Given its attractive facility, welcoming staff, and central location, it is small wonder that Lake Brantley’s Tom Storey Field has become an almost weekly destination for track teams in and around the Orlando metro area. This week, in fact, there have been two track meets here: the Lake Brantley Open on Saturday, February 23rd, and the more recent Lake Brantley Developmental Meet (#2) on the 27th. It was the latter that I visited, camera in hand, and notebook at the ready.
Considering the quantity of athletes who have most recently partaken of Patriot hospitality—hundreds of athletes from 14 schools (28 teams?)--and the level of performances that have subsequently occurred, this meet may have outgrown its original intent. More than a few of the athletes present have already shown themselves to be fully “developed.” However, the result sheets were skewed heavily towards the other end. The spread in times ranged from four seconds in the B & G 100, to a little under three minutes in the Girls 1600. The meet also had more than its share of PRs, and even some new school records, which probably fits right into Brantley Coach Harris’s thinking.
By the middle of his second meet (in four days), not to mention time spent on his “other job,” coaxing Harris to sit and talk was anything but difficult.
“I’m tired, but it”--a meet such as this—“keeps me going. We have a great facility here, and we get good cooperation from the administration. We have a staff that works together. It took a few years to get to the point where I could sit in the stands and watch, as I had to last year. (I was coming, but because I was sick, I couldn’t do anything.)”
“The idea is that kids will stay out for a sport if they get the chance to compete,” he explained. “Track is a sport where, year by year, you get better and stronger. By your junior year, you might be in the State Meet. What’s more important is that you can set goals.
“It parallels my philosophy of education; it’s more important to develop the student. If we can develop that person, then he can handle the situations (that come up) in life. This comes from the holistic philosophy to train the whole person. In reality, it educates the person. Sports are an extension of the classroom.”
Short and Sweet
As in their other four (2013) developmental meets, this one’s T & F schedule was somewhat modified in order to “keep things moving.” In addition to all the field events, the list of running events included the 100, 200, 400, the 300 hurdles, 800, 1600, and two relays: the 4 X 1 and 4 X 4. There were seeded and unseeded sections of the 800 and 1600, but all other running events were run in sections and the final results sorted by time.
In the 100, Tyshaun Ingram of Evans High School led a long list of finishers with a time of 11.23. Although he is only a freshman, he is anything but new to either the sprints, or winning.
“I’ve been running since I was 11,” he told me. “I ran for Meadowbrook Middle School, and won the Orange County Championship in 7th grade.”
In fact, Tyshaun won the 100 (11.90) in 2012, and the 200 (23.98) in 2011.
“My favorite event is the 200. I have ‘downhill speed.’ That means I speed up as I run; I’m a fast finisher.”
In this meet, the “fastest finisher” in the 200 was John Armstrong, a senior at Olympia. John came into the meet with PRs of 10.83 in the 100, and 22.26 in the 200, both of which he set in this year’s Lake Brantley Open (February 23, 2012).
Like Ingram, he ran the opposite of what he would consider his favorite distance—which is the 100—but still won. (His 200 time was 22.37.)
“The 100 is a quick race, based on speed and the start. I feel I have that ability, and the strength to win.”
Armstrong, however, puts his team first.
“If he (his coach) needs me in an event to help the team, like the 400—where I placed second in 50-point (.27, a PR by the way)—I’ll do it. Anything to help the team.”
John also ran in Olympia’s winning 4 X 1 combo; 42.44. However, truth be told, his favorite time of year is the fall.
“Honestly, I consider myself a football player. I’ve signed with Wake Forest to play slot receiver. Track is just a hobby; I’m a ballplayer who runs track.”
There was a lot of “speed play” going on between Olympia and Evans, and the latter team, in addition to a 1-2 finish in the 100--Jalen Julius was second in 11.33—won the 4 X 4 (3:25) and the 400 (49.84). The winner of that one-lap race was William David, a senior. (His teammate, ninth grader Kelson Vandenburg, was third in 50.51.)
“I fell in love with it as a seventh grader in middle school,” David explained. “It’s very demanding. I like that. I have to prepare for it mentally, but if I’m called on to do it, I’ll do my very best.
“My goal for the 400 is 47.5”—his current PR is that 49.84 at LBD#2—“and in the 200, 21.5 (22.65 PR on 3/3/2012 at the Lake Brantley Invitational while at Wekiva). I also want to help carry the 4 X 4 team to the State Meet.”
Athletically, David--who is in his last year of high school—is centered on track.
“I just run track. I did strength training, a lot of weights, and I ran a lot of distance running during the winter. During the summer I ran in AAU; the 400.”
In closing, William David took a moment to mention his coach.
“I want to thank my coach, Derrick White, for putting in a lot of time with me in the off season, and also Coach Greg Purcell for giving me an opportunity to perform.”
The last of the listed speed runs, the 300 hurdles, was also won by an Evans sprinter, Ronald Fraser.
“This is actually my second year,” he said sometime after he finished his race. “My sophomore year I ran the 400 (a 54.86 PR at the Lake Brantley Developmental Meet on March 2, 2012) and the 4 X 4. I said, ‘Coach, I’d like to try the sprints.’ He said, ‘You have one chance.’ My first time was at Metros. They found someone (for me) to switch with. I thought, ‘I’ve got to go’…and I went. I did great. I came in second.”
Fraser started running the 300 hurdles in the spring of 2012, lowering his PR to 40.10 at the March 22nd Metro Conference Championships. He clipped .03 off that in this meet (40.07) to win by .1 second over Michael Taylor of Lake Highland Prep.
