Perhaps not carrying all the effects of a mid-week meet--where, homework and all, you are sandwiched in between two school days--a Friday night meet can still be a pretty exhausting affair for its participants. Beginning with a day that starts at 5-something in order to get ready for classes, most likely a bus trip to school, followed by the better part of seven hours trying to keep your eyes open under bright, fluorescent lighting, another bus trip to the track meet, in this case a seven hour track meet, yet another bus trip back to school, and finally a car ride home. Is it midnight yet? Probably.
As long as this day sounds on paper, in reality it feels considerably longer. So why, one might ask, would a Friday night meet attract 26 schools? Is it that in scheduling it, everyone can have Saturday off? Maybe. A better guess would be the meet itself. I heard the unsolicited refrain, “This is a pretty good meet”—from coaches and athletes alike—enough times during the evening/night to think that the four Deltona Coaches—Paul Williams, Carrie and Will Rodriguez, and Matt Dunn—had struck “black gold” (the Timberwolf track surface is black), and with one of the smallest teams (35, combined Boys and Girls) successfully put on one of the most well-attended local meets of the season.
In interpolating the results—and setting aside the 183 individuals who, for one reason or another, didn’t make it in the field events--I counted 666 male and 648 female scorers (1,314 total). In that process, an over-worked computer operator ran out of paper, the school ran out of chairs, Tony Tussing—everyone’s favorite starter--nervously checked his “shells” (cartridges) more times than Butch Cassidy at San Vicente, and the PV runway bristled with enough brightly colored poles to be declared a National Forest. It was, in short, a busy, busy night.
(My apologies to the 12’ 6” male winner, Kolby Davis of Spruce Creek, for leaving prior to his grand finale. I had a 7 AM curtain call at a 5K/10K down the road.)
Two Homes
While he’s good anywhere he runs, there’s an edge to DeLand’s Keneth Pineiro every time he steps on this particular track. His stride is longer, his determination more intense, his kick more pronounced, and his finish time—so far--guaranteed to be a PR. That’s not to say that anyone should not at least try to keep up with him, especially Mount Dora Bible junior Troy Clark.
“I knew he was a 4:20 guy”—Pineiro came in with a 4:25.41, which he ran at the 2012 5 Star Conference Meet—“and my goal was to stay right behind him as long as I could,” Troy explained after the 1600. “He started speeding up on the backstretch, and I tried to stay with him as long as I could. It was a really good race. The competition was good. This year I haven’t been in a race with this much competition. It was inspiring.”
In all, there were 72 boys entered in the 1600, and 32 of them finished in under 5:00. Finishing first, if you haven’t guessed, was Keneth Pineiro in a new best of 4:24.23. Clark, a step behind for most of the race, was second in 4:28.77.
“That’s the second school record to go down today,” said Bill McKinney, self-described bus driver, but in reality MDB’s #1 fan. “The Girls (4x1) record was 51.79—since 1982—and they ran a 51 flat. The Boys 1600 was held by Matthew Hoban; 4:29.97.”
Troy’s official time was 4:28.77.
“My goal this year is to make it to the state meet in the 1600 and 3200, and I would like to place in both of them. To place, I’m thinking (I’d have to run) 4:25 and 9:40.”
Keneth, of course, has those times already. In this meet, he set PRs in the (4 X) 800 (2:01), 1600 (4:24.23), and the 3200 (9:32.46), the latter a DeLand school record, according to Head Coach Jim Lowenstein.
“It”—his race plan—“was to go out fast and try to run fast, consistent splits,” Pineiro explained about the 1600. “I knew the first (400) had to be a 63. My coach kept telling me “You have to be here at such and such a time, or you are three seconds fast, or so many seconds slow. I intended to run my race, and win it. If a PR came along with, that would be nice.”
The results pretty much followed that plan. His splits were: in the 800, 60-61; in the 1600, 62-67-69-66; and in the 3200, 66-71-72-74-73-74-74-68.
Like Troy, Keneth found himself motivated by the competition.
“I was surprised. Spruce Creek, which is usually big, wasn’t. And this one had a whole bunch of schools come. I thought there would be a bunch of guys really close, and that turned out to be the case.”
The third race in Pineiro’s trifecta was an unforgettable, awe-inspiring, solo sprint in the 3200. There were right around 70 starters in that one, late-night heat, all of whom Pineiro quickly left behind with the aforementioned 66 second opening lap. But what goes around, comes around, and he soon found most of the field now ahead of him. For the second half of the race, Keneth wove in and out of the huge crowd like a Kawasaki ZZR 1400 in an I-4 traffic jam (it was bike week, after all). He probably ran an extra 50 meters and thus added ten seconds to his effort.
