Results and photos posted on meet page
Okay, so I stole the sub-title from Eugene O’Neill’s 1957 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Drama. (With trials and finals, the meet lasted over nine hours.) Admittedly, however, I wasn’t the only one trying to “steal the show.” This is the meet that serves as a bridge between the conferences (most of which were completed in the week prior), and the three act performance that will determine the 2010 FHSAA State Champions. Altamonte Spring’s Lake Brantley track, and its extensive athletic fields, provided multiple stages upon which these athlectors hoped to extend their “run” as long as possible. Some competitors, perhaps understating the idea that “there are no bit parts,” made only a brief appearance. Others carried the hope of their team’s future on yeoman’s backs by participating in multiple events, and in both trials and finals.
The opening race—the 4 X 800--between Spruce Creek and Lake Brantley was about as close to a climax as you can get. (Fortunately no one left after it was over.) Creek’s fearsome, I mean foursome, of Jesse Leone (1:55.53), Greg Frye (2:01.15), Jon Hemingway (1:59.35) and Nick Kutyn (2:01.98)—these are their coach’s splits--ran in reverse order of what one would have expected from their previous splits, but finished in a sizzling 7:58.22--to host school Lake Brantley’s 8:01.09—and no doubt caught the attention of Flagler-Palm Coast’s likewise talented 4 X 8 team (8:09.24 at the District 1-4A meet). Be sure to be in your seat when the three face off at the upcoming Regional Championships (Winter Springs; Wednesday, 28th).
There were five double winners in the field: Ledale Winters (100 and 200), Mark Joyce (110 and 300 hurdles), Shane Lewis (LJ, TJ), Emma Falcone (300 hurdles and LJ), and Sari Waters (800 and 1600). While the others certainly worked hard (most entered an additional event and a relay), Waters was the only distance runner, male or female, who was a double winner. In addition, according to my count, eleven boys and nine girls either double or triple qualified, and will have the opportunity to advance in more than one event in the Regionals.
Ledale Hollie, (according to the results) was the sole junior to double. With previous PRs of 11.01 and 22.37 in the 100 and 200 respectively (both in the prelims at the April 15th Seminole Athletic Conference Championship), he shaved a little off both in the finals: 10.84 in the 100 and 22.17 in the 200. Although of shorter stature than most of his competitors, he is uncommonly quick for a sprinter, using a rapid turnover to counter the longer stride of his taller competitors. His secret to success?
“I trained a bit harder coming in to the Districts,” he explained, “and put my heart into it.”
Although non-racing photos show that Deland’s Mark Joyce has a sensitive side, when he’s hurdling he might more accurately be described as the “Trackinator.” Football-big, fast between the hurdles and furious going over (and occasionally through) them, he seems to have more gears than a semi. When the competition gets tough, he gets tougher. 110s or 300s, it doesn’t matter. (If you added hurdles to the 800, he’d probably win that too.) After the final in the 300 (which he won in 39.36), I asked him if he thought the 300 hurdles was the toughest race in track.
“Yessir,” he answered between gulps of air. “All I know is that I’m tired; those boys pushed me hard.”
“How does it compare to the 110s?” I asked, pushing my luck after his fourth race of the day.
“It’s a totally different race. This (the 300) is a beast. My butt’s burnin’. You don’t get that in the 110.”
“I guess it’s good to be done with your last race?” I asked.
“I got eight more races,” he corrected me, “in the Regional and State.”
Emma Falcone (Seminole) is also looking ahead: “My next goal(s) is to get 43 (she won in 44.90), and get first in the State Meet. I also want to make it in the 100 (she was third in 15.91) and the long jump (first in 17’6”).
She, like her male counterpart, has a healthy respect for the longer of the hurdle events.
“It’s like the 400, with hurdles. You have to attack. You have to be aggressive, get your steps right, and keep your form. It’s all you can do.”
Track athletes are a varied lot, but (at least) two have somehow found the time to establish significant academic and service accomplishments, in addition to recording their noteworthy athletic gifts--Spruce Creek’s Kyle Gaines and Deland’s Andrew Epifanio. As 2010 recipients of the prestigious Medallion of Excellence, their accomplishments are too lengthy to list completely, but a short description (according to the Daytona News-Journal’s April 18th Local edition) might serve to describe their aptitude for brilliance. Both are captains for two teams: Kyle for track and diving (where he is a school record holder), and Andrew for track and cross country; both are active in church (Kyle as a collections usher, Andrew as a lector); each a leader in school activities (Kyle in school government, and Andrew as an All-County chorus, and All-State trumpet performer); each took a significantly more challenging path for college preparation (Kyle as a National AP Scholar, Andrew as a 4.0 Daytona State College—where he will claim an AA degree in May--President’s Scholar); and each will go on to a college nationally recognized in their chosen field (Kyle in international politics at Georgetown, and Andrew in music education at Stetson).
As experts in “juggling many hats,” it is more fate than irony that the Medallion awards banquet would be held on the same night as the District 2-4A Championship Meet, and each of the aforementioned winners had to make a choice. Kyle, a pole vaulter, was able to get in that fourth place vault (10-6) that allowed him to go on to the Regionals, and giving him the opportunity to leave the meet early enough to claim his medallion (thus lifting the curtain on the Taylor Gunderson [Deland] show; first with a 12’0” vault). Andrew had no such luck. His specialty, the 3200, would start during the banquet. (Two years ago, he missed the District T & F Meet because of the Florida State MPA; as Deland’s principal trumpet, he could not be absent from that music performance.) So, on April 21st, while the other 44 Medallion recipients were receiving their medals, Andrew was again hard at work earning his.
