Depth lifts Panthers, Gryphons

By ROD GIPSON
Published April 22, 2005

TAMPA - Plant did not capture a ton of events Thursday in the Class 3A, District 9 track meet at Middleton, but made up for its lack of wins with plenty of points.

The Panthers placed athletes in 13 events en route to running away with the boys district championship with 1581/2 points, ahead of second place Middleton's 1111/2. Blake was third with 102 and Sickles fourth at 85.

Sickles' girls, meanwhile, only won one event but used its distance runners and hurdlers to capture key points and claim the title. The Gryphons pulled away from second-place Jefferson 181-107. Hillsborough was third (82) and Plant fourth (80).

Plant won the boys' triple jump behind Chris Johnson's leap of 43 feet, 8 inches. Sam Gibbons was solid for the Panthers in the mile (first at 4:35.91) and the 880 run (second at 2:03.51). Other outstanding Plant performances came from Justin Smith (second in shot put, 46-5) and Nick Shelton (second in high jump, 6-2). The Panthers also dominated the pole vault as Thomas Parrott (12 feet) and Tyler Hammill (11 feet, 6 inches) placed second and third, respectively.

Host Middleton was strong in the sprints, as O.J. Murdock defended his 100 and 220 dash district titles with two more. Murdock won the 100 (10.66 seconds) and 220 (22.59) in dominant fashion. The Tigers also took first in the 4x800 relay and the 4x110 hurdles races.

Shannon Lewis was the lone Gryphons girl to win, taking the shot put (36-11). Pole vaulter Jessica Smith placed second for Sickles with a vault of 9 feet and hurdlers Laura Arias (fourth in 110 at 18.75) and Alex Crawford (fourth in 330 at 53.10) secured key points for the Gryphons.

Middleton's Michelle Fedrick won the triple jump (35-3) and set a personal best in winning the 440 in 59.24 seconds. Other outstanding performances saw Jefferson's Jasmine Earls win the high jump (4-10) and Dartania Jackson take the 100 yard dash at 12.44 seconds. Also, Plant's Eriqah Butler won the discus (118 feet) and was fourth in the shot put (33-9).

"We were fortunate to get points from almost all our events and Johnson and Gibbons were just outstanding for us," Plant boys coach Shawn Balow said.

TAMPA - The Wharton track machine keeps pumping out district championships. Thursday's title by the Wildcat girls marked their seventh straight, while the boys have notched six in a row.

"We had incredible talent last season, and this was really a rebuilding year for us," Wharton boys coach Jason Tyrrell said. "But it's all about heart. Our guys came in hurt, dinged up and not feeling too good, but they did what they had to do to win.

"It's a special thing we have going here at Wharton, and I'm honored to be a part of it."

Wharton's sophomore hurdler Teona Rodgers took the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, following in the steps of Victoria Michelotti, who won both events last year and now stars for her Dartmouth track team.

East Bay's Stanley Suber turned in the best time in Class 3A this season with a 47.82 in the 400-meter final. He also anchored the 4x400 team, making up ground to help the Indians win the event and tie Brandon for fourth overall.

Suber said the time was his personal best, but he felt he could run as low as 46 seconds. He finished fourth at state last season.

"I tried to drive as hard as I could out of the blocks, and then tried to have a strong finish," he said. "But I should have started picking it up a little earlier at the end."

Wharton's Ryan Courtoy and Brandon's Orssie Bumpus sped to the lead and battled side by side for the first seven laps of the 3,200, but Courtoy broke free in the final 300 meters to win in 9:55.37.

Courtoy also won the 1,600 in 4:29.13, topping Bumpus in second place.

In the girls distances, East Bay's Paige Williams was unchallenged, winning the 3,200 by 42 seconds, and taking the 1,600.

Freedom senior Judith Akachukwu won the 400 meters in 100.66, but broke a minute during the preliminaries (59.57). She also took second in the triple jump.

Wharton's Ae'Quoia Diggs won the girls' 100 meters, came in third in the long and triple jumps, and also took first as part of the Wildcats' winning 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams.

Freedom's Eddie Davis won the 200 and finished second to East Bay's Mykhael Suber in the 100 in a photo finish.

- JEREMY RASMUSSEN, Times correspondent

[Last modified April 22, 2005, 00:44:19]