Olympia athletes were “in for the long run,” as they swept both middle distance races. Kyren Hollis paced the 800 (2:03.79)—Olympia also took third and fourth in 2:05.24 and 2:05.33, respectively--while Jared Lau led a 1-2 Titan finish in the 1600--he ran 4:51.06 and teammate Desi Ferreira was second in 4:51.28.
Kyren about the 800: “I’ve only been running middle distance since the beginning of ninth grade. My coaches saw that I had potential. Honestly, in the beginning, I thought I was a sprinter, but they thought I had good form, the footwork, and a very good kick.
“That first 800…I’ll tell you; it was about a 2:51, 2:55. It was devastating. I had never run such a (long) distance. It took a lot of work after that. But my coaches saw something in me. I guess they were right. I dropped times. I didn’t think I had it, but those times--(1:59.38 as a freshman at the 3A State Meet on 5/4/12 for Hillsborough)—improved.
“If I really put my mind to it, I think I can hit a 1:55 or 1:56 this year. Personally, if I’m going to do something like this, I should go hard, or go home.”
Jared on the 1600: “I’m kind of glad that I could pace myself. I came in with a faster seed. Just being able to run near my time was satisfying, even though I was sick.
“I was supposed to take the first lap in about 70—which happened—and then seventy four on the third lap, when everyone died out. My last PR was a 4:47 (.24 at the February 23, 2013 Lake Brantley Open). But I’m sick, so I just wanted to be within that time. I ended up with too much left.
“I want to get down to the 4:20s or 4:30s.”
Girls on the Run
Running for their respective schools, the Girls’ champions roughly paralleled that of the Boys’. For Evans, freshmen Shaquanda Hill (1:02.15) and Kiovanni Brown (1:02.42) took 1-2 in the 400. It was the first race Hill had ever won in high school track.
“At Carver Middle School I ran the 400 (1:05.36), the 800 (2:36.80), the 4 X 4, and sometimes did the long jump,” Miss Hill told me. “I ran cross country, too.
“I think this year I’ll be running the 800 and the 4 X 8; I’ll run whatever the coaches tell me.”
“The goal is to go sub 2:20 (in the 800) as a freshman, and eventually work up to the mile,” explained her coach, Greg Thompson. “Really, I think her strength is in the mile. We haven’t had the chance to work up to that, because of basketball. Basketball has really cut down on her training. Once she gets the base down, her strength will be in the mile.
“(First, however) she’s going to have to train this (coming) summer. She ran a high 19 in cross country last fall (19:49 at the 3A District 5 meet on October 17th, placing second), so we think we can bring her down into the low 18s.”
The middle distance races were monopolized by Olympia in general, and senior Kaitlyn Campo in particular. In running a 2:22.92, Campo led a 1-2-3 Titan finish in the 800. Emily Headley followed her with a 2:23.87, then came Emilie Flament in 2:24.14, and Olivia Piatkowski in fifth in 2:26.15.
This event may have been a major shift for Kaitlyn, as she is coming off a fresh PR in the 1600 (5:14.87 at the February 23rd Lake Brantley Open, where she also set an 11:23.47 best in the 3200.) Her 800 time was her third PR in four days.
“Last year it was like 2:29 (.29 at this same, LBDM#2 meet on 2/29/13),” Campo said. “I didn’t really expect to PR, especially in the eight. It was kind of out of the blue, because I’ve been focusing on the one and the two (mile races). But we have a new coach, Carly Dart, and her workouts are a little different. They’re really helping; a lot more foot speed.”
“We are doing the 4 X 8 (together). We’re going to focus on that to break the school record, and maybe go on to the States with it…maybe. I probably won’t be running the mile and two mile, but will be running the 4 X 8. I won’t be able to run any more than those because we’re limited to three running events. They give you one field (event), but I can’t do anything in the field.”
No doubt a trip to the 2013 State Meet, her last as a high school runner, will be charged with emotion.
“I’ve never been to States. First year, I got to Regionals; sophomore year too. Last year, I didn’t get to go. I got a stress fracture in my foot…actually a few of them. What a bummer. I was doing so well. I’m hoping to do well this year and get there because I want to medal.”
Before the night was over, Kaitlyn also won the 1600 (5:18.65), once again leading a trio of Titans across the line: Emily Headley was second (5:30.63) and Olivia Piatkowski third (5:31.56).
Rounding out the (running) winners for Olympia was 300 meter runner Ashley Lewis.
“Tonight I wanted to PR and get the school record, and I did both,” she said after her race. “It was cool to just win one today, but I gave it my all in that one (the 300H). I got second place in the 100 (12.62)—in the first heat—but I think the 300 hurdles is my best event because I’ve been running it longer. I just started doing the 100 meters competitively this year. I did it in 12.36 at Jones, and 12.40 here last Saturday.
“I’m actually running the 100 to build up my speed for the 300. I know it would be great to win the 100 at States. I think the potential is there. I’m going to work on the start—getting out—and finishing strong.”
So that would be the 100H, the 100 dash, and the 300 hurdles—preliminaries and finals—in the same meet?
“I think I can handle it.”
Footnotes: Field event results were not available at the meet, so I had to focus on what was. Hopefully that won’t happen again, and I will be able to expand my interviews to more winners in future meets…Before getting to this meet, I first had to deal with a tire that plucked up a sheet metal screw off the highway. Helping me with that problem was Levi Collymore (Coral Springs class of 2003). When I told Levi where I was going, he got a grin on his face and I knew right away that he was a track fan. (Once a track fan, always a track fan.) Besides competing in the 400, 800, and hurdles while in high school, Levi went out with a winning 6’4” high jump in the 3A Region 4 Meet on 3/5/2003. Too bad he didn’t get off work early on the 27th. We would have had a good old time reminiscing.
More Coverage
- Complete Results & Coverage
- Photo Album By Ralph Epifanio (436 Photos)