Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 26, 2002
Lakewood's Dermillo Wise sailed over the sand at Coral Srings' Jim Caldwell Stadium last May, his feet clawing in the air in a leap that defied gravity.
Once he came down, he saw his heel marks, the ones that left a lasting imprint at the Class 3A state meet in his signature event, the long jump. Minutes later, the scoreboard read his mark -- 24 feet, 7 3/4 inches.
The jump was a personal best for Wise, who won the state title with a mark 8 inches better than any competitor at the state meet in any classification.
But more than establishing a jump that would not be beaten, Wise was an athlete who did not want to lose to his friends.
Wise spent most of last season chasing Kevin Marion of Dixie Hollins and Chris Davis of St. Petersburg Catholic, both teammates of his on the Lightning Bolt Track Club the past five years.
Marion set the benchmark with a leap of 24-1 at the district meet and scratched on a jump of 25-8 a week later at regionals. Davis, however, ended up winning the state title in Class 2A over Marion with a mark of 23-11.
Yet with one leap, Wise won a state title and set the standard with a personal-best 24-73/4, the second-best mark in the nation. Now, Marion and Davis are chasing him.
That's the way it goes with the long jump, currently the most heralded event among the boys in Pinellas County.
Last year, Pinellas won state titles in three of the four classifications. (Keswick Christian's Reed Rudge, a senior who has graduated, won the other title in Class A).
In fact, the county was so dominant, it did not have a competitor in the one classification it didn't win (4A) and the contingent doesn't include Marion, whose top official mark (24-1) was second-best in the nation at the time.
Although Wise, Marion and Davis are back, do not expect them to each win titles. Wise and Marion are now in the same district, 3A-10. Davis still is in Class 2A.
One thing is certain, however. They all have the same goal.
"We want to break the state record," Marion said.
The state long jump record also is a county record, 25-2 set by Admiral Farragut Academy's Ed Manderson in 1986.
On Saturday, the trio competes at the Osceola Relays. It is the first of three meets where they will be competing together.
"Everyone wants to be best," Wise said. "We all want to break that record. That helps us. It's good competition and we'll continue to push each other. We all want bragging rights, but no matter what we'll still remain friends."