By Kyle LoJacono
Members of the Wiregrass Ranch girls track and field team remained queens of Pasco County by claiming the program’s fifth straight Sunshine Athletic Conference (SAC) championship March 21 at Fivay.
The seventh-year program didn’t just win the title. The Bulls, in every sense of the term, ran away with the county crown by scoring 151 points, besting second-place Ridgewood by 60.5. Land O’ Lakes finished third (68.83), Wesley Chapel took ninth (24) and Sunlake was 11th (19) at the 13-team event.
“The thing I really like is that we won by the margin that we did,” said fourth-year Wiregrass Ranch coach Don Howard. “That shows the depth of the program. … We were able to score in 14 of 17 events, and that’s really what does if for us.”
Senior Hannah Eder said Howard and boys coach Mike Lawrence, who primarily guides the sprinters and jumpers, “pushed up everyone’s standards” this season.
“Coach Howard told us that as long as we did what we were expected to do we should win,” Eder said. “In a way that’s a good feeling, but it’s also pressure to live up to what you should be able to do. We have pressure, but we were confident too.”
Senior Alisha Henry gave the Bulls a lead entering the day by claiming consecutive conference crowns in the pole vault, which was contested the day before. Wesley Chapel senior Abby Hudak took second.
Henry cleared 9-feet, 6-inches, a foot less than her best performance of the year.
“The biggest problem was I was just crushing poles,” Henry said. She added, “I was pushing the bar down to much instead of using it to get over.”
Henry entered the season with a personal record (PR) of 11-03 and with a goal of clearing 12.
“I started off the season with a really bad mindset, and I’ve fixed that in the last couple of weeks,” Henry said. “I’m past that now. … I was feeling a little hopeless because I felt like I would never do 12, so I started caring a little less and started having a little more fun. I got to the point where I was stressing myself out. I’d say I have to get 11-06 by this time and 12 by this time. I’ve decided to take a step back and have fun.”
Eder claimed a field title for Wiregrass Ranch by posting a 34-03.5 in the triple jump, which she also won last year.
“Coming in I knew I had a big margin in seeding over the second-place girl, so I thought if I got to 34 it would be enough,” Eder said. “It wasn’t exactly my best, but I guess it was enough.”
Eder took third in the long jump (16-06), while teammate Gelisa Jenkins took second (16-10.5)
“Gelisa is really dedicated,” Eder said. “We work together a lot in the long jump, and she’s really athletic.”
Jenkins, a freshman, also took fourth in the 100 meters (12.99 seconds) and 200 meters (27.79) while helping the 4×100 relay (44.46) take runner-up.
The Bulls distance athletes also scored big, starting with claiming gold in the 4×800 relay (10:18).
“We really wanted to win this and give our team these points, and we came out and did that,” said freshman Madison Conway who led off the relay. She also took third in the 800 (2:32) and 1,600 (5:35).
Senior Berlin Waters, who is in her first year with the squad, ran the anchor leg of the relay. She got the baton with a slim lead, which she stretched into a six-second win over Gulf.
“I knew I had to step it up at the end,” Waters said. “We had a small lead when I got it, and I could see the girl’s shadow. I just thought I can’t let her pass me, and I’ve got to finish this.”
Senior Nikita Shah, a Harvard University signee, defended her 1,600 title by running a 5:14, besting Mitchell’s Claudia Cancello by just less than two seconds.
“She ran a great race and stayed strong,” Shah said. “On the last lap I just pushed it and came home.”
Shah and Howard decided to not have her run the 3,200, an event she won last year, because she was competing the following day at the FSU Relays.
Addie Cornwell stepped up in the 3,200 in place of Shah and took second (12:45).
“I haven’t been feeling good because my Tband has been hurting really bad and I haven’t been able to race in the last two meets, so I didn’t know what I could do,” Cornwell said. “I didn’t even know if I could finish this race, so I was happy to get under 13.”
Wesley Chapel’s lone conference title was won by senior Samford signee Courtney Prengaman in the high jump. The defending Class 2A state champ cleared 5-04 about a week after she set the school record at 5-08.
“We talked about how you can have one bad meet a year, so let’s make it this one and get back on track,” said Wildcats coach Brad Allen.
The Wiregrass Ranch boys almost made it a Bulls sweep, but they could not unseat the reigning champs, Land O’ Lakes.
Wiregrass Ranch totaled 115.3 to the Gators’ 131. Sunlake was third (65) and Wesley Chapel took 10th (12).
The Bulls led 101.3 to 98 with three events left, but Gators juniors Tyler Stahl and Jake Poore gave their squad the lead for good by placing first and third, respectively, in the 3,200.
The Bulls’ only individual title was claimed by senior Elijah Boston in the discus throw 134-04.
Wiregrass Ranch’s Khalil Phelan scored in both hurdle events, taking second in the 300 (43.64) and third in the 110 (16.92). The senior last did track in middle school, but decided to return to the sport in his final high school season.
“My friends told me I should come out, and I thought it would be a good opportunity,” Phelan said. “I did hurdles my eighth-grade year, and I kind of missed it.”
The Bulls host the Class 3A-District 6 meet April 16, which also includes Land O’ Lakes and Sunlake. Wesley Chapel competes at the 2A-9 meet April 12 at Berkley Prep.
—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker
