NEW PORT RICHEY - It's another first for Mitchell: the girls track team's first victory.
It came at Friday's River Ridge Invitational, as Mitchell edged the host team by 34 points.
It was a difficult meet, though, to truly measure one team against the other. Nearly every school was missing key athletes to other commitments. River Ridge coach Dave Heywood was without his top sprinter, Tricia Thomas, for example.
But then Mitchell was missing hurdler Heather Goodman, all of its long jumpers and only had one triple jumper. First-year coach Bree McKallip said the Mustangs can build on this win with an eye toward the Sunshine Athletic Conference meet.
"It's our first victory in the history of girls track, and it was real exciting," she said. "I know Wesley Chapel and Ridgewood will battle for first and second (at the SAC), but I think third and fourth should be close, too."
The Mustangs' 4x400 team of Kalynn Kinnard, Jamie Barag, Erin Sotiaux and Jessica Jimenez set a school record of 4:26. Sotiaux won the triple jump with a leap of 30 feet, 71/4 inches and Kinnard won the 200 (27.59) and was second in the 100 (13.23).
Jen Cooper won the 100-meter high hurdles with a personal-best 17.32 and the 300 intermediate hurdles (51.48). Jenny Schulze won the shot put (29-51/2) and was second in the discus (86-31/2).
Danielle Coyle and Gina Fredricksen led River Ridge. Coyle won the 800 (2:34) and the 1,600 (5:41) and Fredricksen took the 100 (12.84) and long jump (14-81/2) and was second in the 200 (27.75).
Heywood was especially pleased with the revamped 4x100 team's win (53.55), as Lauryn Douglas stepped in for the absent Thomas and helped Fredricksen, Ashley Grant and Jasmin Johansen.
"It wasn't a real big meet," Heywood said. "But it was nice, because with only six schools the kids got a chance to do some of the things they don't normally do."
Mitchell's boys edged River Ridge by 39 points, to win its division. Anthony Napolitano led the Mustangs with a school-record pole vault of 11-6, tying the top leap of the day but finishing second on misses. Brandon Thomas won the discus (133-3) and the shot put (46-51/2) and Danny Sheehan took the 800 (1:57).
RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY: Wesley Chapel's much-anticipated trip to the Florida Relays in Gainesville ended disappointingly when violent storms canceled Thursday's Class A and 2A meet.
"(We were) very disappointed, especially for the seniors because that was their last chance at the Florida Relays," coach Brian Colding said.
How bad was it? "There was a construction fence and gate that blew over," he said. "The rain was some of the hardest rain that I had seen in quite a while.
"There was a lot of sideways rain, like in Forest Gump."
Which was why the Wildcats' top athletes ended up at Friday's East Side Challenge at Zephyrhills. Wesley Chapel handily won both the boys and girls titles.
One of the day's better races was the boys' 100, which Zephyrhills' Sydney Williams won with a new personal best of 10.89, besting Wesley Chapel's top three sprinters, Tyrone Tomlin (11.04), Greg Harrison (11.22) and Aaron Dickler (11.25).
But the Wildcats answered back as Bernard "BB" Roberts won the 200 (22.65) to best Williams by .31 seconds and the 4x100 team of Dickler, Harrison, Roberts and Tomlin won in a school-record 43.27.
The girls' 4x400 squad of Angela Medvid, Dija Phaire, Sami Polston and Heather Meglino also set a school record, winning in 4.21.98.
Zephyrhills girls coach Michael Stanton said Santana Lennon taking second in the high jump at 5 feet was a pleasant surprise.
"That's a great number for a freshman," he said.
[Last modified April 1, 2003, 05:26:39]
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