Not much separates St. Thomas Aquinas, Long Beach Poly girls track teams this season

Is St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) the new Long Beach Poly (Calif.) when it comes to national girls track dominance?

Probably not, but they could be on a somewhat equal footing (no pun intended) in the future, because the Raiders bested Poly two out of three times during electrifying races at the star-studded Texas Relays earlier this season.

For many years the Jackrabbits from Poly have lived up to their nickname as the gold standard for track - girls and boys. However, this spring the St. Thomas girls eclipsed Poly's 2004 national record (1 minute, 33.87 seconds) by winning the 800-meter relay in a sizzling 1:33.47. The Raiders' foursome included sophomore Khalifa St. Fort, junior Diamond Spaulding, senior Kendall Ellis and junior Krystal Sparling.

Poly's foursome of freshman Kaelin Roberts, sophomore Maya Perkins and seniors Ariana Washington and Jade Lewis finished second in 1:36.37, which was its best time in 10 years.

Later, the Raiders lowered their own national record with a clocking of 1:33.43 during the Florida Relays.

In addition to the 800, the Raiders also bested Poly in the 1,600 relay with a time of 3:38.26, which still is No. 1 in the nation this year. That team included Sparling, Spaulding, Ellis and Narinah Jean-Baptiste, a senior. Adding to the luster is a 2014 national No. 1 effort by Sparling in the 100 (11.34) and a second-place spot for Ellis in the 400 (52.95), an event she held the top national time in until last week.

Poly's lone head-to-head victory in Texas was supplied by the 400-meter relay team of Lewis, Perkins, Washington and Autumn Wright, which nipped Aquinas 45.73 to 45.75.

This was believed to be the first time Poly and St. Thomas have met in track and their seasons are quite different. The Florida state finals already are over, while California's meet is a couple weeks away.

Putting things into perspective, Mike Kennedy, longtime girls high school editor for Track & Field News, concedes that St. Thomas is "the new kid on the block. STA just hit a perfect cycle with this group of girls.

"Getting a transfer (Spaulding) from American Heritage really put them over the top. Coaching at both schools is at a high level. Poly (still) has national records at 4x100, 4x400 and 800-medley relay."

Though it's highly competitive, it's not going to be a bitter rivalry in any way, according to the coaches.

Alex Armenteros, who has coached the St. Thomas girls for four years, told MaxPreps, "We stayed at the same hotel (in Texas) and sat by each other in the stands. We complimented them and they complimented us. If there's any kind of rivalry, it's friendly. Don't get me wrong - neither one of us likes to lose."

In his 38th and final year as head coach at Poly, Don Norford is seeking his 14th girls state title.

Norford said, "I see nothing but great things (for the St. Thomas girls). I congratulated him (Armenteros) on breaking our record. He kind of reminds me of me. He's driven to help the kids under him. They could be our No. 1 rival, but they have a different schedule than we do. I wish we could have met them when we were at our best."

Girls Athletic Director Crystal Irving, a Poly graduate who has coached with Norford for 17 years, explained that  several key Poly runners were coming off injuries and they had very few meets under their belts when they ran against St. Thomas.

She noted, "We plan in the future to go to the Texas Relays every other year. There's a possibility we could meet (St. Thomas) in Florida. We'd love to compete against them. I see them being good every year. We definitely welcome any competition. Without that you're not going to get your best times."

Norford added, "We'd love to have a dual meet against them. It would generate a lot of exposure for track."

Armenteros isn't about to call his school the "new Poly," but he does believe this is the best girls track team in St. Thomas history.

"Poly is still Poly," he stressed. "There will be years they will dominate and years we will dominate. I think we caught them at the right time. Every year it goes back and forth. Poly has a tremendous group of athletes to pull from (4,500 students in grades 9-12)."

Poly, indeed, will continue to be Poly, because there is a waiting list just to get into the school, which has high academic - as well as athletic - standards. Athletic Director Rob Shock, a Poly graduate and former coach, emphasizes, "When you come to Poly, you're not just coming to a school, but you're joining a family."

Irving points out, "This is one of our better freshman groups in a long time. They have great grades, too. Kaelin Roberts is a talented young lady. I look forward to an awesome career for her. We also have some 10th graders. The beat is going to go on."

Meanwhile, 67-year-old Norford looks forward to his retirement and achieving some lofty goals.

The legendary coach revealed, "I'm trying to start a non-profit to help single-parent families and to feed the homeless. I think that's my calling. That's what I've always been doing."