Rest assured, by the time the 26 entrants lined up for the start of the 3200 (the next to the last event), the ceremony at the far off Daytona Beach News-Journal Center was completely absent from his mind. Seeded fifth with a 10:11 PR, he aggressively challenged the leaders from the very start, running somewhere between second and fifth the entire race. Running first, almost from the onset, was Lake Brantley’s Daniel Deschellis. Although Deschellis was probably somewhat fatigued from his third place finish in the (earlier) 1600, he certainly hid the fact well, and seemed unbeatable until the back stretch of the gun lap, which is where Epifanio managed to close the gap, and subsequently pass him on the near turn. Daniel, however, who had a 9:41.50 PR (March 27th at the FSU Relays) coming in to the race, reached down and pushed past his challenger, to go sub-ten (9:58.69). Andrew was second in a new PR (10:01.67), and, in third and fourth, (and claiming the last two spots in the Regional race) were Tim Nguyen (10:05.67) and Sean Rynning (10:11.22).
Deltona’s Tanner Fleming can sympathize with Gaines and Epifanio, and attest to the chaos axiom of Murphy’s Law. He is Deltona’s quintessential “weight man,” representing his school in two sports this spring season.
“On Saturday is States for weight lifting,” he told me.
That’s not exactly like trying to make an awards banquet, or competing in two sports in different seasons.
“It’s pretty tough. I’ve missed a lot of practices.”
Not to mention the associated risks.
“On Monday, I was bench pressing 390—I do both the bench and clean and jerk (where he lifts 390 and 300, respectively), and hurt my right shoulder. I’ve hurt it before in a work out, but this time it felt bad.”
So bad, in fact, that he tried to throw the discus left-handed.
“I was resting the shoulder….”
And how did that turn out?
“I threw 72’7”.”
Which is precisely 55’2” shy of his best discus throw this season, not exactly good news for his coach, who, incidentally, didn’t know the reason prior to the interview. Next he tried a “Louie” in the shot too, but he could only manage a 38’7”. That’s okay for about 90% of the shot putters you’ll ever met, but not quite good enough for the 5 Star Conference Champion (51’61/2” on April 10th) to make the Regionals. But the good news is that Tanner figured out a foolproof, A-1 plan for his specialty. He would throw it righty, but attempt….
“…just one throw.”
And, it worked. Before his aching shoulder even knew what he was up to, he tossed the ball an amazing 49’6”, at least a foot beyond the best throws of John Bennett (48-6) and Willie Mitchell (47-11.75), both of Pine Ridge, and Cornelius Martin (47-3) of Seminole.
The junior also plays football for the Deltona Wolves, (of course) doing double duty as a center and defensive end. When he graduates in the spring of 2011, he plans to attend the U.S. Naval Academy. I asked him, “On what kind of ship do you hope to serve on?”
“I want to serve behind a desk,” he chuckled, “I prefer administrative work.”
Deltona has a dynamite staff of field events coaches, and they engineered an early lead in the boys’ team standings: 45.5 points after five events (despite being shut out in the opening event).
Leading the (wolf) pack were Shane Lewis and Eddie Shelton. Both seniors, they carry a lot of poise into their specialties, the horizontal and vertical jumps, respectively.
“Coming in to the meet I pretty much know what everyone’s jumping,” explained Lewis. “I feel like I need more competition, like at districts, to push me. I think I’m pretty much at my potential in the jumps, but next week I hope to jump at least 23’ in the long, and 49’ in the triple….adding about 20” total,” he said, referring to his winning jumps of 22’8” (long jump) and 47’8.25” (hop, step and jump).
Eddie sees his sidekick’s “pot of gold” at the end of that 49’ rainbow: “If he gets 49, it could mean a full scholarship at USF.”
While Lewis is looking beyond his present PR, Shelton is looking up: “My main goal is to get 6’10” in Regional or State,” something he has been working toward in two inch increments. (In the 2009 District Meet, he won the high jump in personal best 6’6”.)
“My primary goal today was to get 6’8” in the record book. I’d been able to do it in practice, but I finally got my steps right and cleared it with ease here. I was pretty far over it.”
There are no illusions, on the part of either jumper, as they echoed the feeling that their coach was instrumental in their successes.
“I just want to acknowledge my coach, Mr. Moore. Without his four years of coaching, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” the remark coming from Shelton, although acknowledged by Lewis’s emphatic nod.
As day faded into night, the stage was set for the final act: the four-by-four. Although not as closely contested as the opening relay, it provided an ending as equally memorable as the start.
In the Girls 4 X 400, no sooner had the smoke from the starter’s pistol disappeared, than a female coach appeared at the timing tent to announce, “There was a false start!” The official response could only be described as stunned silence. So she repeated her claim, over and over, until she finally got a reaction: “I didn’t see it.”
Nonetheless, more coaches—and athletes—appeared in the area of the finish line to make the same claim all through the following (boys) 4 X 400.
It should be noted that, if it did in fact occur, it wasn’t on the part of the winning team (Hagerty in 3:55.72), and in truth did not affect the order of finish. However, it might have determined the outcome of the team championship, and which four girls’ relay teams advanced to the Regional Championship. So one has to ask, was this a drama, or a tragedy?
GIRLS TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
There’s a saying in track: it’s not how often you score, but how high you score. (I just made that up.) Although Spruce Creek’s girls scored 24 times (first through eighth place), Hagerty 20 and Lake Brantley 18, the winner was…Lake Brantley by one point. The final point total was LB 110, Spruce Creek 109 and Hagerty 108.5. Now that is close.
BOYS TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
The Lake Brantley boys scored in every single event—usually more than once—and, thanks to their tremendous depth, amassed an unbeatable total of 148 points. Spruce Creek was second (91), and Deland third (76.5).