How does one capture the drama that is a Regional Championship? The middle step of three between local and state level competition, it is, if anything, only a glimpse of things to come. Certainly those who will advance are prepared to shed their challengers, real and hopeful alike. But fate can certainly occupy the lane beside you, and this meet had its share of accomplished, confident athletes whose season ended one meet short of a career full of promise.
BOYS COMPETITION
In the National rankings of the Boys high school shot put, you have Nick Vena (Morristown, New Jersey; 72’9” at the April 30th Penn Relays), and you have everyone else. Naples’ Andrew Jones just became one of the “everyone elses.”
In Florida (as of this writing), the top five slingers are: #13, Hunter Joyer (Wesley Chapel), who threw 62’4” at the April 20th 2A Region 3 Meet; #64, Justin Osking (John Carroll), who threw 58’ 0” at the April 12th 1A District 13 Meet; #77 Isaac Edwards (Tampa Jesuit), who threw 57’4” at the 2A State Meet on April 30th; #82, Michael Montero (Miami Columbus), who threw 57’1-1/4” at the April 20th Miami AC Meet; and #100, Jones.
None, are done—Edwards is a junior--so a lot can change. Leave it to Jones, however, to add a little excitement to the State Elite list.
“My best throw, before today, was 52’5-1/2” at the 3A District 12 Meet last week,” said Jones. “In the shot, you can be as strong as you want, but if you’re not as technically sound, you’re not going to throw as far.”
Technique, and timing, seemed to have been in Andrew’s favor.
“This week, I worked hard on technique, and on the little things. Plus I have a really great coach.”
Additionally, there’s an ingredient that can’t be coached.
“I trusted in myself. If you’re there (in the circle), and you’re stiff, you start not trusting in yourself.”
Andrew’s winning attempt, which came in the finals, was 56’ 6-1/2”, a PR by over four feet. And with that he showed that anything is possible in the FHSAA 3A finale on May sixth.
“I don’t let other throwers (and their throws) enter into my mind. I get in there and have fun.”
Andrew, incidentally, will be attending the College of William and Mary, in Virginia, on a football scholarship this coming fall. Look for him on their offensive line.
Some of that enthusiasm may have jumped the fence and landed on Cody Chernoff (Palmetto Ridge), who was pulling out his pole as Jones was “putting the finishing touch” on his best throw. The events are within a few yards of each other.
Fast forward in the meet, and Cody was the last man standing in a field of 15, having out-jumped the rest with his14 foot vault. So, while he and the officials were conferring on his next attempt, I was leaning on the same fence as his mother, steadying our cameras for what was to follow.
“His best is 14’1”,” she said. “So I think he should be going for 14’6”…but that doesn’t look like 14 and a half feet.”
She was quiet while she counted off the spaces between the crossbar supports out loud; “Five. That should be 30” beyond 12 feet…so, 14’6”. Right?”
In the gathering gloom, Cody missed all three attempts, after which I asked him if the extra six inches seemed so much further to him. He looked at me with a quizzical look.
“That was 15 feet,” he said.
“Why,” I asked, “not go for a PR, rather than a foot?”
“Why I went for 15? In practice all week, it was working, so I decided to go for it in a meet. The only difference between practice and tonight was adrenaline. The adrenaline makes you run a lot harder and push a lot more.
“In practice, I’ve never held on as high as I’ve done tonight. Plus, I was really tired. I’d say that I took about ten or twelve jumps. The head wind was a real factor. I had to take a break after every jump, and get a drink.”
Throughout the meet, the hot, dry wind was a constant drain, not only on the electrolytes of the athletes, but also on their concentration. There were too many DQs to count, which one referee guessed was caused by the sprinters’ inability to hear the starter’s commands—caused by the wind--while on the blocks. (On the other hand, a coach felt that, unlike their District Meet, this starter was very consistent in “holding” athletes.)
