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Preps
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 18, 2003
When it comes to track, Neidra Covington has a tough sister act to follow.
Her older sister, Nadia, a senior at Lakewood, has left a lasting imprint in the field events during the past four years and currently has the third-best mark in the state in the triple jump at 38 feet, 8 inches.
Neidra is doing a good job of following in Nadia's footsteps.
She also is doing it at another school.
Zoned for Lakewood, Neidra opted to enter the medical magnet program at Boca Ciega.
The sisters' schools already have met once this season, though Neidra had to watch most of the meet from the sideline because of a knee injury. She watched as Nadia won the long jump and triple jump.
Finally healed, Neidra showed at last week's Disney Relays that she's not too far behind.
Competing in the field events for the first time, the freshman leaped 36-7 to win the triple jump and went 15-11 to finish fourth in the long jump. Her mark in the triple jump is second in the county behind her sister.
"We still have to work on (Neidra's) form," Boca Ciega coach John Ingram said.
"But that was a pretty awesome effort for her first time out."
About half of the Wildcats' roster will not be out of school in time because of exams this week. Wharton is bringing just a handful of girls for the field events and hurdles
That gives host Seminole, which has finished second the past two seasons, a chance.
"It opens things up a little more," Warhawks coach John Bordeaux said. "But it's not the scenario I would have liked. It hurts our tournament because there were a lot of Hillsborough County teams that also would have competed if not for the block scheduling."
1. Deanna Drugash, Largo: The junior won three events to help the Packers win the Lady Tornado Invitational by 56 points over last year's champion, Seminole. She recorded a season-best 5 minutes, 32 seconds in the 1,600 meters, ran a 2:30 anchor leg to secure first in the 4x800 relay and set a personal record with a 12:03 in the 3,200, good enough to beat out her nearest competitor by 33 seconds.
2. Lauren McNary, Palm Harbor U.: Already owning the school record in the 400, she improved her time with a 59-second finish to win the event at the Lady Tornado.
3. Alanna Searcy, Boca Ciega: At the Disney Relays last weekend, she finished second in the long jump (16-1/2) and third in the triple jump (33-111/2). The Pirates finished fifth.
4. Chasity Rivers, Pinellas Park: The senior played a big role in the field events to help the host Patriots defend their title at the Richard Allen Relays. She was on the winning high jump and long jump relays and participated on the 4x100 and 4x200 relays that took second.
5. Courtney Lacroix, Palm Harbor U.: The gymnast leaped a season-best 5-2 to win the high jump at the Lady Tornado. She followed that up with a second-place finish in her signature event at the Disney Relays.
Triple jump -- Na. Covington (Lw) 38-8, Ne. Covington (BC) 36-7, Rawlings (Dun) 34-9; Long jump -- Covington 17-7, Rawlings (Dun) 17-0, Hunter (Lar) 16-1; High jump -- Lacroix (PHU) 5-2, Kahler (CCC) 5-1, Rivers (PP) 5-0, Parhalo (Sem) 5-0, Jacobs 5-0; Discus -- Morzenti (Clw) 114-5, Warren (PP) 105-10, Chapman (TS) 103-7; Shot put -- Warren (PP) 38-7, Paroulek (Sem) 33-10, Scaringe (Ne) 32-7; Pole Vault -- Hardy (PHU) 9-0, Campion (EL) 9-0, Mathews (Lar) 8-6, Mauger (PP) 8-6, Kern (PP) 8-0, Anderson 7-6, Dinniddis (SP) 7-6; 100 hurdles -- Hardy (PHU) 16.09, Marshall (Clw) 16:17, Mathews (Cs) 16:69; 4x800 relay -- Largo 10:35, Palm Harbor University 10:41, Seminole 10:42.73; 100 -- Long (TS) 12.1, Kahler (CCC) 12.51, Harrington (Lw) 12.6; 1,600 -- Allen (SP) 5:27, Drugash (Lar) 5:32, McCain (Lw) 5:33; 4x100 relay -- Boca Ciega 51.05, Gibbs 51.78, Lakewood 52.0; 400 -- Kidd (SP) 59.25, McNary (PHU) 59.88, Covington (Lw) 1:00.9; 300 hurdles -- Mathews (Cs) 49.19, Hardy (PHU) 49.9, Mathews (Lar) 52.39; 800 -- Savery (PHU) 2:22.7, Parhalo (Sem) 2:28.87, Bass (Lar) 2:31.27; 200 -- Kidd (SP) 25.78, Covington (Lw) 25.9, Kahler (CCC) 26.1; 3,200 -- Drugash (Lar) 12:03, Kotchman (IRC) 12:18, Bailey (Sem) 12:28; 4x400 relay -- Lakewood 4:14, Boca Ciega 4:16, Palm Harbor 4:16.23.
-- Compiled by Bob Putnam.