Bryanna Rivers’ name won’t soon be forgotten at Wharton High School.
She lays claim to three school track records — one individual, two relays.
She’s amassed 11 state track medals — the most in program history.
(Kevin Weiss)
And, she’s just the second track athlete at Wharton to earn a full-ride Division I athletic scholarship — to the University of Massachusetts; the other was hurdler/sprinter Teona Rodgers, who graduated Wharton in 2007 and attended Florida State University.
Rivers, a senior, placed second in the 800-meter run at the 2017 Florida High School Track & Field State Championships, held May 5 and May 6 at IMG Academy in Bradenton.
She ran a blistering time of 2:10.51 —narrowly behind Miami Southridge’s Kayla Johnson, a University of Miami signee, who clocked 2:10.39.
For Rivers, it was both a personal record and a school record.
”That was probably my biggest accomplishment,” she said about her prep track career.
The local track star shined in other state events, too.
She placed eighth in the mile (5:12.39) and was the anchor leg of Wharton’s 4×400-meter relay that placed third (3:50.21).
Reaching — and performing well — at the highest level is certainly not foreign to Rivers.
In all four years, she’s advanced to the state finals in multiple events, earning corresponding medals.
Besides claiming school records in the 800-meter run and 4×400 (3:48.23) and 4×800 (9:22.04) relays, Rivers is second all-time in the school’s 400 meter (56.32) and 1,500 meter (5:00.95) races, and third in the 1,600 meter (5:04.80).
(Courtesy of Tyler Copeland)
That versatility to excel in short and long distances makes Rivers unique, said Kyle LoJacono, her personal track coach.
“She’s so phenomenally athletic and gifted,” said LoJacono, who also coaches the Wharton boys track team. “She has that natural fast-twitch muscle fiber; she can pretty much be entered anywhere from six to maybe 10 events, and really help a college program.”
Her success didn’t come without some growing pains, however.
Rivers almost quit the sport entirely between her sophomore and junior years.
Though still a standout runner, she wasn’t seeing improvement dating back to her middle school years.
“I wasn’t really getting the results I needed to,” Rivers said. “I came in as an eighth- grader as a 2:14 (800 meter), and at the meets I couldn’t get under a 2:16, so I was just like really disappointed in myself.
“I was so frustrated; there’s definitely a moment where I was doubting myself and thought about stopping.”
All she needed was an altered workout regimen.
“She needed something different,” said her father, Neil Rivers. “She was basically going through three-quarters of her junior year and ran faster as a seventh-grader than she had in three years of high school.
“We had to make some tweaks and had to make some changes.”
That’s when LoJacono agreed to become her trainer, beginning April 1 of last year.
He repurposed Bryanna’s training, placing additional focus on volume running —upping mileage and pace.
He also reduced the number of races Bryanna entered.
“Even though her volume came up on her workouts, we cut her race volume — just to get her much fresher,” LoJacono explained.
Her passion for running was soon rediscovered.
The race numbers — beginning with the AAU club circuit — reflected it, too.
Last June, Bryanna finished sixth in the 800-meter run (2:12.52) in the Emerging Elite division at New Balance High School Outdoor Nationals, in Greensboro North Carolina.
Interest from college track programs ensued.
“That all of a sudden really set her recruiting world on fire; it was a very busy summer for her on the recruiting side,” Neil Rivers said.
She settled on the University of Massachusetts, located about 1,300 miles north of Tampa.
“It ended up being my favorite visit,” Bryanna Rivers said. “They really took the time to get to know me.
“Looking at my options, that was the place that would be most comfortable,” she added.
Besides track, Bryanna will run cross-country for UMass; she plans to study biology and intends to become a postpartum nurse.
One thing she’ll miss back home is the chance to run with her two siblings, sophomore Tre Rivers and freshman Nia Rivers.
“This year was the first year that all three of us ran high school at the same time; it was just so much fun,” Bryanna said.
But, she hopes her success can motivate them to earn athletic scholarships one day.
“Hopefully, I can influence them, like, ‘You can do it, if you just work hard,’” Bryanna Rivers. “I just see them have such a passion for it, and they’re just really determined.”
Meanwhile, Bryanna’s high school career isn’t totally finished.
She will again compete on the club circuit this summer, running for the Trailblazers Youth Athletic Ministry; her last prep competition is the New Balance Nationals Outdoor, on June 18.
Published May 31, 2017
