Marvin Bracy of Orlando Boone won the 100 at the FHSAA state finals but could not compete in the 200 after his hamstring tightened.
Photo by Darrell Laxton
Two of the nation's premier runners were hampered by injuries, but still made their presence felt during Florida's track and field state championships in Jacksonville last weekend.
National 100-meter leader Marvin Bracy of
Boone (Orlando, Fla.) won the 100 in 10.52 seconds while running into a strong headwind. It marked his third straight 100 crown in Class 4A, but was far off his season-best time of 10.25. He turned in a personal-record time of 21.02 in the 200 preliminaries, but was unable to run in the finals because his left hamstring had tightened during the final 30 meters of the 100.
Artie Burns of
Northwestern (Miami, Fla.), who holds national spring bests in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles, entered the Class 3A meet with an ailing hamstring. He was able to win the 110 hurdles in 13.71 but faded badly in the 300 event, pushing over the last hurdle and falling before the finish line. He was disqualified and his team lost a potential 10 points, settling for runner-up honors.
The junior star told the Miami Herald, "I just ran this week ... I couldn't practice the hurdles. I just didn't have my strength. You can't win them all. I guess I have to come in more hungry next year."
National sprint leader Shayla Sanders of
Boyd Anderson (Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.) won the Class 4A 100 in 11.63 and the 200 in 23.64.
In 4A boys,
St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) star Arman Hall sacrificed personal goals for team success. Hall long had coveted the state 400-meter record of 45.44, but elected to save his legs for a decisive relay. He did win the 400 (47.08) and the 200 (21.16), but his anchor on the winning 1,600-meter relay clinched his team's fifth consecutive championship.
Hall, who has been a member of all five state championships, told the Miami Herald, "My team is like my family. I would do anything for them, because I know they would do anything for me. I threw away my personal accomplishments for them. My team came together and we did what we had to do."
Elsewhere around the nation:
Kendell Williams, Kell
Courtesy of Blane Williams
*Though just a junior, Kendell Williams of
Kell (Marietta, Ga.) won Georgia Class AAAA state titles in three events, setting state records and 2012 national bests in two of them. The outstanding marks were 20-8 1/2 in the long jump and 13.39 in the preliminaries of the 100-meter hurdles (she won the finals in 13.49). She also captured the high jump at 5 feet, 8 inches.
*Sam Mattis of
East Brunswick (N.J.) broke a 16-year-old New Jersey discus record with a throw of 218-4, which also is a 2012 national best - during the Greater Middlesex Conference Relays. The previous record of 216-11 was held by Ron Dayne, who later won the Heisman Trophy as a running back at the University of Wisconsin.
*
Old Mill (Millersville, Md.) standout Alexis Franklin won the 300-meter hurdles in a 2012 national-best time of 41.49 during the Bob Golliday Invitational. The Ohio State signee ran what is believed to be the best time ever by a Maryland girl - even though she hit the fourth hurdle.
*Avione Allgood of
Legacy (North Las Vegas, Nev.) continues to recover from right shoulder surgery. A natural right-hander, she threw left-handed on Wednesday and won the Sunset Region shot put with a toss of 40-8 3/4. Two days later she was able to throw the discus right-handed and win the region title with a throw of 132-2.
*
Bronxville (N.Y.) sophomore Mary Cain won the 1500-meter run in a state-record 4:17.1 during the 36th annual Joe Wynne Somers Lions Club Track & Field Invitational at Somers, N.Y. High. Despite the record, however, she was disappointed because she missed the Olympic qualifying B standard by a mere one-tenth of a second.
