Wharton Girls, Liberty Boys Clean House At Kowboy Invitational

On-Site Coverage


Florida has some big meets. For those familiar with the track circuit, Bob Hayes Invitational, Louie Bing Classic, & Sam Burley HOF are some of the biggest meets around. The colleges step up and offer Steinbrenner (USF), Florida Relays & the FSU Relays to the mix as well. Go ahead and add the Kowboy Invite to the “big FLA meets” list too. Attracting some of the best Central Florida has to offer, in addition to the some west coast teams as well, this invitational is getting larger and more competitive each year. This year’s edition was one for the books. Mark your calendars now coaches for 2015 before it fills up!


 
The girl’s side turned out to be the Wharton show as Jasmine Robinson led her squad to 107 points. They started off the day by taking the 4x800, and did well on the field events, especially by taking the pole vault’s top three spots. They scored points in nearly every event. They finished off the evening by hitting 3:59 to take the 4x400. Winter Springs took second with 64 points, riding upon the shoulders of sophomore Kimmie Cunningham, who won the long jump, 100m and the 300m hurdles. St Cloud edged out Kathleen by one to take 3rd with 53 points on the day.  


 
The boy’s championship trophy has a short ride before it finds its home among Coach Pauley’s collection. Liberty found itself behind the 8-ball early and had to rely upon its depth to overcome injuries. Devarius Turner broke out of his funk and moved himself among the state elite with nice runs in the 100 (10.65) & 200 (21.96).
 
 
The 4x800 got things started with an 8:12 led by Tim Caceres, and then finished when Rogelio Araiza passed 3 others in the last 200m to win it.  Araiza had another awesome day by taking 4th in the 1600, and then won the 3200 with a 9:50. Olympia (60pts – 2nd) and Osceola (59pts – 3rd) kept things interesting all day until Turner & Joshua Wilson went 1-2 in the 200m to seal the victory. 

Other highlights include: 
 
- Jhonny Victor of Celebration HS walked in from the SAT and scored 18 points within 20 minutes. He won the high jump with a 6-4, but passed going higher to go triple jump where he hit 43ft again. 
 
- Bennie Wesley of Winter Haven HS won the 100 with a 10.58 and ran 21.75 in the 200 prelims. He did not run the 200 finals however.
 
- Emily Headley of Olympia HS won the distance double with a 5:11 1600m and then a 11:21 in the 3200 as the nighttime chill set in.
 
- Deiondre Porter of Tampa Jefferson HS pulled off the jump double with wins in the long and triple.


 
- Connor Ferentino of Freedom Orlando HS ran the 1600m in state #2 4:17.75. He also came back in the evening and ran leg 3 of the 4x400 team.


Race Video/Interviews by Donald Lamb

 

Elite Performances

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights