1A State: Enders 12-10 PV, Gebben 4-Peats, Trinity Prep 1-2-3 in 3200

FHSAA 1A Outdoor State Finals
Jason Byrne

Preview

1A Girls Virtual Meet - Holy Trinity girls pegged over Northside Christian.

1A Boys Virtual Meet - Trinity Prep gets past arch-rival Holy Trinity.

On-Site Coverage

Highlights/Results

Enders Breaks 5-Year Old State Meet Record: 12-10 Pole Vault

Lindsey Enders of Holy Trinity set a state meet record 12-10 in the pole vault. Enders walked away with a silver and a bronze to boot... and a team championship trophy. Not a bad night!

Enders is still relatively new to the vault and has been really coming into her own and learning the proper technique this year. After sizing up different poles, fidgeting with her approach, and fighting with finding the right settings for the standards all year, the senior says they finally feel like they've really got it down. Going into the day she "knew she had it" after her warm-ups and practice jumps just seemed to click.

Her goal has been to get the record all year long. She and those close to her saw that it was in her.  So when she got that state meet record it was really no surprise that she REALLY GOT IT.  Enders absolutely killed the 12-10 by reportedly as much as 10 inches over the bar.  After that she made attempts at 13-2 for the outright state record of Lacy Janson, but it was on a litreally brand new pole she had never used before and she wasn't able to get that "perfect jump" on it.

Great job to Lindsey! As a fun little side story her boyfriend, Conner Canatsey of Circle Christian (interview with Conner), won the boys pole vault in 14-6.

Osking Gets 'Em Both, US #5 Discus

After a foul nightmare and failing to qualify in the shot put last year, Justin Osking of John Carroll was content to get redemption this season and make darn sure he got both throw state titles. He fought off some off-season surgery to really come back strong, especially late in the season. He has been consistently throwing mid 50s in the shot and around 190 in the disc.  Tonight was no exception.

He got it done with a 54-6 put that was about three and a half feet off his best mark, but got him past sophomore Michael Cassidy's 53-9.

And then came Osking's specialty... the discus. He bettered his own season best by three feet to with the championship in 193-10. That mark puts him as the fifth best disc slinger in the country this season.

Wollrath Surprises Fluehr in 1600

It looked in the bag for favorite Kathryn Fluehr, the Princeton-bound senior from Community School of Naples. By about 600 meters into the race, Fluehr started to get good separation from the pack. Emily Edwards of Canterbury and Julie Wollrath of Holy Trinity gave chase. Fluehr took it through 800 in 2:25 and by that time it was a three person race with Kathryn quickly getting away... extending her lead to about 200 meters with just a lap to go.

But about the 1300 meter mark, you could see Kathryn's form start to break down a bit.  At precisely the same momemnt, you could see Wollrath's turnover quicken.  The eighth-grader at that point still was in third place, but it was pretty evident that Wollrath wanted it bad and Edwards was toast.  Julie was itching to get around Edwards and finally had her opporunity with around 200 to go.  Then her eyes were set on Fluehr, who by that point was strugling to keep the wheels turning as the crowd (and announcer Gary Cohen) tipped her off that she had a pursuer.

Down the final 100 meters they came with Wollrath closing fast and Fluehr trying to find another gear that did not come. The youngster got by the veteran and Wollrath dipped under the 5-minute mark to a new PR of 4:58.24 and a state championship. Fluehr finished a second and a half back in second place, with Edwards hanging on for third in 5:08.

What a patient race for Wollrath! Showing the prowess of a senior, but still in middle school!

1+2+3 = 24. Trinity Prep 3200 Showing Seals the Deal

It was a pretty tight battle going into the 3200 for the boys team title with Trinity Prep, Maclay, and Holy Trinity all vying for the title.  But coming out of the 3200, the door was closed.

Griffin Jaworski of Trinity Prep wasted no time asserting himself as the leader. He pushed the pace early and, though no one went exactly with him, he may have throttled the pace up on the beginning laps sufficiently enough that it broke any would-be challengers in the later stages of the race.  Emmanuel Kent of Upperroom tried to hang early, much like in his 1600 race, but faded back.  David Kilgore, the 1600 champ, helped push the chase pack with Kent for a while before he too started to fade out.

Lap after lap the pack thinned... and it was looking more and more like a sweep.  The last hope at an interuption of the Trinity Prep domination came from junior Mark Mutz of Lakeland Christian. He hung tight on Jaworski's teammates Daniel Sallas and Whitner Chase and with 800 to go he looked eager to get by them. Looking very strong he started to make a move with about 400 to go but found the pace answered by Sallas and Chase. With 200 to go Mutz went wide and got past them into second place. Not to be deterred though Sallas and Chase restored the Trinity Prep monopoly and brought it in. 24 points!

Jaworski maintained for a 9:28 victory, with Sallas (9:34), Chase (9:35), and Mutz (9:38) next. That race would make it a two-team battle for second going into the 4x400 and secure Trinity Prep its first-ever boys track & field state championship!

