Inclement Weather Forces Abridged Lineup for 1st Annual IMG Academy Track Invitational

IMG Academy Invitational
Andy Warrener

On-Site Coverage

It looked like a great day for a track meet on arrival at the IMG Academy Invitational. The 4x800m went off without a hitch under overcast, cloudy skies and mild temperature but the first big storm of the new year wiped the slate of events off the docket and the athletes off the field. Certain events began to get the axe as water-logged jump pits and sloshy grass fields made for extremely tough sledding. The finals, originally scheduled for 12pm were pushed way back until almost 3pm. The weather allowed for the 100m, the high hurdles, the 1600m and the girls 4x100m to get through before another swell hit. Finally, at 5:28pm the boys 4x100m was put back on the track and the last section of girls discus went back out to finish.


Leading up to the weather delays there were some remarkable events. The first was the girls 4x800m, with favorite Lake Brantley in the mix. It would be Lake Brantley, led by 800m defending state champ Sinclaire Johnson to the tape in first with a time of 9:34.39, the second-best mark in Florida this season.


On the boys side, Orlando's Freedom won at 8:10.11, a top 10 time in the state this year. Johnson, like many athletes on Saturday, took an early exit from the meet, leaving the open 800m up for grabs.


Stepping, or charging rather, into that void was Chiles senior Alexandra Wallace, who legged out freshman teammate Emily Culley 2:28.72 to 2:30.11. Wallace also won the 1600m in 5:16.49 over Wharton's Bryanna Rivers. Culley took fourth in the event. The Chiles girls continued to rack up points as sophomore Ana Wallace won the 3200m in 11:20.51, almost 15 seconds ahead of the field. 

Chiles Timberwolves Get Truckload Of Points From Throwers


The Chiles boys swept the top three spots in the shot, Cole Upthegrove winning it with a 50-0.75. Junior teammate Connor Hansen took second at 46-10.25 and Jordan Poole grabbed third at 45-10.25. The Chiles boys looked to settle for second, third and fourth in the disc until Poole, on his third and final throw, went 154-2 to win it, passing Lakewood Ranch's Sam Jackson in the process. Chiles senior Joshua Oliver took third (135-8) and Upthegrove fourth (124-3). The Chiles throwers are assembling as a potent threat to help keep the Timberwolves, defending back-to-back Class 3A state team champs, at the top. 

"Last year, it was a lot of fun to get in the lead early and take the pressure off of our distance guys," Chiles interim head coach and throwing coach Scott Browning said. "It really helps in a 3A meet to come out and get 14-15 quick points where 30-35 can win it; to come out and get those big points is huge."

Browning is also the offensive line coach at Chiles High and he's helped solidify a grid-iron-to-track production line. 

"(Former head coach Scott Gowan) approached me years ago wanting to build a a better relationship with the football program," Browning said. "It was fortunate to work with Gowan, all I've learned about track I've learned from him."


Browning also cites hitting the books, watching technique videos, going to workshops and having former athletes come back to Chiles to help out as ingredients in the Timberwolves' success. Browning currently has eight throwers on the squad and feels as if at least half of them can make the state meet. Five will return for next season.

Upthegrove is coming off of a third place mark in the shot and a fourth place mark in the disc from 2015 states and he benefits from having so much competition within his own team.

"There's no conflict but there's plenty of competition," Upthegrove said. "It's great because we can rely on us starting out the meet right."

Browning has been trying Upthegrove out in the hammer throw as he feels like that might be Upthegrove's stronger event at the collegiate level.

"I think that (hammer) is what he'll shine at in college," Browning said. "He's a diamond in the rough for anyone that takes a look at him."

Upthegrove actually quit football after three years to focus on his throws. 

Juniors Poole and Hansen round out some of the veteran leadership for the Timberwolves. 

"Right now Jordan and Connor lead the way with a couple of talented freshmen in the mix," Browning said. 

"Two years ago, Jordan looked just miserable in shot but I told him if he just sticks with it, it will be worth it. Now he's on the verge of 50 feet and he's put in good work in the weight room," Browning said. 

Hansen plays center for the Timberwolves' varsity football team and has a football scholarship to his credit. 

"It (football) helps with explosion," Hansen said. "Playing offensive and defensive line and running these drills develops a lot of physical power.

Hansen is grateful for the competition and camaraderie within his own team.

