On April 30, the State Track and Field Series began at Showalter Field in Winter Park. That Friday, Tallahassee athletes who go to 1A schools set the stage for those who would follow in the 2A meet on Saturday (May 1) and the 3A meet the following Friday (May 6).

In the 1A competition, the ladies from Maclay finished seventh, and North Florida Christian’s ladies tied for tenth. The guys’ team from Maclay earned second place at the end of an exciting day! In order to rank so high in the state meet, these teams had to have athletes placing in the top eight; as is evident by the team rankings, Tallahassee’s athletes accomplished this. In the running events, the day began with the 4×800. Both teams from Maclay finished fifth in this intense race. Even though he competed in four events throughout the course of the day, Maclay’s Lee Williams brought home a gold in the 100 Meter dash (10.90). He also received fourth in the Long Jump (22’9.50″), third in the 200 (22.21), and first in the Triple Jump (46’4″). Williams earned a total of 31 points for the Marauders!

In the girls’ 1600, Maclay’s Kristin Sweeney finished fourth with a time of 5:11.84; she also ran the 2 mile, receiving sixth (11:34.88). The boys’ 1600 was an extremely competitive race, but Patrick Swain ran a 4:33.16, which was sixth overall. Swain also earned points for Maclay with his seventh place finish in the 2-mile (9:58.36), and his teammate Austin Stevens was fifth (9:53.24). In one of the most exciting track races, the 4×100, Maclay’s ladies finished seventh (51.47). For the third year in a row, Maclay’s Stefanie Kurgatt dominated the open 800 with her 2:15.83. Scott Billings, also of Maclay, was fifth in the guys’ 800 (2:00.39). Meanwhile, there was fierce competition in the field events too. Vaulting 14′, Kyle Weaver, a Maclay sophomore, brought home a silver medal in the Pole Vault. In the ladies’ Long Jump, North Florida Christian’s freshman Darrielle McQueen won her first event of the day (18’4.25″). Maclay’s Imoni McCorvey jumped (17’3″), finishing sixth. Later, the two ladies met again in the Triple Jump competition, and McQueen jumped 39’8″ to earn gold. McCorvey finished second (38’2″) by over two feet! As this busy but impressive day came to an end for the 1A teams, the 2A athletes were resting up for their chance to shine the following day.

As expected, the 2A meet was filled with great performances as well. Overall, Godby’s ladies’ team was fifteenth, Florida High’s tied for twenty-seventh, and Rickards tied for forty-fifth. With sixty-five points and lots of medals, Godby’s boys dominated the other teams by almost 20 points! Rickards tied for nineteenth, and Florida High tied for twenty-eighth. Brittany Corbett from Florida High was one of the point-earners of the day. By running the 100 Hurdles in 15.45, she received third. Her teammate, LaKetra McGee, was sixth (15.72) in this swift event. Godby’s Quaniqua Hall did the 300 Hurdles in 45.51, which put her in fourth. The Cougar 4×100 was eighth in 48.77! In the High Jump, Jazmyn Evans, a freshman at Godby, finished third with her 5’4″ jump. Hurling the shot put 36’10.50″, Jennifer Berrian from Rickards finished eighth. During the boys’ competition, Florida High’s Albert Edwards received second place by merely a hundredth of a second in the 800 (1:55.02)! Then, Dieumy Duclos claimed second for Godby in the 3200 with a time of 9:34.93. In the 4×100, Rickards was seventh after prelims, but they returned and finished sixth with a time of 42.98.

Godby continued to rack up points in the field events. Brandon Hollifield jumped 6’8″, and Traevis Livingston jumped 6’6″ in the High Jump, which earned them third and sixth respectively. Adding to their team’s points, Eddie Lloyd (14’6″) and Billy Mueller (13’6″) pole-vaulted themselves to second place and fifth place for Godby. Tallahassee was well represented in the Long Jump. Rickards’ Ricky McGhee was second with his jump of 23’10’. Then, Godby’s Quayshun Smith was third (23’7.25″), and his teammate Jamal Vickers was eighth (22’9.75″). Smith returned to win the Triple Jump (48’1.25″), and Vickers finished fifth (45’8.5″). Devin Screen threw 52’9″ for fourth in the Shot Put, and then he won the Discus (183’10”) by over seven inches! With all these points from the field events, the boys’ team from Godby won by a huge margin. At the conclusion of the 2A state meet, only one more competition remained for Tallahassee’s athletes: the 3A meet!

The Lady Timberwolves were third this year, and Lincoln tied for forty-fifth. In the guys’ competition, Lincoln was tied for nineteenth, and Leon was tied for fortieth. Starting out the day with the 4×800, Chiles’ ladies claimed seventh with their time of 9:35.89. Later, in the 1600, Lily Williams won by 2 seconds in a fast time of 4:56.20. She proceeded to dominate the 3200 as well, bringing home another gold medal with her 11:00.56. Her teammates also ran well in the mile and 2 mile. Rachel Givens broke a minute in the 1600 (4:59.89) and finished fourth; she was seventh in the 3200 (11:16.13) as well. Jodie McGuff was fourth in the 3200 (11:04.07), and Carly Thomas followed her in fifth (11:06.23). In the 400, Lincoln’s Kendall Parker ran a 58.88, and she finished sixth. In the guys’ 4×800, Lincoln’s team finished sixth (8:00.76). Their 4×100 also did well, and they claimed fourth with a time of 42.03. Lincoln’s Trevor Touchton was fifth in the mile (4:19.89), and he ran the fastest time in this event from Tallahassee. Riley Doherty of Leon finished fourth in the 3200 with his time of 9:24.60 (third place was 9:24.24 and fifth was 9:24.93!). Since there are not any 4A schools in Tallahassee, the conclusion of the 3A meet was the conclusion of high school Track and Field Season for local runners! With so much improvement, so many personal records, and so many impressive performances, the track teams of Tallahassee have been quite successful in 2011. Although it seems as if the 2012 track season is a long time away, many runners will pass the time by hitting the trails for cross country season!