For over 45 years the Volunteer Track Classic has been a fixture on the Southeastern high school track and field schedules. This year should be no different.  A National Scholastic Sports Foundation (www.nssf.org) Select meet, the 2009 Vol Classic will see the inclusion of collegiate competition as the UT Lady Vol  College sections bring in the 2009 NCAA Indoor Champion Lady Vols, Alabama, Ohio State and Carson Newman College.  On the high school side the action should be great on the track as well as the field as numerous nationally ranked teams and individuals start competition Friday at 5PM.

The Eleanor Roosevelt came all the way down to Gainesville, Florida to find some competition and great weather to post swift relay times. Their times at the Florida Relays indicate that the girls from Greenbelt, Maryland found a worthy opponent in the Miami Northwestern girls and warm and sunny Florida weather as the Eleanor Roosevelt girls rolled to national leading times in the 4x100 at 45.38 and 4x400 at 3:41.40. Miami Northwestern, second to Eleanor Roosevelt in both races with respectable times of 47.48 and 3:45.15, was able to claim at least one relay victory on the weekend in the 4x800 with a US #2 performance of 9:17.45. Their 4x800 squad featured Skyler Wallen, who broke 2:10 and became the new US leader in the 800 on the first day of high school events on Friday. While Friday's highlights were focused on individual performers, the theme seemed to focus on the relay times on Saturday as the Flagler Palm Coast boys were sensational in relay action with four victories over the course of the weekend in the 4x800 (US #3 7:46.57), 4x400 (US #2 3:13.15), 4x200, and 4x100 (42.35). Austin Gamble of Cypress Bay proved his first 200 foot performance last week was no fluke in the discus throw as he won at the Florida Relays with a best mark of 195'6". Florida Relays Saturday Results: High School Boys - High School Girls

When the results came in last night I was skeptical.  A discus thrower who has remained largely unnoticed breaks out with his first reported throw of the year over 200 feet?  Must be a typo, right?  WRONG! Austin Gamble of Cypress Bay threw almost 40 feet farther than his season best of 165-10 from last season.  When this massive throw of the disc finally reached the ground again it had been hurled 201-5.5 feet, placing Austin as not only #2 in the nation (behind super-stud Mason Finley of Colorado) but #3 all-time in the state of Florida.