(Photo: Andy Warrener)
MEET PHOTOS - MEET RESULTS
The Calvary Christian Warrior Invitational went down the day after the Thursday night Saint Petersburg City meet and some notable entries opted to rest. It did little to diminish some of the feats that went down Friday night. The Berkeley Prep Bucs had a great all-around showing taking the girls team title by a landslide, 172 to host Calvary's 97. Mitchell girls were third with 85. On the boys side, Countryside broke through with a 126 to Berkeley's 112. Seminole took third with 88.
Easily the biggest mark of the day came at the hands or the legs, rather of Mitchell senior Emily Gauvey. Gauvey stormed onto the track scene as a freshman at Anclote. She made a high jump of 5-8 as a sophomore there and still owns the Anclote school record in the event. In November of 2014, Gauvey underwent ankle surgery and it agonizingly set her back. Gauvey got right back to where she peaked as a sophomore Friday night by clearing 5-8 to take the individual title, set down the meet record, take over the Mitchell school record, take over the top spot in Florida this season and move into a three-way tie for the second-best mark in the United States this year.
"It's been such a challenge, I hit 5-7.75 at the USAT Junior Olympics in Jacksonville over the summer," Gauvey said. "It's so nice to be back at my full potential that I reached my sophomore year."
There was a bit of drama leading up to Gauvey's big jump as Calvary's Julianna Chappell cleared 5-0 to take second. Chappell tied her own personal mark and broke her school record with the jump.
The Seminole Warhawks are set for their jumping and sprinting for the next few years with a sophomore tandem of Darrien Conley and Austin Henkel. Henkel and Conley scored 60 of Seminole's 88 points, counting their contributions on the winning 4x100m relay (46.71). The top three long jumpers on the boys side all cleared 20 feet. Conley won it at 20-6, a new meet record. Santa Fe Catholic's Ty'ree Rodman took second with a 20-5.5 and Henkel took third at 20-2. The Warhawk duo took first and second in the 100m, Henkel an 11.66 and Conley an 11.74. Then they went first and third in the 200m, Conley with a 23.47 and Henkel with a 24.06. Berkeley's Edward Todd III grabbed second in 23.93.
"We did all the same events last year, too," Henkel said. "It's great because we push each other every day."
The pair actually dates their friendly rivalry way back to Seminole Middle School where they broke each others' school records in the 100m until Henkel finally left it with an 11.60. Weather might have played a factor Friday night.
"He (Henkel) kicks my butt when it's cold," Conley said. "We go back-and-forth all the time but Austin has been on a win streak, lately."
Seminole coach Sandra Miller enjoys the intersquad rivalry.
"They are doing a phenomenal job and every year they get better," Miller said.
Calvary Christian's Hannah Brookover, coming off a Class A cross country title, dominated her two events on Friday. Brookover torched the field in the both the 1600m (5:06.15) to set down her own meet record. Her 800m mark (2:20.12) set down a meet record from 2008.
"I'm pretty happy with those times, even without a push," Brookover said. "This is a good warmup for the bigger meets this year."
Coming in behind Brookover in the 800m was Mitchell's Grace Phillips, who edged past Countryside's Sydney Avery on the home stretch to take second and set a new personal record of 2:28.20.
"It really helped to chase Hannah, it was nice to have someone to really push me," Phillips said.
Lakeland Christian's Michael Barcelo cleared six feet to claim the high jump title. Barcelo missed qualifying for states as a junior, even though he'd jumped 6-4 earlier that season. Barcelo takes every meet, every jump seriously in his senior campaign.
Pole vaulters Morgan Brown and Amanda Dumar took first and second in girls pole vault, respectively. Brown won it clearing 10-6 on fewer attempts. Dumar's 10-6 broke her personal record and brought her within striking distance of the Berkeley school record, a record she hopes to break at the Bucs' next home meet.
"I'll probably come in higher next time," Dumar said. "Once you've done so many jumps, you might hit your peak at a lower height."
Both athletes weren't finished at the pole vault, either. Dumar won the long jump at 15-10 and the 300m hurdles in 47.95. Brown placed eighth in the high jump.
Mitchell's Austin Koos came within a couple seconds of his PR, going 2:03.91 to win the 800m with seven seconds on the rest of the field. Berkeley's Leonel Ochoa won both the 1600m (4:43.97) and the 3200m in 9:58.98, setting the meet record down in the process.
The Countryside boys were strong in the hurdles as Gregory Foster and Nicholas Roberts went 1-2 in the 110m hurdles. Then Roberts took third and Foster fourth in the 300m hurdles. Bishop McLaughlin's Owen Clanahan won it at 39.67, setting down the meet record. Santa Fe Catholic's Henry Perry ran a 50.01 to win the boys 400m. Countryside's Thomas Roman went 133-2 to win boys discus. Roman also won the shot with a throw of 44-7.