The Boys’ 800 was won by Austin Cline (Seabreeze) in 1:58.65. In second was Trinity Prep’s Dan Salas (1:59.71), which, owing to the fact that he rarely runs a half, contributed to its being a PR. He has only finished five, all in odd-numbered years (2009-2011-2013). Later in the meet, he explained the reason as being a 1600/3200 double looming on the horizon.
“I’m running at Florida next weekend. I have the 3200 on Friday night, and the 1600 on Saturday.”
Winning the Girls’ 800 was Bishop Moore’s Elizabeth Skipper in 2:23.92, and in the 1600, Oviedo’s Danielle Turk. From the very start, Turk left no doubt as to her ambitions.
“This season, I’ve been trying to set the pace,” she explained. It’s my senior year and I want to go to State. I really want to ‘leave every race on the track’”—meaning, that she would hold nothing back—“because I have only one senior year. I went out hard to see what would happen.”
What happened was that Danielle quickly took control of the lead, and opened up a mini-gap between herself and Claire Castillo (Titusville). That, it seemed, was fine for three laps, until….
“She started to pass me at the beginning of the fourth lap. Something kind of clicked in my head, and I thought ‘Not on the last lap.’ I’m kind of a sprinter when I run the 800.
“Our coach, Tom Hammontree, is having us try different things. In my first meet, I ran the 3200, my first since my freshman year. Then I did the 800 at the Lake Brantley Invitational, and in the last two weeks the 1600.”
The result has been three PRs and one season’s best: a 12:18.80 in the 3200 at the February 22nd Highlander Invitational; a 5:29.42 in the 1600 and a 2:21.77 800 at LB on March 2nd (just three seconds off her 2:18.19 best at the 5/6/11 3A FHSAA State Finals); and another PR here (5:24.38).
Hammontree had a heart transplant just before the season, and although he was not at this meet, he has been working with Turk.
“He comes to every practice, and tries to come to as many meets as possible. I think it’s good for him.”
The Girls’ 3200 could best be described as “The Christina McKinnie Show.” The way it played out, McKinnie was the star and everyone else on the track seemed there as her “supporting cast.”
“Most track meets I do three running events: the 4 X 800, the eight, and either the 1600 or 3200,” she said during (the following) 4 X 4. “But I haven’t been running the 3200 all season. As of tonight, I think I’ll start running it again. It was a pleasant surprise. I’m very happy.”
With PRs of 2:28.84 in the 800 (Lake Highland Classic on March 9th of this year) and 5:23.43 in the 1600 (1A FHSAA Region 2 Meet on April 19, 2012), the junior has proven herself in all three middle/distance events.
“They just put me in it to see how I’d do. The only plan I had was to run 1:25 laps. I knew there wasn’t going to be anyone to run with, except Kelly Fahey. But one of my teammates thought she was injured in the 1600.”
In that aforementioned 1600, Kelly finished in 5:54, well off her best of 5:08.71 at the 1A FHSAA State Meet on April 27, 2012.
In this particular race, everything seemed to go McKinnie’s way, including the timing of the race, and with that an accompanying drop in temperature.
“I run a lot better when it is cool outside. I’ve always been able to do that.”
Her time of 11:22.70 improved upon her previous best by 22 seconds, even though she had to run à la Pineiro (in, out, and around a huge field).
That sudden and dramatic improvement was mirrored by Pine Ridge’s Jazmin Sepulveda. Watching her first few attempts in the high jump competition, I thought, 
“She won’t be around long.” But as the bar rose, with each successful jump so did her confidence, and with that her poise. It soon became obvious that she was one of the best jumpers there. I was able to catch up to her on the way to the 4 X 1, which she ran next (in addition to the 100). She was also entered in the long jump, but missed the call because of the high jump competition.
“This is only the second time that I’ve ever done this,” she said, referring to the high jump. “We don’t have this at our school.”
Her coach, Chris Madjik, elaborated.
“We don’t have a high jump mat. We don’t have the funds. We only have six hurdles, three blocks, no high jump, no pole vault, no discus. By the time this (spring) season comes around, the money is drained by other sports. I’m missing half my squad because they can’t pay their $75. Times are hard, so parents can’t afford it, and it hurts the kids.
“I can’t host meets because I don’t have equipment. We come to meets like this and I can (finally) coach them.
“Grass Roots Giving has helped throughout the county, but their money is running out. It shows how hard the times are, because kids can’t compete. I have filed for a USATF grant to get some funds.
“We’re hosting a 5K on April 6th. All the money is going to athletics.”