It seemed to me that, in the preliminaries of the 400, as the runners rounded the far turn (coming into the last straightaway) and hit the wind, the staggers momentarily froze in place. However, the winner of the first prelim in the Boys 400--Charles Brown--held his own. After he finished, I asked Brown about it. He said he felt that, although the wind was noticeable, it didn’t affect his race.
“I hit that turn, and it kind of killed me a little bit. I had to dig deep and come up with a victory. I wanted to make it to the finals.”
In the final, however, the wind was not quite as bad, and Brown switched to another gear in the last 40 yards to win. Also, only Brown (first in 49.10) and Jerrid Robinson (third in 49.56) ran better in the finals than in the prelims.
“It was very competitive here today. I had to come out with the mentality that I had to win, and I did,” he said after his race.
Charlotte’s Tyler Cardillo was a triple winner. He was first in the 1600 (4:17.77), first in a one-two-three finish in the 800 (Tyler in 1:54.81, Ryan Schnulle in 1:55.19, and Bryan Hilgar in 1:55.71), and a member of the winning all-senior 4 X 800 team (8:00.95).
“I just wanted to come out and lead some of our guys to the states in the mile. I thought I could bring Ryan Schnulle and Anthony Borrago with me. We got Ryan to go…and Bryan Hilgar in the 800,” said Cardillo.
In addition to Cardillo, Borrago, and Hilgar in separate events, the three will be joined by Grant Spencer in the 4 X 8.
After graduating, Tyler plans to attend the University of Florida in a pre-med course of study.
The next-to-last 3200 belonged to Fort Myers’ Shoeless (Ryan) Stafford, although there was at least one anxious moment in the race.
“I got stepped on in the third lap,” he told me, “and I was kind of hanging onto my shoe. I let it go on the third lap. My foot was hurting, but it was fun.”
Finishing without a shoe was a big improvement over a more serious problem that he had to deal with prior to the meet.
“I was pretty sick,” he said, downplaying what might have been a suspected case of food poisoning. “My goal today was to win, just win it. I was satisfied with my time (9:44.50, eight seconds off his 9:36.32 PR at this year’s FSU Relays). I’ll be ready for the States.”
Stafford is looking forward to attending Florida Gulf Coast University, majoring in Biomedical Engineering.
Competing neck-and-neck with Stafford, but finishing “first,” was Charlotte high jumper Chase Meyers. Although he came in to the meet with a 6’10” height (3A District 11 Meet on April 21st), he had to settle for 6’6”.
“It’s just what happened,” he explained. “It takes a toll on you, especially when it’s hot.”
Ironically, that 6-6 made him a Regional Champion, while his better, 6-10 jump at the District Meet left him a runner up (to Steven Krupa, also with 6-10, but on fewer misses). In a reverse of fortunes, Krupa was third at this Region Meet with a 6-4 effort.
Meyers, incidentally, will also be throwing the discus in the FHSAA 3A Meet. His 138’6” fling was the fourth best of the day. That event was won by Devin Williams, of Fort Meyers (151’ 5”).
BOYS SCORING
Going into the last event, Charlotte found itself in the precarious position of being able to either win or lose the meet, based upon their finish in the 4 X 4. In what was probably the longest 3:20.79 of the season (Charlotte finished second to Fort Myers’ 3:20.18), their coaches learned that holding one’s breath that long is not an aerobic activity. Happily, when they collectively exhaled for the last time, they found themselves nine points ahead of Hillsborough (91-82). More than half of Charlotte’s points (54) were in three events: the 800, 1600, and 4 X 800.
GIRLS EVENTS
The Girls field had no shortage of success stories, producing four multiple winners: Jokira Jiles of Cape Coral(12.13 in the 100 and 24.65 in the 200); Kala Funderbunk of Hillsborough (55.24 in the 400 and 5’6” in the high jump, plus second in the 4 X 4); Narrika Williams of Hillsborough (14.59 in the 100 hurdles and 45.12 in the 300 hurdles); and Olivia Ortiz of Lakewood Ranch (5:02.9 in the 1600, 11:09.80 in the 3200, and a member of the Lakewood 4 X 8 team that won in 9:39.71).
