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Preps
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 15, 2003
PINELLAS PARK -- When Largo coach John Demko made out his schedule last fall, he was sure to reserve a spot for the Richard Allen Invitational.
That was about the same time the engravers should have started on the plaque.
Once again, the Packers steam rolled the opposition, winning their third straight title with 104 points, a meet record.
The past three seasons, Largo has won six relay meets, all by 16 points or more.
"The biggest thing is depth," said Demko, the Packers' first-year coach. "We've got guys in the field events, the distance events and the hurdles. They all came through."
Largo, the only team to win the meet since it started in 2001, benefited from the absence of two athletes, Dixie Hollins' Kevin Marion and Clearwater Central Catholic's Kevin Lyons. Marion is competing at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships in New York and Lyons traveled to Maryland to compete in the Nike Indoor Challenge.
The Packers won seven of the 12 events. They took first in the discus, long jump, pole vault, shuttle hurdle, 4x800, 4x200 and distance medley.
Just as important, they scored in every event and finished in the top three in all but one.
"It's a nice way to start the season," said Demko, whose team also won the Osceola Relays and beat defending conference champion Seminole by 80 points in a dual meet.
Clearwater, which finished a distant second with 64 points, won the 4x100, 4x400 and sprint medley, setting meet records in each race.
On the girls side, the host Patriots showed their strength in the field events to win for the second year in a row. Pinellas Park, which scored 77 points, finished in the top two in each of the five field events and won three: the shot put, pole vault and high jump.
But it almost wasn't enough. The Patriots had to hold off a late charge by Clearwater Central Catholic, which won the 4x800 and 4x400 and finished in the top three in three other relays.
Pinellas Park needed a fourth-place finish in the last race, the 4x400, to edge the Marauders by five points for the title.
"We used everyone we had tonight," Pinellas Park coach Dave Mauger said. "It was tough, because a lot of girls had to run back-to-back in races, but we got it done."