Jazmin, however, has somehow managed to rise above all this. In her first meet, she cleared 4’8”, and in this one improved to 4’10”.
“I’m pretty sure I was second, because there was a girl from University (Orange City)”--Mikea Pooler won with a 5’2” jump—“It feels pretty awesome. I don’t even practice and I got second place.”
“Last week, at DeLand”—a midweek developmental meet—“she asked me,” said her coach. “She said that she did it in elementary school and wanted to try it again. She ran cross country, but just came out for track this year. I keep barking at her that she should have been doing this all four years.”
“I’ve always wanted to do it, and since I wasn’t playing softball, I thought I’d try it,” interjected Jazmin. “It’s a lot of fun. It would be really awesome if I could run in college, but I don’t know if it would be too late or not. I got accepted into the Nova Southeastern athletic training program. After that I would like to become a physical therapist.”
Another “real McCoy,” is Seabreeze senior Tatianna McCoy.
“(At first) I never ran track because I thought it was hard,” Tatianna told me. “I ran my sophomore year”—where she posted PRs of 12.55 in the 100 (3A District 6 Meet on April 20, 2011) and 16’0” in the long jump (the March 25, 2011 Deltona Invitational)—but grades got me my junior year, and I ran half a year. After that, I transferred to the Richard Milburn Academy in Daytona Beach. Thanks to Richard, and Mr. Smith—the principal, whose son (Mike) is the head coach for the Atlanta Falcons. It’s his money that runs the school. He helped a lot; buys us pizza….”
Now back at Seabreeze, and a good enough runner to finish second of 69 runners in the 100, Tatianna is confident enough to be thinking ahead to college.
“Most likely I’ll go to BCC. My mother went there.
“My uncle is Walter McCoy. He went to Florida State and won a gold medal (1984 Olympic 4 X 4). I’m trying to follow in his footsteps. My mother ran, my father played football at Seabreeze and Florida State…Norman McCoy. He’s a great athlete.
“I do want to run track in college, and maybe be in the Olympics. It would be a great honor. I want to take track as far as it will take me.”
Although he didn’t say so, that thought could certainly be on the mind of New Smyrna Beach runner/football player James Clark. James runs often and runs fast…very, very fast. His PRs (10.61 in the 100 at the 3/30/12 Five Star Conference Championship and 21.51 in the 200 at the 5/4/12 3A FHSAA Championship) are among the fastest in the state. In this meet, he won the 200 (22.26), and improved his 400 to 48.97. And then there’s football.
“I’m headed to Ohio State,” he said, smiling. “I’ll probably be playing outside receiver. I guess I disappointed a lot of Gator fans, but it was a perfect fit--a place where I can be successful on and off the field. I’m going to major in finance, hoping it will open doors and take me a long way.”
But first….
“I want to go out with a ‘ring.’ I want to be a state champion and get ‘the ring.’ (To do that) I believe I’m going to have to go under 10.5 in the 100 and 21 in the 200. Kendall Williams will be there, and I’m going to have to give him a run for the money.
“My senior year in high school has been a great experience. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. New Smyrna Beach has been great, football, track and all. (Especially) the people I’ve met. I want to say ‘thank you’ to my principal, Mr. Tager, who was always there for me. And all the faculty on campus, the teachers and advisors. I (also) can’t forget my teammates, who are my second family.”
And lest I forget, congratulations are in order to the winners whom I haven’t mentioned: Jonathan Chin (11.55) and Kiley Brock (13.07) in the 100; Jaharra Russell in the 200 (26.41); Aiyanna Little in the 400 (1:00.42); Radeem Williams (15.08) and Mikea Pooler (16.12) in the highs; Robert Thomas (41.78) and Paige McKenzie (49.01) in the lows; the 4 X1 winners (FPC Boys in 43.77 and Seabreeze Girls in 50.79); the 4 X 4 winners (Bishop Moore Boys in 3:26.90 and Hagerty Girls in 4:15.91); the 4 X 8 winners (Spruce Creek Boys in 8:24.64 and Hagerty Girls in 9:50.06); Brandon Minear (49-8) and Ellexie Haughton (34-9) in the shot put; Jamal Whittaker (166-4) and Jessie Hiteshaw (105-10) in the discus; Matt Goble (6-2) in the Boys high jump; Abby Dierkas (10’) in the girls pole vault; Austin Warren in the long (20’ 11-1/4”) and triple jump (44’ 3-1/2”); Jordan McDonald (16-0) and Sydney Schilling (34-5) in the girls’ jumps; and of course team champions Orange City Boys (81 points) and Hagerty Girls (136).
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