Ortiz, a sophomore, seemed temporarily invincible.
“I knew there was going to be a lot of competition, and we were all going to push each other,” she began, after her 1600 victory. However, the interviewee hit her “pause button”, as she dashed off to be at the side of a crestfallen teammate.
Basically, here’s what happened. After the first three runners finished the 1600—Grace VanDeGrift (Durant; 5:04) and Alexis Irwin (Osceola; 5:07.12) were second and third, respectively--four people converged on the finish line at almost the same time: sophomore Kristin Zarrella (Lakewood), junior Rachel Petrik (Fort Meyers), yours truly (in hot pursuit of a “photo finish”), and (unfortunately) a referee who took a short cut through the middle of all this.
Petrik got there first (5:11.99), finishing fourth and earning the last ticket to Winter Park; Zarrella dove across the finish line a split second later (5:12.13); next came the referee; and finally (after the referee passed) the camera shot. (You can see the after-shots of the incident in the Distance folder.)
“I saw her slowing down,” said Petrik. “and I saw my chance; I always run through the line, and fight for it until the very end.”
Christine (returning): “I went to console her. (After I finished) I looked back within a couple of seconds. I’m sure she did great. She’s an amazing athlete, a sophomore too.”
Kristin Zarrella will be representing her Lakewood Ranch High School at the 3A State Meet in the 800, which she won in 2:14.80.
Another amazing athlete, taking part in three events, was wheelchair competitor Arielle Rausin, from North Fort Myers. She competed in the 200 (52.83), the 800 (3:15.12) and the shot put (13’8”). Modest beginnings, but watch out; someday she’s going to enter a distance race, and no one on the track will be able to stay with her.
Winning the AB shot was senior Samantha Winslow, representing Palmetto Ridge.
“It was, for me, a successful day,” she said of her first place, 36’8” throw.
“I got second in the discus (102’2”). I didn’t like the ring here. It was like it was sandy, but slick.”
At this time of year, and depending upon the time of your event, there are opportunities to excel, but also times where you just hope to survive the four-athlete cutoff. The Girls pole vault is suggestive of the latter. Vaulting into a merciless sun, while trying to time your jump in between strong gusts of wind, took its toll on some outstanding vaulters.
“It’s very windy,” said Barron Collier coach Mike Calyore. “It’s a cross-wind, which throws you off. It goes down to zero, then up to 20. If they get up there right when it slows down, then they only get a minute and a half (to jump).”
Junior Brooke Saurbier (Barron Collier), the winning vaulter, agreed. “It was definitely up there in difficulty. I tried to work when there was no wind, and put my all into it. If it comes, it comes.”
Wind, or no wind, the jumps had to be made.
“It’s more practice with the wind, in case it’s windy at the State Meet.”
Although a foot off her 11’ best (May 7, 2010 FHSAA 3A Meet), and six inches lower than her season’s best (April 8, 2011 Collier County Championships), her winning vault of 10’ is a ticket to the 3A Championships in a week’s time.
TEAM RESULTS
Well grounded in the distance races (51 points, between the 800, 1600, 3200 and 4 X 800), Lakewood Ranch was able to hold off Hillsborough, 61.5 to 60, but not similarly named Lakewood. The girls from the ‘wood picked up 35 points in the sprints, 18 in the sprint relays, nine in the hurdles, and a bunch more in the field events, to score 75.
Foonotes: This was the best-run, fastest moving meet I’ve ever been to. Woe is me, however, as nary an athlete was allowed a moment’s pause to linger for interviews. They ran the race, barely broke stride as they continued right through the exit gate, and disappeared into the sun—or sunset, later in the meet—keeping this story short enough for one sitting. Wait, was it planned that way?