The weather did not cooperate with us tonight. It started off cool and overcast with a cross wind in the jumps, but a helping wind in the sprints. That turned into cold, windy and rainy after the first few races. By the time we got to the 800, there was standing water in lane 1 in multiple places around the track. We did not get to finish some of the field events, but we went ahead and reported what had already happened before we called the meet on account of the weather. We did all of the schedule races except the 4X400.
A few things that stand out upon a first reflection on the meet. I thought Bolles had a surprisingly solid showing. Historically, we normally look a little flat at this meet after a hard week of training, but I think we competed well tonight. We have a lot of kids who have been working very hard all summer, fall and preseason getting ready for this year and you can tell it from their performances. Danielle Spence in the Shot and Disc had a pair of big PR's and won both events.
We had a 8th grade girl, Aunikah King, go 17'2" in the long jump from a short approach. Ashton Butler tied the school record in the boys long jump at 23'5" coming from a medium approach, then came back and jump nearly 47' in the triple from a short approach (10 step).
The conditions did not lend themselves to good pole vaulting tonight, but I was proud of how well Frances Rice competed, winning at 10'0" from her short approach. The boys didn't get to vault, so we didn't get to see Harry Glasser try and break our facility record. His next chance at that will be the Bulldog Classic on March 7th.
Defending State Champion Jeremiah Theus started off well in the discus, winning with his throw of 166'. I think he started last season around 135" and finished the year at 168', so him starting off the season at 166' could be an indicator of great things to come. He was pushed by Reid Harris of Bishop Kenny who went 155'9.
Oak Hall seventh grader Tymiah Montgomery blew by the field in the 100 winning in a time of 12.49. The next fastest competitor was Bulldog's sophomore Makayla Stewart in a time of 13.17.
Oak Hall seventh grader Tymiah Montgomery blew by the field in the 100 winning in a time of 12.49. The next fastest competitor was Bulldog's sophomore Makayla Stewart in a time of 13.17.
Our girls distance runners picked up where they left off from their cross country state championship. I think we had eight girls around 5:50 or faster with a few others that didn't run tonight for various reasons. Mackenzie Wilson looked strong in winning it which was good to see as she is coming off a slight cold from last week. One of our middle school XC runners, Caitlyn Collier, ran the 200 instead and won the event around 27.00 out of one of the slow heats.There were other great performances including Rachel Shapiro of Bolles, Morgan Lucey of Episcopal, Grace Blair and Lindsey Rosenberg of Oak Hall who all ran under 5:37.
Nikki Vandervelde jumped 17'5 in the long jump for Episcopal and won that, but was most impressive was that she did it on her first and only attempt. She was warming up for vault, came over and jumped 17'5" and then went back to vault and didn't take any more jumps.
Elite Performances
Girls Highlights
- 100 Meter Dash - Tymiah Montgomery (Oak Hall School) 12.49;
- Discus - Danielle Spence (Bolles HS) 115-0;
- Long Jump - Nikki Vandervelde (Episcopal School of Jacksonville) 17-5.5; Aunikah King (Bolles HS) 17-1.5;
- Pole Vault - Frances Rice (Bolles HS) 10-0; Julia Sessions (Episcopal School of Jacksonville) 9-0;
- Shot Put - Danielle Spence (Bolles HS) 36-7; Amber Harris (Bishop Kenny HS) 35-11.5;
Boys Highlights
- Discus - Jeremiah Theus (Bolles HS) 166-1; Reid Harris (Bishop Kenny HS) 155-9;
- Long Jump - Cody Rose (Bishop Kenny HS) 22-8; Ashton Butler (Bolles HS) 23-5;
- Triple Jump - Ashton Butler (Bolles HS) 46-10;
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