Mychae Williams Grabs Three Golds

Graceville senior Mychae Williams grabbed three golds in two hours. Her first came in the 100 meters with a little breathing room in 12.59. Just 20 minutes or so later she had to put it together again and anchored her 4x100 relay team down the stretch to a 49.66 victory.

Her final gold was her toughest, she fought off a hard-charging Abby Hani of Lake Mary Prep (who won the 400 earlier), winning by just five hundreths in 25.46.

Gebben Completes 4-Peat of 300 Hurdles

This state meet is kind of the end of an era for the hurdles in the 1A:  the Ansley Age. Ever since Ansley Gebben's freshman year, the First Academy senior has been winning hurdles titles.  She completed the 300 hurdle sweep last night by going back-to-back-to-back-to-back in the state championships in that event with a 44.00 victory over Kayla Gardner's 44.99.

Gebben also took second place (to Gardner) in the 100 hurdles in 14.82 and ran a leg of her team's seventh place 9:54 4x800 relay.  We'll probably get a few more chances to see her run... Golden South and New Balance Nationals. And then it's the end of the star's track career.  She will be headed to Liberty University where she will play volleyball for the next four years.

More Highlights

Gemikal Prude, senior at Holy Trinity bound for Lipscomb University, hit a new personal best of 6-8 to earn the victory in the high jump. Prude, who is still new to the high jump and is coming back from a basketball injury, walked away from a shot at 6-10 after one attempt to save himself to run the opening leg of the team's 4x1. It's pretty impressive to see a guy who is 5-8 and doesn't look like your typical high jumper soar more than a foot taller than his height! (Video Interview)

North Florida Christian freshman Darielle McQueen hit two new personal bests in the triple jump and long jump on her way to golds in both horizintal jumps. Her 39-8 triple jump ties her for #3 in the state this season. The long jump victory was 18-4.25 was her first trip over 18-feet. She also placed in the 400 and 200 tonight.

Lee Williams of Maclay repeated as state champion in the triple jump and the 100 meters dash. He had to settle for third in the 200m and fourth in the long jump.  All in all a great day! His point total also was a big help toward Maclay's team runner-up position. (Video Interview)

After the stunning come-from-behind win by Wollrath, Kathryn Fluehr was ready to redeem herself and she did at her signature event: the 3200 Meters. Her twin sister Erika Fluehr pulled out of the race just after it started. She apparently has a stress fracture and will be sidelined through the start of her college career at Princeton. So without her sister by her side, Kathryn was in the unique position then of being completely alone and she was from pretty much the gun.  She separated herself early and never really looked back. Finishing her high school career (excluding any post-season) with another state championship with relative ease and a 10:36.23! (Video Interview)

Lake Mary Prep sophomore Abby Hanni stayed pretty busy throughout the meet. She started the day in the long jump where she earned bronze with her 18-1.5 that came down to the second best jump. After settling for second in the 100 metesr with a 12.95 (she ran 12.67 in the prelims), her favorite event came up: the 400 meters. So on only about 30 minutes rest she clocked an impressive 56.74 state championship win, just .1 better than Holy Trinity freshman Gabby Gayles. Her day not quite finished yet, she came back from that another 30 minutes or so later to finish second in the 200 in a tight finish of 25.51, just behind Williams. That followed her top-seeded 25.28 out of the prelims. No rest for the weary! Great night for Hanni. (Video Interview)

Speaking of busy, Kayla Gardner of Westminster Academy, who stole that second place in the long jump from Hanni, was pretty busy herself. After that second place (18-1.5) in the long jump, their paths diverged and Gardner went after the hurdles rather than the sprints. The sophomore went into the finals as the favorite in the 100 hurdles and did not disapoint. She got by Gebben rather easily with a 14.55 state championship in the highs. The two reversed fortunes in the 300 hurdles with Gebben getting the V, but Gardner added another silver to her neck with a 44.99. No doubt her neck was starting to ache from the weight of all the medals by that point, but she had enough stamina for one more.  She concluded the night by helping her 4x400 relay team earn a third place 4:04.06 and completing "the cylcle" for Gardner: gold, silver (x2), and bronze. (Video Interview)

National Silver Elite Performances

Girls

Boys

Third Party Coverage

Wesley Chapel's Hunter Joyer repeats as state champ; Pasco's Janarion Grant bounds to long jump crown

Saturday turned out not to be the record-setter Wesley Chapel's Hunter Joyer had hoped for. Still, Joyer's performance was a fitting cap to a storied high school career for the Wildcats senior. (via www.tampabay.com)
Jason Byrne - Yesterday - News - Comment

Gardner finally gets her win

The emotion was written all over Kayla Gardner’s face after she won the 100 meter hurdles for Westminster High on Friday in the FHSAA 1A state track and field finals with a blistering time of 14.55 seconds. In the last two years in the same race Gardner took second place; this time she could not hold back her tears of joy after taking an uplifting victory. (via The Miami Herald)
Jason Byrne - Yesterday - News - Comment