The 2011 track and field season is finally here and we've compiled a list of the top ten records that may fall this season. Will someone break the state record in the girl's pole vault? Can Miami Northwestern finally get the state meet record in the 4x4? How fast can Lake Wales standout Octavious Freeman run this season and will it be good enough for a national record and eventually enough for her to turn pro? Find out which records might stand now but could be gone shortly.
10. Boys 4x800 State Meet Record – The state meet record is 7:37.76 set by Delray Beach Atlantic in 2001. Charlotte comes in with a personal best of 7:44.44 but returns three of the four members from last year’s state championship squad. The 800 is Tyler Cardillo’s specialty and he could be the factor here. It’s also his first event so fatigue won’t figure into the equation. He told me this week they definitely have their sights on the record and feel it’s attainable. Along with Cardillo, the Tarpons have another weapon in junior Ryan Schnulle. Cardillo ran the third leg last year, so depending on how they shuffle up the order this record has a definite chance to be broken.
9. Girls 800M State Meet Record – The record was set in 2009 and could be broken in 2011. Skyler Wallen of Miami Northwestern ran a 2:09.44 to the capture the 4A state crown. That mark could be broken this year by Stephanie Schappert. The Pope John Paul II senior ran a 2:10.81 at last year’s 2A state meet. She says, “her goal is to run sub 2:10 at states and capture the record.” If Schappert stays healthy and runs like she did last track season the record is in reach.
8. Boys 4x1600 State Record – Delray Beach Atlantic has held the record since 2000 with a time of 17:42. That’s an average mile of close to 4:25. 2010 Cross Country State Champions Trinity Prep feel they have the firepower to break that record with runners Whitner Chase, Daniel Salas, Griffin Jaworski, and Ryan Gousse four of their top five from the cross country season. They will have the chance to break the record at the flrunners.com Primetime Meet March 4th and 5th at Charlotte High School. The only other opportunity would be potentially in a post-season meet.
7. Boys 4x400 State Meet Record – Miami Northwestern has come close the past three years. Could 2011 be the year they break the record of 3:12.78 by Jacksonville Raines in 1993? The Bulls lose two of their four-some to graduation but still have one of the top quarter-milers in the state and in the nation, Hugh Graham Jr. Graham has said they want the state title but they want the record as well. He has the speed to close with a 45 and that really helps their chances.
6. Girls Pole Vault State Record – Central Florida has put several vaulters on the podium the past few years including 2010 1A state champion Lindsey Enders. Enders, a senior at Holy Trinity has a chance to break the state record of 13-1.75 set by Lacy Janson of Cardinal Mooney in 2001. Ender’s personal best is 12-6 and has made several quality attempts at 13-0. She has increased her vaults by a foot in each of the past three years and is aiming to go over 13-0. If she is unable to break Janson’s record she has a great shot at the state meet record of 12’9 set by Boone’s Caroline Kennedy in 2006.
5. Boys 1600M State Meet Record – Joe Franklin of Tallahassee Godby set the record in 2007 with a time of 4:08.84. Oregon signee Ryan Pickering of John I. Leonard is coming off a personal best of 4:11.77 and a state championship last year. Pickering and Miami Columbus senior Armando Del-Valle have a chance to break the record in 4A. The two must push each other like they have in several meets in the past, to bring out the best competition possible. In 3A, Jimmy Clark looks to be a favorite for the race but must stay focused on his splits to achieve the record, so that he doesn’t shift into cruise control. This record is as much in the athlete as it is the race strategy.
4. Boys 3200M State Meet Record – On paper this might be one where you look at times and think it won’t happen. Sean Jefferson of Delray Beach Atlantic set the record of 8:59.03 and has held that for the past 10 years. Of the top returning 3200 runners only two have times under 9:10, Armando Del-Valle and Jimmy Clark. The state’s top two milers will gather for the FSU Relays the final weekend of March in Tallahassee. Look for the pack to go out strong and go out fast and break 9:00. The top distance runners will look to carry this momentum into the state meet. One factor will be the strategy of the race much like that of the mile. In 4A, Pickering and Del-Valle will go head to head. If they push each other hard they have a chance. In 3A, Jimmy Clark could be running up front by himself. In order to break the record he will need to start out strong and keep that pace for the whole race and not get complacent. How they run the 1600 earlier in the day is also an important factor. Pickering, Del-Valle, and Clark all have the potential to run sub 9 but will fatigue set in from the mile? Will their legs have enough kick? If they go slow and strategic in the mile then the 3200 has the potential to be fast but if it’s the other way around the 3200 could be slow and strategic and the mile could be where we see the record fall.
3. Girls 200M State Meet Record – The record is 23.36 set by Erica Whipple of Palm Beach Lakes in 2001. Lake Wale’s senior Octavious Freeman bettered that mark but it was wind-aided, 23.19. Freeman’s specialty is the 100 not the 200 but she has world-class speed. Whipple’s mark is respectable so Freeman will have to be on point to take the record.
2. Boys 100M State Meet Record – The state of Florida is loaded with some top sprinters including Marvin Bracy, Mike Bellamy and Jerimy Strainge. Bracy would have had broken the state meet record of 10.32 set by Flagler Palm Coast’s Dentarious Locke in 2009 with his time of 10.19 but it was wind aided. He ran the nation’s fastest 55M at the end of January in a time of 6.24 and says he hoped to carry that momentum into the outdoor season.
1. Girls National 100M Record – The fastest time-ever recorded for a high school girl was 11.11 set by Angela Williams of Chino, California in 1998.The record that has stood for 13 years could fall in 2011 and it will if Lake Wales senior Octavious Freeman has anything to say about it. The senior has a personal best of 11.11 (wind aided) and has beaten top level talent and professional runners from all over the country. She has said that breaking the record could determine if she goes pro or runs collegiately for the University of Central Florida.
