The Springstead contingent that traveled to Jacksonville for Friday’s FHSAA Track and Field State Championships had hopes of returning home that evening with a few state medals.
Mother Nature had different plans, but that didn’t deter the trio of Eagles who competed in the Class 3A state meet at the University of North Florida’s Hodges Stadium. Lainee Mercer, Viktoria Sayre and De’Aijah Tullis all took a turn on the medal stand on Saturday to make for a happy delayed trip back to Hernando County.
The schedule for Friday featured the Class 2A and Para-Athlete state meets in the morning, followed by the 3A meet, which figured to wrap up some time around 10 p.m.
But a weather delay stopped the 3A meet in the early going, before any of the Springstead athletes had competed, and eventually the FHSAA was forced to postpone the remaining events until Saturday, creating a jumbled schedule with the 1A and 4A state meets.
“Huge, huge adversity that we had to face as far as being prepared to compete on Friday, getting up there and being ready to go, then having the weather delay,” Springstead Coach Tyler Mahla said. “It was within the first 30 minutes of us being there. It was beautiful out, and then the skies started to get real dark. Then the thunder and lightning started to roll in, and we kind of got worried.
“… It’s definitely a challenge to have to mentally prepare yourself to jump at a time you weren’t ready for. You’re ready and preparing all week to jump on Friday, and then you get pushed to a completely different time. Then you got to hope throughout the entire day that the lightning and rain stay away, and it didn’t unfortunately today either.”
Rain continued to be an issue on Saturday, but the postponed 3A events were completed.
“Our athletes did a really good job of not running around and kind of staying calm and staying off their feet,” Mahla said. “They went out and performed as best they could.”
Mercer, a freshman, ran in the 3,200 meters, which was originally scheduled for late in the meet on Friday night. Instead, she was running first thing on Saturday morning, though hardly unusual for the distance runner who finished third at the 3A cross country state meet back in November.
Once again, it was a third-place finish for the underclassman, as she ran a 10:56.97, just behind Gulf Coast’s Ciara McCloskey (10:54.17) and Matanzas’ Peyton Cerasi (10:56.56).
“It’s amazing,” Mahla said. “First off, Lainee Mercer, a freshman, super impressive all year as far as every sport that she’s been involved with. Placing third in states in cross country as a freshman is amazing, incredible, and then to do it again for the 3,200 in track is just the cherry on top of the year.
“Great freshman year for her, and she’s just such a hard worker. Day in and day out, she sets the tone for us in practice. She comes in, doesn’t say much, does what she needs to do and it pays off for her as you can see.”
Springstead had two girls in the high jump and both ended up placing in the top eight to earn a medal. Tullis placed fifth with a best jump of 1.57 meters (5’ 1 3/4”) and the sophomore Sayre tied for seventh at 1.52 (4’11 3/4”). The senior Tullis also competed in the triple jump, placing 17th with 10.62 (34’10 1/4”).
“Viktoria Sayre, she did really well today. She’s every bit of 5’1” and jumps out of her mind,” Mahla said. “She’s another one that comes to practice every day and busts her butt, works really, really hard.
“… She really has found her calling as far as the high jump goes. But she comes from a family of good athletes. Hard worker and she’s only a sophomore, so a lot more to come from her, as well.”
Tullis transferred in last year from Kentucky, and Mahla said, “She immediately kind of stole the show for us.
“She could definitely be an every kind of event girl,” Mahla said. “Really, really another hard worker. Just naturally gifted. Does a really good job of keeping things light. She likes to enjoy herself and have fun, but she still can get the job done when she needs to.
“… Really great showing all around from all of our girls. Our girls coaches, Coach (Ryane) Ross and Coach (Tyson) Graham, have done an amazing job this year of really, really getting the girls ready and prepared for the postseason.”
The 2A meet, which took place earlier Friday, went off without any delay. Nature Coast had a handful of boys competing and earned a medal in the 4×100 relay.
“We’ve had a fantastic season,” Nature Coast coach Chase Liggett said. “All year, our goal was to perform up to state level and to go compete in as many events as possible at the state level, and we accomplished that. And we went, we competed. We were very, very successful in the region and we were able to put our talent on display.
“Our goal, and our kids have already been talking about, we return almost everybody. We only have three seniors in the program. So we’ll be back next year.”
Jasir Harvin, Ethan Warford, Trent Montgomery and Zayden McKenzie combined to run a 42.58 in the 4×100, good enough for eighth place.
“We ran well. Not quite where we thought we would be, but very well overall, 42.5 is not an easy time to run,” Liggett said. “I’m very proud of our guys. They work really, really hard and they deserve everything that they accomplish. They’re the hardest-working kids in the school, hands down, there’s no doubt about that. It shows in the success that they’ve had and I’m very proud of what we accomplished today.
“… They probably, to be completely honest, were a little disappointed with where they placed. They had very lofty expectations of themselves. We carry ourselves in very high regard. We’re trying to build something very, very special. They went into today expecting to win.”
Jamari Simpson fell a place short of a medal, taking ninth in the boys’ triple jump with 13.15 (43’ 1 3/4”). In the boys long jump, Dashawn Allen placed 15th with 6.22 (20’5”) and Montgomery was 17th at 5.80 (19’1/2”). Joseph Lizor came in 14th in the javelin at 45.79 (150’3”) and Allen scratched out in the high jump.
Also for the Sharks, Jonathan Edney, Noah Carpenter, Bryce Senzig and Kason Oneill ran an 8:29.63 for 16th in the 4×800.
In the Para state meet, Weeki Wachee’s Justin Lawson collected three medals. He placed fourth in the 100-meter ambulatory race in 15.93, fourth in the ambulatory shot put with a 4.86 (15’11 1/2”) and seventh in the 200 ambulatory race in 37.11.
“I’m very proud of all the effort he has put into this season,” Weeki Wachee coach Jeremy Woolcock said. “I did not know they were going to combine all ambulatory kids from the whole state. But seeing where he was seeded versus how he competed, he competed as he should have.
“… He’s kind of brought our program together more as a family, just with his enthusiasm to be there. It’s changed a lot of the kids’ outlook on, ‘Hey, if we put our work in, things are possible.’ He has been a great asset on our team.”
[Photo courtesy of Patrick Skipper]
