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'Tiny' Bonadonna has a big day

By JOHN SCHWARB
Published March 23, 2005

Spectators could be forgiven for doing a double-take while watching the girls' three-event medalist in the Kiwanis Invitational last week.

Lisa Bonadonna is 5-foot-3, or 63 inches if you will. The hurdles she scales faster than any other area competitor? Try 30 inches high.

Yet the Lecanto senior bested all comers at Hernando, winning the 100- and 300-meter hurdles and triple jump, and helped the Panthers to a dominant victory.

"She's a tiny person," Lecanto coach Freddie Bullock said. "It's hard for people to believe she does what she does ... until she steps on the track."

Bonadonna learned from some of the Panthers' better athletes in recent years, as she was an underclassman when Kate Wheeler, Kylene Colasanti and Stacy Lowe regularly piled up top finishes in various events.

Bullock's coaching philosophy is to let younger athletes follow the example of reliable older competitors, and Bonadonna followed the mantra closely. Now, she's the savvy senior occasionally serving as surrogate coach to greener Panthers.

"With 17 events and two coaches, you can't get to everything," Bullock said. "Lisa runs the hurdlers workout. She just leads by example."

She leads pretty much all girls in Citrus and Hernando counties.

At the Springstead Invitational two weeks ago, Bonadonna won the 300 hurdles and triple jump. It's all part of a road that, hopefully, will lead back to state.

"Last year at the state meet, she was so tiny out there, I was like, "Oooh,' " Bullock said. "But don't ever underestimate her. She has a true athlete's heart."

As a seventh-grader first entering the Lecanto program, Bonadonna picked up the nickname "Superfrog" from an old coach.

"She's a tiny person, but she has spring," Bullock said.

It may have to be seen to be believed, but it's there.

[Last modified March 23, 2005, 00:55:18]