CLEARWATER — Pinellas teams fared quite well at the Class A, Region 3 meet at Calvary Christian on Thursday.
No area team could challenge the might of Melbourne Holy Trinity, but the Shorecrest girls rose as high as third (66 points) and the Indian Rocks Christian boys were the runners-up (59). The Admiral Farragut girls collected 46 points for a fifth-place finish and were carried by double champion Brittany McGee.
The junior elected not to do the high jump Thursday or she might have added to the 28 points she scored on her own. McGee was unstoppable in both hurdles. Her first-place time in the 100 hurdles (14.47 seconds) was her best time of the season. Then in the 300 hurdles, McGee crushed the field again in 45.55, more than two seconds ahead of the field. McGee did not have her best day in the long jump, but still finished second (18-4).
“I feel like I made up for it (the long jump),” said McGee, who has jumped over 19 feet this year and holds the fifth-best mark in the state.
Shorecrest freshman Katie Barnett also had a huge day, winning the triple jump (37-6.5), placing second in the 300 hurdles and third in the long jump. Barnett had some senior help from teammate Assata Trader in piling up the Chargers’ points. Trader was second in the 100 meters and third in the 200, and helped the 4x100 relay team take third. Shorecrest’s Luke Peterson was runnerup in the boys 1,600.
Canterbury scored just 16 points but they were all from Florida commit Chris Olson. He grabbed third in shot put, then shattered his personal record by more than 3 feet in winning the discus (171-11). That is now the eighth-best throw in the state according to Flrunners.com.
“I’m pumped. Last year I got all the way to states and had to settle for fifth,” Olson said. “I want to go out with a bang before I go to UF.”
St. Petersburg Catholic’s Michael Rusnak won the boys 400 (50.82), while teammate Adrian Snead prevailed in the 300 hurdles (42.14).
District track
Class 4A-8: East Lake’s girls (142 points) edged Sarasota Riverview by a point for the team title at Sarasota Booker thanks to victories in three events and several top-four finishes.
Eagles senior Ramiah Vickers won the triple jump (33-8.5) and placed fourth in the 100, the 4x800 relay team triumphed in 9:58.43, and freshman Jennifer Lima (2:25.72) kicked off a top-four finish for the county in the 800 meters.
Other female champions from the county: St. Petersburg sophomore Zarria Hollis (high jump), Palm Harbor University senior Sara Karuli (discus; second in shot put) and St. Petersburg’s 4x400 relay team.
Countryside was the highest finisher among county boys teams in third, 58 points behind champion Sarasota Riverview (171).
Senior Andrew Llewellyn was a multiple champ for the Cougars, winning the 1,600 (4:29.38) and 3,200 (10:08.02). Countryside junior Robert Davis won the 400 (49.12) and was fourth in the 200. He and Llewellyn also ran legs for the winning 4x800 relay team (8:10.44). And senior Billy Fitch (800, 2:00.26) was Countryside’s other champion.
East Lake also had nice showings from football standout George Campbell — wins in the long jump and 100, runnerup finish in the triple jump — and fellow junior Chigozie Atavwigho (first, 110 hurdles; third, 300 hurdles).