High jumper Keene takes second at soggy Class 2A meet.
By JOHN SCHWARB
Published May 4, 2004
Kyle Keene can see the glass as half full now. Though he saw more than enough water Friday.
The Nature Coast senior arrived at the University of Florida's Percy Beard Stadium poised for a title shot in the high jump, but that chance washed away with the numerous weather delays that plagued the Class 2A meet. Still, Keene was happy to see one drought end, as the trip to Gainesville brought home a second-place medal.
"I had been there twice before and hadn't gotten anything, I was just happy that I came out and did get something for once," Keene said. "That made me feel a little bit better."
At the same time, Keene can only wonder what might have been had he not been injured and jumped under clear conditions.
Hampered by shin splints and delays that aggravated the pain, he posted a jump of 6 feet, 6 inches, two inches below his personal best and four behind event winner Dempsey Josinvil of Belle Glade Glades Central. Keene also qualified for the state triple jump, but decided to sit out the event and focus on high jump, his best event. He had enjoyed a good week of practice at Central (his former school), matching his personal best of 6-8 four times.
But in the state meet, no one got into a rhythm. Two half-hour delays slowed competition, and in Keene's case aggravated nagging shin splints. Neither he nor Josinvil reached their preferred heights.
"We were disappointed with ourselves, he was pushing me to get to 6-8 so we could get to 6-10, then we were both going to get out of 6-10," Keene said. "The excitement probably got to me."
As for Hernando's Leela Hadsock, the excitement of the 1,600 meters almost passed her by.
With the delays, coach Ernie Chatman said it was difficult to hear the public address announcements. Hadsock never heard the call for 1,600 runners, she discovered it was race time when seeing the competition gathered at the starting line and warming up.
"She didn't really look loose during the mile, she looked tired running. Maybe getting there late did it," Chatman said. "But she overcame it."
With a flourish.
Hadsock moved from 10th to fifth over the final 300, using her familiar late kick to pass several runners. Only three-tenths of a second separated fifth from eighth place, but Hadsock was the leader of that pack in clocking 5 minutes, 15.47 seconds, tying a school record and taking three seconds off her previous best set at regions.
In the 800, Hadsock lowered her school record by two seconds with a 2:21.20, also good for fifth.
"Early in the season we were just kind of fantasizing a little, coming off her cross country season. I said, "I think we can get fifth in the state in one of the events,' " Chatman said. "She just looked at me with an expression of, "Are you sure?,' yet at the same time, it sounded exciting."
Sure enough, Hadsock ended there, taking fifth in two events for an exciting finish to a peculiar meet.
