First step starts with districts

Published 6:00 am Wednesday, April 13, 2011

corey.davis@gaflnews.com

Suwannee, Branford, Hamilton and Lafayette Counties, will take their first step towards advancing to state this weekend. All four teams will compete in their respective district track and field meets this week, with the top four finishers in each event moving on to regionals, one step closer to making it to state.

District 3-2A

Suwannee

For the first time in 13 years, the district trophy case at Suwannee High seemed a little empty for once. As Santa Fe ended Suwannee’s run of 12 consecutive girls district track and field titles with a stunning four point win at the District 3-2A meet at Bradford High last season.

Santa Fe held off Suwannee 119-115 to win the girls overall team title. Yulee was third with 100, Fort White was fourth with 98, Union County was fifth with 57, West Nassau was sixth with 44, Baldwin was seventh with 42, Baker County was eighth with 38, Bradford was ninth with 18 and Newberry was 10th with 11 points.

Suwannee would like to pay back the Raiders. For that to happen the Bulldogs will need strong performances from Tanisha Wheeler, Lindsey Michal, Laura Menezes and Amanda McCall.

Wheeler won the pole vault competition and helped the 4×100 relay team win last season, Michal  finished second in the 1600 run and Menezes finished fourth in the 3200 run and fifth in the 110 hurdles.

Michal will be counted on in the 800 and 1600, while McCall will be counted on in the 100 and 300 hurdles.    

The Suwannee boys ran away with the title last season with 159 points, well ahead of runner-up Santa Fe, who finished with 98 points. Yulee was third with 83, Fort White was fourth with 78, Bradford County was fourth with 56, Baldwin was fifth with 54, Union County was seventh with 45, Baker County was eighth with 40, West Nassau was ninth with 28 and Newberry was 10th with 15 points.          

Josh Martin and Josh Randolph both advanced to state last season and will be looked upon to carry the Bulldogs to another title.

Martin helped Suwannee finish second in the 4×100 relay along with finishing fourth in the long jump and second in the triple jump while Randolph finished sixth in the triple jump and sixth in the high jump

The top four finishers in each event at the district meet advance to the Region I-2A meet Friday at the Bolles School in Jacksonville.

District 4-1A

Girls

There is an old saying, always a bridesmaid never a bride. The saying couldn’t be more true for the Branford girls track and field team, as the Bucs finished district runner-ups last year for the fifth consecutive year.

With only a few remaining events left, host St. Johns Country Day held a slim 1.5 point lead over Branford, but the Spartans pulled away to hold off the Bucs 219.50-191.00 to win its seventh consecutive district title. Hilliard was third with 102 points, Bell was fourth with 41, Hamilton County was fifth with 39, Trenton was sixth with 11.50 and Lafayette was seventh with 11.0.  

Logan Boss could win several events for the Bucs including the pole vault, high jump, triple jump, hurdles and relay races.

Branford coach Seth Stebbins is also counting on state qualifier Stephanie Copeland, Ashley Horn and Olivia Boney to fare well also.  

Copeland swept the discus and shot put titles at the Hamilton County Invitational and is the defending district champion in both events.

Boney finished fourth in the long jump, third in the 100 and third in the 200 dash at districts last season.

Boss and Montana Bailey finished second and third in the high jump last season and could be the  favorites in that event.

Horn, who finished third in the 1600 run last season, won the 1600 run at Hamilton recently and should be the favorite in both the 1600 and 3200.

The top four in each event at districts advanced to the Region I-1A meet Friday at the Bolles School in Jacksonville. The top four at regionals move on to the Class 1A state meet Friday April 30 at Winter Park.

Boys

Before they even took the track, Hamilton County boys faced an enormous 28.5 deficit.

However, thanks to several top five finishes in numerous events, the Trojans were able to overcome the deficit and win their first district title in two years and in the process end Branford’s two-year title run.

Hamilton County held off Branford 190.0 to 180.50 to win the District 5-1A title. Host St. Johns Country Day was third with 87.5, Bell was fourth with 63.0, Lafayette was fifth with 57.0, Hilliard was sixth with 38.0 and Trenton was seventh with 16.0 points.      

“What a great bunch of kids we have,” Hamilton County coach Ron Hall said. “I have never spotted someone 30 points and come back and win.”

Stebbins is counting on state qualifier and leader David Bass to carry his team to a title, along with his son Kyle Stebbins.    

Bass easily won the 1600 and 3200 run last season, but bulked up this season and should be favored in the 400 and the discus.   

The top four from each event moves on to the Region I-1A meet Friday at the Bolles School in Jacksonville. The top four from regionals advance to the Class 1A state meet April 30 in Winter Park.

District track capsules

District 3-2A

Site: Yulee

When: April 15

Participating schools: Baker County, Bradford County, Baldwin, Fort White, Newberry, Suwannee, Union, West Nassau, Yulee

At stake: Top four in each event move on to regionals

Tournament notes: Suwannee boys and girls enter the meet as one of the favorites to go along with Santa Fe and Bradford. Santa Fe girls are the defending district champs after ending the Lady ‘Dogs twelve-year reign.

District 4-1A

Site: St. Johns Country Day

When: April 15

Participating schools: Bell, Branford, Hamilton, Hilliard, Lafayette, St. Johns Country Day, Trenton

At stake: Top four in each event move on to regionals

Tournament notes: As the hosts for the second straight year, St. Johns is one of the favorites to win both titles, but don’t count out Branford. With a lot of depth, the Bucs might finally steal away the title from the host Spartans, after finishing second the last two years. Hamilton County is the defending boys district champs and appears poised to claim its second straight title but will be challenged by St. Johns and Branford.