Spartan star wins one, pulls out of two events

In the 200 meters and 4x400 relay, Jazmyn Shorter simply walked away. The Lakewood senior withdrew from both events at Thursday's meet, saying she strained her hamstring.

By BOB PUTNAM
Published April 27, 2007

SARASOTA - In the 200 meters and 4x400 relay, Jazmyn Shorter simply walked away. The Lakewood senior withdrew from both events at Thursday's meet, saying she strained her hamstring.

The pressing question is whether she'll defend her state title in the 400 next week.

The injury occurred while Shorter was heading down the homestretch in her signature event. Shorter said she felt tightness in her hamstring in the last 100 meters, but she had enough of a lead to win in 56.06 seconds.

"I'll try to rest a lot this week," Shorter said. "Hopefully, I can still repeat."

Shorter's teammate, Ali Crabb, also did well, winning the 3,200 in 11 minutes, 20.06 seconds and placing second in the 1,600 (5:16.24). That helped the Spartans finish fourth overall with 41 points.

Wharton's Teona Rodgers continued to dominate. Ranked first in the nation in the 100-meter hurdles, Rodgers had no problem winning the event Thursday, finishing in 13.41 seconds.

Her time was more than a tenth of a second faster than the state record. It was nearly two-tenths of a second off the national record.

Besides the 100 hurdles, Rodgers won the 200 (23.73), ran a leg of the winning 4x400 relay (3:58.67) and finished second in the triple jump (36 feet, 1/2-inch). Her performance helped Wharton win the team title.

On the boys side, the Spartans had two winners: Anthony Jenkins in the triple jump (45 feet, 6 inches) and Donnel Jones in the 100 (10.75). Northeast's Russell Snyder was the county's other winner, taking first in the 3,200 (9:55.94).

[Last modified April 27, 2007, 00:21:41]