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Boys 2A State Preview by Ricky Quintana - Florida FHSAA Outdoor State Championships 2013Published by
2A Boys Preview - Team Outlook On paper, three teams are separated by just 9 points. Washington has 7 events where they could score points; American Heritage and Lakewood 6. And they all are entered in the final event of the night, the 4 x 400m where it could all be decided. Lakewood comes in with the most balanced team; 29 predicted points from the field events and 32 points from the track events. They will get huge points from Griffin brothers in the jumps and Timothy Holmes in the hurdles. American Heritage took a huge hit at regions, losing their national leading 4 x 100m to a disqualification. They still will be in the hunt, but it will be an uphill battle. They will rely on Walter Tucker in the hurdles and discus, Khari Herbert and Torrance Gibson in the 400m and their 4 x 400 relay team. Washington will need big points from Deltron Hopkins, Vaquann Small, their 4 x 100m team and Krondis Larry in the 400m.
2A Boys - Individual Outlook Boys High Jump Frosh Keith Gavin soared to a personal best and Class 2A leader in winning the Region 1 title over Fester Little and teammate Corion Knight. Gavin has been the most consistent over the higher clearances posting 3 marks of 6-06 inches to go along with his 6-08.00 best.
Boys Pole Vault Nick Catchur posted a 1 foot personal best in winning his regional meet. The was tops in the state by 1 foot as well and was an improvement of 1 foot 6 inches over this sophomore performance. Corey Short, Nathan Jeffers, Matt Hernandez, Harry Glasser, and David Bell all have 14-00.00 leaps this year and could make a run at Catchur who’s next best clearance is 14-00.00. Boys Long Jump Janarion Grant won last year with a mark of 23-02. This year, he comes in with a season best of 23-08.50, a mark he set in winning the Region 2 championship. The going may be a little tougher this year with Shaquiem Griffin and Jamel Dean, and Shaquille Griffin also posting 23 feet marks at the regions.
Boys Triple Jump Shaquill Griffin got the better of his brother, Shaquem, the defending state champion, in winning the regional meet with a Class 2A best 49-00.50. That was 2 feet 1.25 inches better than his 4th place finish at last year’s state championship. Ashton Butler finished 2nd last year with a mark of 47-02.50 and will need another strong performance to knock the Griffin brothers out of the top spot.
Boys Discus Throw
Nathan Knox won his region and is the state leader in the event. Frederick Jones, Jeremiah Theus and Rashodd Hadley have 160-00.00 marks this season and will be in contention. One of the more unusall combinations will be Walter Tucker’s 110m hurdles, 300m hurdles and discus triple. He finished 3rd here and is the highest returning finisher.
Boys Shot Put
Frederick Jones won last year’s event by 1.50 inches. This year, he has improved his mark 9 feet 3.5 inches over his winning put. The field has also gotten better with Joseph Fernando, Larry Bass, Leander Rembert,and Rashodd Hadley psoting marks that would have won the state title last year. With such competition and a world class facility, Jones may just have the environment to challenge national leader Kord Ferguson’s best of 63-05.75.
Boys 4x800 Meter Relay Lake Nona powered to a strong finish last year to win the state final in convincing fashion. Three members of that team return this year to try and duplicate the feat and lower the 7:56.79 they posted last year. Bishop Kenny ran their best to win Region 1 on the same track that Lake Nona won their Region 2 title. Teams tend to improve 5-8 seconds over their regional performance so look for a close race in the finals. Boys 110 Meter Hurdles Walter Tucker is the clear favorite clocking the only times under 14.00 this season for Class2A. Timothy Holmes is his closest competitor and ran his best in winning his regional meet. This would be the second consecutive title for Tucker who is the lone returning finalist. Boys 100 Meter Dash Boys 1600 Meter Run 2A state leader Jonathan Klumpp is focusing his efforts on the 3200m title. Leonel Delacruz posted a seasonal best of 4:25.02 in winning the Region 3 title over last year’s top returning finisher, Spender Guerette(4th last year) Delacruz’s time was also the best time of all the regional winners. David Yarborough has the second fastest time in the state with a 4:24.87 and won his region of hard charging Carsten Thue Bludworth.With 5 runners within 3 seconds of each other, this race will decided on the homestretch.
Boys 4x100 Meter Relay
American Heritage won’t get the chance for a rematch with Miami Washington to the disappointment of many. They were disqualified in the regional preliminaries. Miami Washington finished 2nd to American Heritage in the nation’s second fastest time of 40.60. The Tornadoes will be favored in the finals, but Lakewood, and Jones(if Whitfield is over is injury) could challenge.
Boys 400 Meter Dash Krondis Larry, 3rd last year, posted the state leading time in beating Khari Herbert in the Region 4 final. They will again butt heads in the final. Herbert false started in the final last year. With a 47.14 or better, either could move into the top five in the nation. Boys 300 Meter Hurdles Timothy Holmes best makes his the second fastest performer in the country. He’ll be favored heavily here. Walter Tucker has the next best time and will aim to improve on his ninth place finish from last year. Sir Jackson, an Alabama State signee and the son of University of Florida and NFL wide receiver, Willie Jackson will vie for a podium finish which has eluded him thus far. Boys 800 Meter Run Chris Jackson, the state leader, cruised to the Region 1 championship. He’ll face a tougher field with Vaquan Small, the defending state champ, and D’Andre Smith clocking fast times at the regional meet. Look for a mad finish for spots 3-8 as 9 runners are within` 3 seconds of each other. Boys 200 Meter Dash Deltron Hopkins edged Jeremy Strainge for the win in the Region 4 championship. In fact, the top 4 times are from Region 4. Sub 21.5 times used to be a rarity in Florida high schools, but now there are more sprinters knocking on the sub 21 barrier than I ever can recall. This should be an awesome race. Boys 3200 Meter Run David Yarborough has the best time of all the competitors in the final. He will be doubling back from the 1600m where he may need a seasonal best to win. His margin for error is small against the field as a rested Jonathan Klumpp, the defending state champion, and Mark Borland could find their way to match any move Yarborough makes. It should be interesting tactics on display at these runners seek an individual title. Boys 4x400 Meter Relay More news |
