3A State Meet Headquarters

May 03, 2013

Highlights and coverage from Friday's 3A state meet in Jacksonville with on-site coverage from Todd Grasley, Randy Settle, and Andy Warrener.

On-Site Coverage

Highlights by Andy Warrener

The conditions Friday afternoon cast a pall over the track at the University of North Florida. Rain and wind forced meet officials to move the meet up an hour. It moved right into a malestrom of wind and driving rain that did not relent the entire afternoon. Aspirations of meet marks and national records falling blew away with the fair weather a day before. However, the drama of a state track meet was in wild abundance as athletes braved deplorable conditions to grapple with each others' greatness.

The boys team title was up for grabs much of the day. Defending champion Bartram Trail sought to better their mark from a year ago. Northwestern athletes gave them a string puch until Bartram's ace took the track. Senior Nick Uruburu, already headed to UF on scholarship, flexed his 400m prowess in both the open event and the relay. No one could keep up with Uruburu after the turn as he accelerated to decisive win in 48.28 over a second ahead of the rest of the field. Not to be out-done, Uruburu got the baton on the final leg of the boys relay.

"I know these guys (teammates) do all they can to get us in first place but it doesn't always work out like that," Uruburu said. "I know I can take it home from a pretty good distance."

Bartram needed a sixth place finish to snatch the team title away from Northwestern. The Batram boys were fourth when Uruburu grabbed the baton from senior Gabriel Davis with the team title in sight. It wasn't enough for Uruburu as he ran a scorching 46.60 split, oddly enough, the same split he ran a year ago to overcome a huge defecit and win the relay and team title in one swoop.

Race Video: Boys 4x400m Relay (Uruburu Leg)
Interview: Nick Uruburu/Boys 4x400m Relay Team

The boys sprints were equally exciting but no one athlete could take away sprinting dominance. Gibbs senior Trayvon Bromell nearly clipped all three sprinting events with a win in the 100m (10.45) then followed it up on the anchor leg of the 4x100m relay. Behind four or five steps on the final handoff, Bromell turned on the after-burner and overtook a Gainesville team that had led the whole race. Stanton senior Kendall Williams fought off a hard charge from Gibbs senior Trayvon Bromell to protect the sprinting titles and finish in 21.12 and repeat as state champ.

"A lot of people say they see me run down people and it's exciting but today it really counted," Bromell said. "I really wanted it for my team, they all stayed in their lanes and ran a good race - I had to get this one for them."

Race Video: Boys 100m Final
Race Video: Boys 200m Final
Interview: Trayvon Bromell (100m Champion, 4x100m Champion, 200m Runner-Up)
Interview: Kendal Williams (200m Champion, 100m Runner-Up)

Boys hurdles dominance knows but one name and that is senior Miami-commit Artie Burns. Burns was defending his 110m hurldle title from a year ago and he finished in form at 14.31 but only after a sub-par preliminary heat that sent him to Lane 8 for the final. Burns would go on to win the 300m hurldes but not without a challenge from runner up Darius Hodges of Palm Beach Lakes.

Race Video: Boys 110m Hurdles
Interview: Artie Burns - (110/300m Hurdles Champion)

Stepping into the event-sweeping arena and throwing pits was Gulf Breeze and FSU-commit Austin Droogsma. Droogsma is no stranger to the podium at UNF. He won both events a year ago and won the shot by four feet with a throw of 57-2.5 this year. He paired it with a discus throw of 183-3.

"I feel like I've done what I planned on doing winning two state titles again," Droogsma said. "It's awesome just to be here."

Interview: Austin Droogsma (Shot Put/Discus Champion)

The distance events in the boys field belonged to Niceville. Junior Nicholas Morken repeated as state champion in the 1600m but it did not come easy. Senior Avery Lopez, who helped his 4x800m team to a state title, of Belen Jesuit caught Morken on the turn and gutted it out, step-for-step all the way to the finish line where he thrust his head across. It was five-hundredths of a second behind Morken. Teammate in junior Thomas Howell improved on his second place finish a year ago in the 3200m. Howell set a scorching pace that no other athlete could match. Howell's 9:34.67 was sizzling considering the conditions.

"I started out slow but I saved it for the sixth lap, after that it was all guts and glory," Howell said.

Interview: Thomas Howell/Nicholas Morken (1600/3200m Champions)

Jefferson senior Jonathan Moore led off the boys 800m final but fell behind as he finished the first lap. By the first straightaway on the second lap, Moore had re-established himself in the lead and in the final turn, hit another gear that gave him all the room he needed to finish almost two seconds ahead of the field.

On the boys side, the Belen Jesuit team of Diego Rojo Alexander Isaac, Omar Rosete, and Avery Lopez got past Riverview in 8:01.98 to move from runner up in 2012 to state champ in 2013. Lopez, a FSU-commit sealed the win on his final leg.

"When I got the baton in first, there was no way I was going to let it go," Lopez said.

Interview: Belen Jesuit (4x800m Champions)
Interview: Avery Lopez (1600m Runner-Up, 4th Place 3200m)

The girls side was no less spectacular and equally filled with dominant individual athletes. The Northwestern girls rolled on to their fifth consectutive and tenth team title in the last 15 years. Buoyed by state title throws in the shot and disc, junior Lloydrici Cameron defended her state title in the shot with a throw of 44-3.25. She also held up her top seed in the discus with a throw of 146-8. Teammates Akassja White and Jontavia White chipped in points with third and sixth place finishes in discus, respectively. White also claimed fifth in the shot while Dykes placed seventh.

Top seeded Kaylin Whitney set a dangerous precedent Friday. Whitney, just a freshman, won the girls 100m in her first year of high school competition in 11.79 then followed it up with a dominant win in the 200m (23.40). Whitney should be the pace-setter in girls 100m for the next few years. For now, she's the fastest girl in Class 3A. She might stay that way for a while. Whitney became the first freshman to be invited to the Adidas Dream 100 on Friday.

"I just won the state meet as a freshman, who can't be happy about this," Whitney said. "Words can't describe it, it's crazy."

In the girls 100m hurdles, defending champ and senior Johna' Whitaker, a left no doubt on the track as she crushed the 100m hurlde finals. Whitaker had the top seed coming in, the fastest qualifying time and finished more than a half second ahead of the field. She continued her sheer dominance in the 300m hurdle finals stretching out a huge lead before finishing in 42.72, almost two seconds ahead of the field. Whitaker is headed to the University of Kentucky to continue her track career.

"This was my last time doing the 300m, I just wanted to go out there and do it," Whitaker said. "My mom gave me a pep talk before and that's what pushed me."

To kick off the drizzly afternoon in Jacksonville the 2012 runners up in both the girls and the boys fields of the 4x800m claimed the 2013 titles. The Estero girls team of Daley Cline, Megan Slater, Katy Solis and Kacy Smith jumped on the absence of defening champs Lakewood Ranch to claim the state title in 9:26.58. The girls got a big boost from Ole Miss commit Smith on the last 800m.

"I can't explain how great it feels to come out with the team in my last race and go out with a bang," Smith said. "I didn't know where the other girls were so I just turned it one, didn't want to leave anything to chance."