By Kyle LoJacono
Steinbrenner boys dominated the distance events at the Hillsborough County track championships April 2 at Jefferson.
The Warriors distance program, also known as The Boss Cross, won the 4×800-meter relay in 8 minutes, 2.09 seconds to open the event, and followed with victories by seniors Matt Magee (4:31.01) and Tyler Lima (9:46.57) in the 1,600 and 3,200, respectively.
“We wanted to dominate these distance events, so it felt good to come out and represent The Boss Cross,” Lima said, “We want to be the best distance program in this county, and this helps solidify that point.”
Steinbrenner switched up the order of its 4×800, which took fourth at the Class 3A state meet last year. Normal anchor Magee ran leadoff, and Tanner Biles moved from the third to fourth leg for the first time this season.
Bloomingdale had a slim lead when Biles got the baton. The senior said he was nervous but had a game plan that helped lead to the win of more than two seconds.
“I was just going to let him take it out and run behind him and give everything for the last 200,” Biles said. “
Magee held off Newsome’s Lars Benner by 0.01 seconds for the 1,600 title. Benner fell forward at the finish line, but a close exam by race officials confirmed Magee’s chest crossed first.
“I definitely felt his presence all down that final stretch,” Magee said. “He dove and almost got me.”
Magee went away from his normal tactic of holding back until the end of the race in claiming the title. He took the lead midway through the third lap, which he held for most of the remainder of the event.
“I was actually supposed to not go out until the last 200, but I ended up taking the lead,” Magee said. “I’ve been boxed in before, and that’s tough when you get boxed in and can’t go.”
Lima cruised to his win in the 3,200 by more than 13 seconds.
“I knew a couple of the guys in this race had already run in the 1,600, and I had only done the 4×800, so I knew if I wanted to win I had to take it to a place that they didn’t want to go to,” Lima said, “That’s what I did, took it out at a hard pace to start and knew they wouldn’t want to mentally run another race. … I have a kick for the end, but I decided to just go out hard and stretch it out.”
The Boss Cross accounted for 39 of the Warriors’ 48 points at the event, which was good enough for third place. Hillsborough won the team title (68), Gaither took eighth (27) and Freedom was tied for 17th (17) at the 27-team meet.
On the girls side, Freedom placed third with 75 points, 17 behind Plant’s championship pace. Gaither finished seventh (30) and Steinbrenner was ninth (26).
The Patriots captured a pair of county championships, with Sandra Akachukwu taking the long jump (18-feet, 10-inches) and Faith Woodard winning the high jump (5-09) with a new school record.
“I just wanted to come out here and do my best,” Woodard said. “My coach and my parents were telling me that I’m capable of doing anything, so I wanted to go out there and do just that. … This is county and everybody is here, so I was excited to do my best.”
It’s the third county title in the event for Woodard, who also won as a freshman and sophomore but was beat by Akachukwu last season. Woodard also scored in the 400 (third place, 1:00.08) and the 200 (eighth place, 26.21).
Akachukwu bested Alonso’s Quatasia Fantroy (18-07), the defending long jump champion, on her final attempt.
“I always go in with a positive mindset, and I’m always trying to PR,” Akachukwu said. “I don’t try and worry about what other people are doing because anything can happen, and I’m just looking at what I can do. … I knew what she’d jumped and I know I’ve jumped farther, so I just focused on what my coach always says to me about picking up my feet and hold it for as long as I can.”
Akachukwu also took second in the high jump (5-06), 100 (11.86) and 200 (24.75) to score 34 points for her squad.
Gaither’s Rachel Cazares won her first county championship by claiming the 800 in 2:22.25. The junior led the same race last week at the Western Conference American Division meet before Plant’s Scarlett Fox passed her in the final 50 meters.
Cazares was in the lead for the entire race at the county championships and won by 2.42.
“I was waiting for Scarlett to come at the end, so I knew I had to just keep pushing the whole time,” Cazares said. “My coach told me to stay behind someone, but he also told me to not slow down, so I didn’t.”
Cazares had a big smile as she crossed with the comfortable win.
“I didn’t know how close they were, but I couldn’t see them, and I knew if I couldn’t see them then they wouldn’t be able to pass me with so little time left,” Cazares said. She added, “I was a little unsure, but I kept telling myself that I was sure and I think that helped. I’ve never beaten Scarlett Fox before, and I needed a meet like this.”
Cowboys senior Kiana Bryant took third in the 100 with a 12.15, breaking the school record by 0.04.
“I’ve been practicing harder the last few weeks, and we’ve been lifting more weights, so I think that’s what got me stronger,” Bryant said. She added, “Breaking the record has been my goal since I came to Gaither. I saw the record when I was a freshman, and I wanted to break it before I graduated.”
Steinbrenner travels to Gaither for the Class 3A-District 8 meet April 17. Freedom competes at Tampa Bay Tech in the 4A-6 meet April 16.
—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker
