Day 2 FHSAA Class 4A state track winners in their own words
By Brian Miller, Special to Distance Preps

FHSAA Class 4A state winners

4x800 (G) - St. Thomas Aquinas, 9:15.65
"That last 200, I could hear everybody saying 'Get her, get her,' and I knew they were talking about me," said Narinah Jean-Baptiste, who had a battle with Ferguson High's anchor on her hands. "It just became a fight. Like my coach always says, it's the nature of the beast. I was just trying to keep my head down, keep focused. I felt tense, but I knew I had to run through the line. I kept thinking, 'Run through the line, run through the line.'"

4x800 (B) - American, 7:48.22
"I just know I have to extend the lead," second leg Ari Cogdell said after receiving a sizable advantage following the first leg. "My first split was a 51 (seconds). I knew my competitors were coming for me, so I just tried to keep going."

High Jump (G) - Stacey Destin (Santaluces), 5-08.00

High Jump (B) - Christian Williams (American), 6-06.00
"Coming from last year winning states, I was just trying to have a repeat and win it again," Williams said. "Just like last year, it was rainy and stormy. The field has been slippery, so it was to takeoff on my approach. The competition made me push harder despite the conditions. I came through and I'm very appreciative to God for that."

Long Jump (G) - Stacey Destin (Santaluces), 18-10.75

Long Jump (B) - Leon Boyd (Evans), 23-08.75

Triple Jump (G) - Brittany Bowald (Atlantic Coast), 39-03.50
"This weather was rough, so I just went out and did my best," said Bowald, who won by three-and-a-half inches, or basically an inch per leap. "With every jump, I just said, 'Leave it all here.' That's kind of my motto."

Triple Jump (B) - Leon Boyd (Evans), 47-09.75

Discus (G) - Camora Sanders (Northeast), 132-09.00

Discus (B) - Ryan Crozier (St. Thomas Aquinas), 164-00.00
"It's really hard to throw with a wet discus," Crozier said. "My fingers were all pruny. You have to work past it. It's just the luck of the draw how it comes out your fingers."

Shot Put (G) - Epiphany Thompson (Miami Southridge), 41-04.00

Shot Put (B) - Jamal Whittaker (Apopka), 59-06.00
"I'm feel stronger in the afternoon, but morning was great because I threw my best," Whitaker said. "I don't really have a certain warmup, I just make sure I get loose, get stretched, envision my throws, make sure I get the right steps. It feels great I won state. Now I'll just get ready to compete in discus."

Shot Put Adaptive (B) - Dillon Ford (Atlantic Coast), 7-10.00

Pole Vault (G) - Erica Sergeant (Lake Mary), 12-00.00

Pole Vault (B) - Sean Clarke (Lyman), 14-03.00

100 Hurdles (G) - Daeshon Gordon (Northeast), 13.88
"Going into prelims, I was kind of used to the rain, because last year and during the season," Gordon said. "I stayed focused and ran my race. The rain didn't bother me. I just tuned it out."

110 Hurdles (B) - Carl Augustin (Cypress Creek), 14.26

100 (G) - Kaylin Whitney (East Ridge), 11.48
"My regionals and districts were such bad weather, so I could never run these times," said Whitney after turning in the No. 2 time in the country. "I'm really satisfied with my time. (The rain stopped today) at the right place, at the right time."

100 (B) - Terry Jernigan (East Ridge), 10.51
"I had a good stretch," Jernigan said. "Actually, I had a good whole week of practice. Everything, I prepared for this moment and just went out and executed."

1600 (G) - Sinclaire Johnson (Lake Brantley), 5:01.49
"We were in such a close pack and the girls are amazing runners," Johnson said. "We know how to push each other. Great competition. I had to work. We were all fighting for the same thing. I just had a positive mind game."

1600 (B) - Jack Guyton (HB Plant), 4:11.86
"That's a five-second PR," Guyton said. "Me and my coach decided to take it easy the first two laps and kick as hard as I could. My strategy in the past was to get out fast and finish fast. That's really all I had left in me."

