Gator Girls Roll, Gator Boys Win it by the Skin of Their Teeth

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The Land O' Lakes Gator girls were going for their third straight district title. The Gator boys were going for their fifth. The Gator girls, so strong through the field events, had another huge day amassing 161 points to runner up Lecanto with 119. Sunlake was third with 102 and Pasco fourth with 94.

It took all the way down the the final event before the battle between Land O' Lakes and Mitchell for the Class 3A District 7 title. The Gator boys moved in front when Alex Normandia and Francisco Juan took first and second in the 3200m (10:18.86 and 10:23.14).


When the Gator 4x400m relay of Aleks Marczak, Nicholas Barbas, Zack Reynolds and Josue Arandia stepped on the track, they just had to stay within one place of Mitchell. They did that and then some. Wesley Chapel and Sunlake took first and second (3:36.74 and 3:37.19) but Arandia, also winner of the open 400m, over took two runners, including Mitchell's anchor leg to move into third and win the title 100-97. Wesley Chapel took third as a team with 90 and Lecanto fourth with 85. Springstead was fifth with 84.5. 


Individually, Pasco County waved goodbye to two of the top athletes to come through the county. University of Miami signee Alfreda Steele pulled her characteristic, four-event sweep in her denouement. Steele won the 100m in 12.50 and the 200m in 25.81 on an asphalt track. She came back and anchored the winning 4x100m relay in 51.13 but got a stout challenge for the title in the long jump. Steele traded jumps with Land O' Lakes' Tori Cannata in the finals, each jumper out-jumping the other until Steele dropped an 18-8.5, the third-best mark in Class 3A this season.

"I've got it together with long jump now," Steele said. "I knew I had 18 in me today and I feel like I'm back to where I should have been all season."


Steele has a very busy afternoon as the long jump, 100m, 200m and 4x100m prelims all crammed into a few hours.

"It caught me off guard but I managed it," Steele said. 

Land O' Lakes' Cannata had a big day as well. Cannata, aside from taking first in the triple jump at 37-6 for a season best and #9 in 3A, Cannata took second in the long jump at 17-11 with teammate Lacy Nasello in third at 17-3. Nasello also took third behind Cannata and Lecanto's Alexandra Thomasson in the triple jump. Sydney Nasello grabbed the fourth qualifying spot in triple jump. Cannata however, went on to tie for second in the high jump and anchored the third-place 4x100m relay. 

"It's not 38 but it's good," Cannata, who had three jumps over 36 feet, said. "I really wanted it and I went for it."


The big day in the field events continued for the Gator girls as throwers Amelia Cary and Alexis Harris took first and second in the discus. Cary set down Harris' school record from the SAC east meet with a 128-7, the sixth-best throw in 3A this year. Harris went 122-5 to take second with Lecanto's Harrison Mancke taking third at 119-4. Mancke won the shot with a 39-1, moving into a tie for the seventh-best throw in 3A. Mancke already has the sixth-best throw, a 39-6 from the South Sumter Raider Invite.

"Competition only makes you better, it's the only way to get better," Cary said. 


Sunlake's Jamila Cardwell continues to break school records. She already owns all three distance records at the school. On Thursday, she anchored the winning 4x800m relay that won the event at 10:25.32. Hope Velez, Skyla Morales and Genesis Gonzalas were the other legs on the relay. Cardwell followed it up by breaking her own school record in the 800m (2:26.10). Cardwell also won the 3200m in 11:43.41 and took second behind Lecanto's Claire Farnsworth (5:21.99) in the 1600m. 

"In between events I try to rest, talk with people, try to get my mind off it," Cardwell said. "But when I'm called, I get my mind right and my head in the game."


Mitchell's Emily Gauvey cleared 5-6 to win the high jump and continue her string of first-place finishes this season. Gauvey made it her last effort on the jump pad at Mitchell before she heads to regionals at First Academy next week. Gauvey jumped 5-6 at First Academy during the 2015 Golden South meet and likes the rubber jump pad there. Her 5-9 from Ed Wells Kiwanis is still the top mark in 3A.


River Ridge pole vaulters Garrett Jerothe and Stone Baker had solid days, taking first (13-6) and second (13-0) but the tandem had an even better day at last Saturday's Steinbrenner Invite where both set new PRs with Jerothe going 14-6 and Baker going 13-6. Jerothe's 14-6 ties for the fourth-best mark in 3A. The Steinbrenner marks were never recorded as the meet concluded long before the pole vault event. 

"That (Steinbrenner) was a good day, I moved up to a bigger pole and that helped," Jerothe said. 


River Ridge's Sean White shattered his PR by five feet, going 49-8, moving into the top 11 marks in 3A.

"I've been scraping high numbers," White said. "It's been a mental thing this year and today it got me far."

Lecanto's Jacob Sullivan was not far behind White with a 48-4.25. Springstead's Kyle Manuel went 139-7 to win boys discus. 


Pasco's Brent Dawson, whose 6-5 from the Raider Invite is fourth in 3A, cleared 6-2 to win the event. Pasco teammate Jakiah Felder went 20-4 to win the long jump, won the 100m in 11.75 and took third in the 200m behind Springstead's Demetrius Barry (24.07) and Diemonte Williams (24.34). Felder also anchored the winning 4x100m relay (45.11). Wesley Chapel's Dominic Moreno won both the 800m (2:01.24) and the 1600m (4:30.16). He got a close call from Sunlake's Austin Wilmar in the 800m and another from teammate Jacob Lehman in the 1600m. 

Dion Young-Benitez won the 110m hurdles (16.78) and took second in the 300m hurdles (45.57). Sunlake's Bryant Beacham won the 300m hurdles (44.48). 

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