HIGH-SCHOOL

Episcopal's Scantling and eight other area athletes win state track and field titles

Jeff Elliott

WINTER PARK - For Episcopal track and football standout Garrett Scantling, it was a day of great success and a little disappointment at the Class 2A state track and field meet Friday at Showalter Field in Winter Park.

Add in a big decision the day before, and it's been a memorable weekend.

Scantling won his first-state championship when he cleared 15 feet in the pole vault. He narrowly missed at 15-6, but was still a foot higher than all but one other competitor.

In the high jump, Scantling cleared 6-6 but missed all three attempts at 6-8 to finish fifth.

"I was going back and forth between the two events and I was just worn out," Scantling said. "Normally the high jump competition is done before pole vaulting starts, but last week and today they've gone at the same time and it just wore me out.

"I felt real good in the pole vault, but once I started running back and forth, it kind of got to me. But I'm really pleased with the way the season ended. I [set a personal record] in the pole vault by two feet and set three school records, and winning the state title today was a great way to end it all."

The day before, Scantling made his college choice official when he signed a track scholarship at Georgia. He had been wavering between several schools, including Florida State, where his brother, Hunter, is a standout pitcher for the Seminoles baseball team.

"I'm going to be devoted to just running track there my freshman season," said the 6-foot-2, 210-pound wide receiver in football. "Then in 2012, I think I'll play football for Georgia as well. In track I'm going to do the decathlon."

Scantling wasn't the only local winner. The most dramatic win came from Ponte Vedra half-miler Marcuz Martinez, who took a nasty spill at the finish of the 800 meters but still managed to edge out three runners at the tape. The senior won the event by 1/100th of a second, with the top four places separated by less than two seconds. The runners all fell in attempt to reach the line first.

"I started my kick with 200 meters to go, and at the end we were all bunched together," Martinez said. "I just leaned for the finish line because I knew it was going to be close. I fell, and then some others fell, too. It was quite a finish."

Martinez's teammate, Kyle Crompton, was also an individual winner, as he finished first in the 300 hurdles.

Two area girls won titles. Stacey Drilling of Bishop Kenny won the high jump at 5-4, Jackson senior Lynn Cook won the discus throw with a heave of 124-5 and Bolles' 4x800 relay unit of seniors Rebecca Chandler, Elizabeth Morris and Amelia Williams and freshman Jasmine Burkett took first.

As a team, the Bolles girls tied for third with 28 points. Episcopal was a point behind and finished in a tie for sixth. Raines was 10th.

Jeff Elliott: (904) 359-4292