"It definitely helps, we push each other and compete in two sports," Hansen said. "We joke around but we're serious when we have to be; we're like brothers."

Oliver is still perfecting his spin in the disc and has a tireless work ethic like his teammates.

"Josh will go straight from football practice, to the weight room, to out practicing throws," Browning said. "We have 12-13 throwers at practice and they all get quality work in."

Freshman Hayden Faison is an up-and-coming talent for the Timberwolves.

"He's shown where he has great potential, something we can get excited about," Browning said. 

Rain Rain Go Away: Action Resumes

The meet resumed again and the 1600m went off in one of the events still stocked with some of the top competition. In the boys race, Seffner Christian's Noah Perkins set off in the lead with Orlando Freedom's Timothy Doyle and Belen Jesuit's Joshua Collins in pursuit. Hernando's Trevor Foley closed in but coming into the end of the third lap, got caught up in another runner's legs and sustained an injury not apparent until the end of the race where Foley collapsed in eighth-place.


Perkins stayed just in front of the pack until the final lap when he ratcheted up the pace and stretched it out for a win in 4:20.42, a new personal record. 

"Even if some of the top guys dropped (out), I was still in the race to win it," Perkins said. "I wanted to work that last lap so I can be able to close faster (in the future)."

The open 400m saw some top athletes drop out but that did little to diminish the performances from Spoto's Janae Caldwell and Sickles' Andrew Vendrone. Caldwell scorched the field, finishing nearly five seconds ahead of the field with a 56.88.


Vendrone got out to an early lead but a challenge from Chiles' Jordan Roberts put the win in question as Roberts ran a better turn to move in front before the final straightaway. 

"I heard him (Roberts) coming and then he got in front of me," Vendrone said. "I thought, 'Okay, I guess I'll race for this,' he definitely helped me push it."

Vendrone picked it up on the final straightaway and won in 50.11. Vendrone also recently accepted a scholarship offer from Embry-Riddle in Daytona Beach. 


Next significant event was the boys 800m, where Sarasota's Adam Bradtmueller raced into the lead after the first lap only to have Freedom's Johns Volmar close in and challenge him for the second lap. Volmar closed the gap on the back stretch and tried to pass Bradtmueller on the last turn but Bradtmueller fought it off and came in for the win at 1:58.29. Volmar was a close second in 1:59.55. 

"I knew tactically, I had to make him (Volmar) go outside (on the final turn), then with 100 meters left it was an all-out sprint," Bradtmueller said. 

Bradtmueller had the best 1600m time coming into the meet but elected to run the 800m in an effort to build up his speed for the Raleigh Relays. 

"I'm hoping that if it (1600m at Raleigh) comes down to the last 800 meters, I have the speed to keep up with them," Bradtmueller said. "I wanted to go even faster but the conditions and that slow first lap, it was tough."

Bradtmueller said he ran a 57-second second lap to turn up the pace. 


Host IMG's Simon Usurp won the abridged field in long jump at 21-4.5. Lakewood Ranch's Olivia Ogles won the girls omg jump at 16-10. Johns Creek's Miles Clay won the boys triple jump at 41-0. Palmetto's Elizabeth Atkinson just edged Chiles' Destiny Sparks in the girls disc 103-5.5 to 103-3. Atkinson also won the shot at 33-8.5. 

The hurdles are especially tricky in wet conditions but that didn't stop Lakewood Ranch's Kristine Akervold from winning in 14.67. Belen Jesuit's Daniel Mejia and Johns Creek's Jordan Oballe went 1-2 in 15.03 and 15.05, respectively. Mejia took second in the 300m hurdles behind a 39.27 from Johns Creek's Caden Ciul. 


Lakewood Ranch's Sophia Falco ran the only sub 12-second 100m to win in 11.97. The showdown with Pasco's Alfreda Steele did not happen, as Steele and the Pirates left after the second weather delay. Most of the top male sprinters left early as well but Braddock's Jason Reese and Steven Stallings ran a 10.90 and a 10.95 to take first and second.

The bleeding out of athletes reach hemorrhaging proportions by the last three events and marks in the 200m, 3200m and 4x400m were down, even though Braddock's Stallings won with a respectable 22.41 in the 200m. Belen Jesuit's Joshua Collins logged a solid 9:46.54 to win the 3200m by more than 15 seconds. 

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