BOYS WINNER - Jeremiah Green - Junior @ Hillsborough
Jeremiah Green set high standards for the 2012 season. Only two weeks in the Hillsborough High School junior is breaking them. At the Charles Johnson Invitational Green soared to a personal best mark in the triple jump of 50-6.5. Coach Joe Sipp says Green who also placed first in the long jump (23-4.5) had an excellent afternoon.
"I think he had some great performances. Before the season he set his goals for his jumps and he already reached them so now he has to reset new goals. He just put everything together Saturday and he's been working hard at it."
Green cleared 48-6 on his first jump and then put everything together before unleashing the 50 foot monster. Coach Sipp says there was no wind gauge, but he believe the wind was legal. He credits Green's growth to running over the summer on the AAU circuit.
"I think the thing that pushed him over the edge was doing AAU. He qualified for the national meet in New Orleans and he competed against some of the best guys in the nation. That's when he finally broke thru and jumped 48-1 and placed seventh. It really opened his eyes and made him work harder to get to that next level."
After Green jumped 50-6.5 the PA announcer addressed the crowd and told them it was a new meet record. Officials, coaches, runners and fans decided to stop what they were doing to watch his third and final attempt. Coach Sipp says had it been a clean jump that would have been the best one of the day.
"When he jumped his third jump he scratched by a half an inch, but they measured it just to see what it would have been and it was 50-11. Afterwards I just gave him a big hug and he looked at me and said, I did it coach, I jumped 50 feet. It was a big accomplishment."
Now that one goal is already checked off the list, Green is looking forward to the next chapter. His jump is one of the top ten all-time in Florida and one of the top in the nation for 2012, but records don't mean anything to him right now, he's saving that for later. This year he has wants to do something teammate Terrence Mitchell did in a Terrier uniform and that is win a state title. Coach Sipp believes Green is more than capable of making it to the top of the podium.
"He comes to practice every day with his hard hat on and ready to work. As a freshman he was under Terrence who was a senior and he watched him win it in the long jump. For this year he wants to be a state championship like Terrence was. His goal next will be to capture the state record and next break the national record. He is trying to set his goals high and aim for the stars."
Jeremiah's Athlete Profile
GIRLS WINNER - Lloydricia Cameron - Sophomore @ Miami Northwestern
Miami Northwestern Coach Carmen Jackson has seen some good throwers in her days with the Bulls and sophomore Lloydricia Cameron is the latest to come thru that line. At the Louie Bing Class Cameron set personal bests in both the discus and shot put. Jackson says she is a good at athlete for this stage of the game.
“She needs to develop some more in the weight room to get her to that plateau of greatness. She was just as good as many of my throwers last year, but being behind them made her a little intimidated.”
Cameron has personal best marks of 42-1.5 in the shot put and 137-7 in the discus. Last weekend she wasn’t too far off with throws of 40-11 and 135-4. Both are better than she threw at the 2011 State Finals. Coach Jackson says her lifting combined with more attention from the throws coach is paying dividends.
“She has more confidence this year in bigger meets as well. At the smaller meets at home she has always thrown well, but could never find them in bigger meets. Now everything is starting to come together.”
Miami Northwestern has won seven of the last eight state titles on the girls’ side. The success of the program has a trickle-down effect. The Bulls don’t rebuild, they reload. Each member of the team has someone to feed off and learn from. Coach Jackson says the strong tradition of throwers like Amber Monroe, Ariel Brooks, Stacey Culmer, and Rachunna Williams have given her the motivational pieces she needs.
“I also have some surprise throwers that have come out this season so she will have some push at her practices. Next weekend we will be at Sebastian Relays so we will have some additional competition. Miami Northwestern has always looked good and had developed talent coming in, but it is so far from the truth. We work hard to make sure we develop all the young student athletes year in and year out.”
Jackson first saw Cameron when she was in middle school and back then knew she had the potential to be great.
“She was in my feeder school program so I would see her in middle school meets. There I knew she was going to be special, but we have a long way to go, and will need those next two years to get her to her to the national ranking as maybe one of the best in the country.”