4x100 (G) - St. Thomas Aquinas, 46.18
"We just knew if we got the timing down, it would be a clean, easy race," second leg Diamond Phillips said. "We just needed to break the stagger and open up the gap a little more."

4x100 (B) - Orlando Dr. Phillips, 41.49
"It was a tight race," anchor Alvin Bryant said about his final leg. "I knew I had to pull off. Everybody in the stands was looking at me like, 'Wow, will he do it or is he gonna get passed?' In my head, I just had to close my eyes, say to myself, 'Dude, you've got it. Just go. Run your race.' I opened them, took a deep a breath. Come to find out, I passed him."

400 (G) - Kendall Ellis (St. Thomas Aquinas), 52.95
"Coaching, glory to God," said Ellis, giving credit where it was due after breaking her own U.S. No. 1 time. "I've been working hard in practice. I've been going for 52 since last year. Today was the time to do it. It feels good, I'm excited. I'm going to work this summer to do better, go low 52."

400 (B) - Rasheed Tatham (St. Thomas Aquinas), 47.22
"I just had to stay focused and race my race," Tatham said. "I'm normally so confident. I had to overcome my fears, the fear of not living up to my standards."

300 Hurdles (G) - Daesha Gordon (Northeast), 42.15
"A lot of hard work," said Gordon after a hurdling double. "Putting in the hard work is the hard work. In the longer hurdles, I just focus on getting out and maintaining my rhythm over the first hurdle so I can finish the race. It's about keeping the right amount of steps."

300 Hurdles (B) - Trevon Grimes (St. Thomas Aquinas), 37.94
"It's all about who gets to the first hurdle," said Grimes, a freshman. "Being tall, I have a long stride. That's probably my specialty. I got to the first hurdle first and rode out the race."

800 (G) - Sinclaire Johnson (Lake Brantley), 2:12.30
"I'm so speechless right now, I just can't believe it," said the sophomore after a distance double. "I came in here and my goal was at least third in the mile, trying to PR. It's just awesome and I really can't explain it."

800 (B) - Kyren Hollis (Olympia), 1:54.49
"That was pretty competitive," Hollis said. "Normally, I'm fighting after the first lap, but I was by myself. I heard them coming up behind me. I knew I'd be slower that last lap because my legs were killing me. When I got to my 200, I worked my arms and thought about finishing strong. I've been practicing it and that's what I did."

800 Adaptive (B) - Dillon Ford (Atlantic Coast), 3:40.37

200 (G) - Kaylin Whitney (East Ridge), 23.69
"Ridiculous," said Whitney about a blowing away in a race with the No. 1, 2, 4 and 9 runners in the country. "That's one of the best stacked races that many of these girls have been in. It's great. I'm loving the competition out here. It makes track so much better. Sometimes you just have to give the glory to God."

200 (B) - Terry Jernigan (East Ridge), 21.39
"That's what I've been doing since I started running track," said Jernigan, a UF recruit, about running for him and not hype. "My senior year, I just tried to keep dropping my times."

200 Adaptive (B) - Dillon Ford (Atlantica Coast), 52.16

3200 (G) - Alexa Cruz (St. Thomas Aquinas), 10:52.44
"My legs feel kind of sore, but after I got on that track, it all went away," said Cruz, following her third running event. "I was like, 'This is my race. I've got to win it today.' That was the goal. I knew I had to get out fast, but it became a more strategic race, and I just wanted the win."

3200 (B) - Jack Guyton (HB Plant), 9:20.35
"I didn't really," said Guyton about thinking he could win a distance double as he did. "I went into it thinking I could get second or third. I saw I felt pretty good in the last 400, so I decided to kick really hard."

4x400 (G) - St. Thomas Aquinas, 3:41.01
"As a group, we've been working so hard all year long," third leg Narinah Jean-baptise said, she of an earlier 4x800 win. "We know we have some amazing talent. We have fun with our relay, but we know we can always pull through and win because of the talent we have on this team."

4x400 (B) - American, 3:14.25
"I just wanted to lift my team," anchor Ari Cogdell said, taking the baton from Darius Fortune. "He gave me a lead and I just wanted to keep it."