet and was ready to do it again. His Miami Gardens Express Track Club had the goal to take down records, and after Hogan's teammate Jamal Walton had just taken down the 400 meter record in dominant fashion, apparently Emare wanted to match it.

Franklin held the middle school 800 and 1500 meter records for the past nine years and many thought that 2-flat 800 meter time was especially there to stay. But Hogan didn't just beat it--he destroyed it by almost four seconds with a 1:56.65!

Earlier in the day, Hogan finished in fourth place in the 100 meters with a 11.76. He capped the day--clearly worn down from the 800 record just 20 minutes before with a 24.81 in the 200.

Not only should we look out for Emare, from Orlando, next year when he moves on to high school. But I think we are looking at a record that we may not see broken for ten years or more!

Miami Gardens Express' Jamal Walton sets state record; Nabs 100, 200 and 400 meter runs

BY ANDY VILLAMARZO
 
It was no secret going into the middle school state meet who the fastest runner in the state of Florida was likely to be. That question was answered definitively on Saturday afternoon at Calvary Christian's state of the art facility known as 'The Rock'. Miami Gardens Express' Jamal Walton set a new state record in the 400 meter dash to go along with his victories in the 100 and 200 meter dashes. Quite an impressive triple!
 
"I wasn't nervous running the 400," Walton said. "I was just keeping my pace and sprint real hard. My coach told me to go get the record and show out. That's what I did. I've just been going to practice and working hard. I was surprised that I set a state record. I feel great because my parents always wanted for me to become a champion."
 
Walton, who represented the Cayman Islands in international competitions this spring, broke the previous record of 50.31 held by Jabari Hill. The eighth grade phenom beat that old mark by nearly two seconds and the new record now currently stands at 48.53. Walton also took first-place in the 100 (11.40) and 200 meter dashes (22.47).
 
Walton will be a big factor as he enters high school next year... his 400 meter time would have WON the high school 4A state meet today in Jacksonville! This record will not easily fall and we'll look for big things from him in the future!

Kattenberg wins 3000 meter

BY ANDY VILLAMARZO
 
Holy Trinity eighth-grader Trevor Kattenberg was looking to make history Saturday afternoon. With the 3000 meter run being the first event for the boys and girls on a warm, sunny day in Clearwater, the timing seemed right. Brian Atkinson's mark will stand for another year, though, as Kattenberg finished with a first-place time of 9:35.88, missing the Duke University product's record. The time falls short of Atkinson's 9:24.06 but serving as the fifth best at the event in the meet's storied history dating back over a decade. His time tops well known high school distance stars Elliot Clemente and Brandon Marquez from their eigth grade years. The future for Kattenberg is certainly bright!
 
In last week's Class 1A state championship meet in Jacksonville, Kattenberg landed in 11th place in the 3200 meter run and had a time of 10:16.62. That wasn't even his fastest time, with the eighth-grader nabbing a time of 10:03.43 in districts.
 
Later in the morning, Kattenberg came back for a sixth place finish in the 1500 with a 4:30.55.

Pinecrest's Taylor Logue takes home second consecutive pole vault title

BY ANDY VILLAMARZO
 
 
Taylor Logue of Pine Crest took her second consecutive middle school state title. Last year she cleared 9-2 for the win and this year she took the crown with a ten foot clearance. Going into the event she was the far and away favorite.
 
"I've been doing pole vaulting since like the fifth grade," Logue said. "I've been practicing like every week and I placed fifth in last week's state meet, so that was pretty good since I was ranked seventh. I was expecting to win the whole time."
 
After wrapping up the state championship, Logue took shots at 10-8, atetmpting to break Lillian Van Winkle's 10-7 record set back in 2010. She couldn't quite get there, but will certainly looking at even bigger clearances going into her freshman year.
 
Logue already competes on the high school level, finishing in fifth place in last week's Class 2A state championship meet held at the University of North Florida's Hodges Stadium, with a ten-foot clearance there as well.

MacRollers break 4x800 record from last season

BY ANDY VILLAMARZO

Call the girls of the MacRollers' 4x800 team record setters, because that's exactly what they have done the past couple of spring state championships. Last year the MacRollers--made up of girls from Oak Hall--set a state championship meet record of 10:04.93 and were looking to top the mark once again Saturday afternoon. The MacRollers set a new record in the 4x800 meter relay, with a time of 9:55.88 and got by their rivala the Bulldog Track Club (Bolles athletes) who finished second in 10:06.08.
 
"It was a really good race and very tough competition," MacRollers' anchor runner Lindsay Rosenberg said. "It was a hard leg but it was definitely worth it. I was thinking of the runner behind me and just running as fast as I could hoping it was enough."

Boucher Wins 1500 in Stellar 4:25

During the race, all eyes were on Alex Boucher as he lead the race on a mission. The crowd cheered him on and for a while it looked like he might have a shot at Joe Franklin's nine year old recod of 4:19. He didn't quite get there but the eighth grader was all smiles after he nailed down his victory of 4:25.70. The timer was a big new personal best by eight seconds.

Alex came back later in the day to finish second in the 800 meters--behind the new state meet record holder--with another huge PR of 2:06.83. Great double!

Gustley Just Shy of Girls Discus Record

Sophia Gustley's big sister was up in Jacksonville competing in the rain, while Sophia was in Clearwater competing under partly cloudly sunshine. Funny how that worked out.

And it worked out nicely for the younger Gustley, she threw a new season best with a 120-06. That throw came close to taking down what is the absolute oldest standing record in the state meet record books. Alexa Revord's 123-3 has stood since the very first year of the meet, 2002, and is the only standing record from that innagural meet. It will survive for at least another year! But Gustly came awfully close! Her throw is the second best in meet history, unseating her big sis Phoeobe for that position on the all-time list (117-0) from two years ago and surpassing Lloydricia Cameron's 112-0 5th best mark. Cameron is currently dominating the high school throws scene, so that puts Sophia in pretty good company.

Savyon Toombs Wins 100, 200... 2nd in 400

Savyon Toombs had a good say and almost completed the sprint sweep! She started the day with a 100 meter championship of 12.62 into a -0.7 headwind.  She narrowly missed the 400 meter title with a wire-to-wire battle with Kayla Johnson in that one... Johnson came out ahead 56.63 to 56.93. Toombs concluded her day with a big 25.31 victory in the 200 meters that was almost half a second faster than second place Shaniya Williams.

 

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