GAINESVILLE - For one county athlete, second place wasn't the first loser.
While Jesuit's Beau Burroughs finished one spot out of first in the shot put at the Florida Relays at the University of Florida, he had an idea it would come down to himself and Punta Gorda Charlotte's Wes Stockbarger.
"I got second behind an All-American disc thrower, the state record holder in disc throw and the top returnee in the shot put," Burroughs said.
"He is one of the best throwers in the country, so I'm very pleased with my performance."
Burroughs threw it 18.82 meters, .01 meters behind Stockbarger.
"I felt awesome. "It's just great competition," Burroughs said.
"You can't get mad that the competition is present. I'm not dissatisfied at all."
By the slimmest of margins, Boca Ciega's Leonard Genes qualified for today's 100-meter final, finishing in 10.98 seconds.
There, he will face Coral Springs' Walter Dix, who won a preliminary heat in 10.28 seconds, a Florida Relays record and the fastest time in the nation this year.
Teammate Shamen Washington will be relegated to cheering for him because his time of 11.11 seconds was not good enough.
However, Washington did take fourth in the long jump and will compete in today's triple jump.
