Aquinas boys win crown

ANDREW SULLIVAN/SPECIAL TO THE MIAMI HERALD Riley Egan of St. Thomas Aquinas prepares to jump during the pole vault competition Friday, May 2, 2008, in Winter Park. » More Photos

Finally.

After six heart-wrenching runner-up finishes at the state finals, the St. Thomas Aquinas boys' track team found out how it feels to win the big one.

Buoyed by a record-breaking performance by Riley Egan in the pole vault and a 1-2 finish by Philip Pierre-Louis in the 200 and 100 meters, respectively, the Raiders celebrated their first state title at the Florida High School Athletic Association's Class 3A State Track and Field finals at Showalter Field in Winter Park on Friday night.

Pierre-Louis clinched the title with a come-from-behind win in the 200. After Pierre-Louis crossed the finish line, he nodded his head as if to tell the crowd ''yes'' and then raised his index finger.

''Last year, we couldn't do it,'' said Pierre-Louis, an Auburn football recruit. ``This year, we came out and did what we had to do and won. In the 100 I ran good, I knew I would run good. I have been getting better and better. In the 200, I knew I would have the strength to hold them off.''

The Raiders finished with 65 points followed by Palm Beach Dwyer (49).

Meanwhile, Orlando Oak Ridge continued its dominance on the girls' side, rolling up 89 points to easily outdistance runner-up Tampa Wharton (48) for the title.

STATE RECORD

Egan's record-setting effort gave Aquinas the kick-start it needed. Before a crowd that showered Egan with constant applause, Egan broke the state record three times, capped by a career-best 16-7 on his first attempt to capture his second consecutive vault title.

''This is a relief,'' said Egan, who will vault and attend film school at UCLA next season. ``It was great to end my senior year this way. Not only winning the state meet but setting a state record which I have been working for a long, long time. It felt great to make 16-7 which was a personal-best for me. Now I get to sit back and root for my teammates.''

Egan first broke Sarasota Riverview's Joseph Davis' mark of 15-10 set in 2007, by clearing 16-0 on his second attempt. He then cleared 16-4 and finally a personal-best 16-7, also on his first attempt. Egan missed all three attempts at 17 feet but that hardly mattered to a captive audience which gave him a standing ovation.

''It is a great feeling to know they are cheering you on,'' Egan said. ``I was hoping to go for 16-9 but my vault coach [Bobby Haeck] asked me to go for 17-0 which I do not regret at all. I was still going strong. I still had my adrenaline pumping through the whole thing.''

The Raiders title hopes appeared to suffer a huge blow when Ethan Grant failed to make it out of the 110 high hurdles prelims and then pulled up before the last hurdle in the 300 hurdles finals and placed last. But fellow sophomore Cody Riggs picked up the slack by winning the 300 hurdles title in a career-best 37.41.

With the title already locked up after 14 events, the Raiders 1,600 relay team of Riggs, Christian Thompson, Ryan Rillstone and Pierre-Louis provided the icing on the cake by finishing third in a school-record 3:16.71.

''After we found out Ethan was hurt and he cramped up in the prelims we had to pull together as a team,'' said Thompson, one of many athletes who celebrated a football and track title this season. ``This means a lot to our coaches. We were the underdogs and ran our hearts out.''

OTHER TOP FINISHERS

Hallandale's Frankie Hammond Jr. was looking to break through in the high jump after consecutive runner-up finishes but had to settle for second behind Booker's Marquis Mack, the top seed coming in. Both Hammond and Mack finished at 6-10 but Mack cleared it on fewer attempts. Fort Lauderdale senior Monique Harris capped her high school career with a pair of bronze-medal finishes in the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles. Harris clocked 15.20 in the 100 hurdles while Hallandale's Jessica Mason placed sixth in 15.90. But it was Harris' career-best 43.90 in the 300 hurdles that had colleges buzzing.

''This was great,'' Harris said. ``I came in confident and broke my personal record twice in the 300 hurdles. It is very satisfying after all the hard work I put in this season. I had a bunch of colleges showing interest in me today but I haven't decided on that yet.''

The Flying L's 400 meter girls' relay team finished third in 48.58.

Monarch sophomore Alexis Muniz passed up the 2007 state finals to ride in a national show horse competition but made history Friday by becoming the first Knights' athlete to make a state appearance and medal. Muniz finished third in the high jump by clearing 5-6, which tied her career mark. Muniz who owns four national horse competition titles, said she is leaving Saturday for Perry, Ga., to compete.

''Last year, I qualified for states but I went to the Southeastern U.S. Horse competition instead,'' Muniz said. ``I had to make a very tough decision, which comes up all the time. In the high jump, I have more say of what I do because I go on my time. So it does not turn my stomach as much.''

St. Thomas' Jessica Butler led the 1,600 going into the final lap but got passed by Satellite's Ashley Shiver with 75 meters left and finished second in 5:00.58. Then she came back and won the 3,200.

Northeast junior Sean Lange, who has seemingly come out of nowhere to rank among the state’s top sprinters this season, marked his state debut with a third-place finish in the 100 (10.93) and fourth place in the 200 (22.05). That performance sets up Lange as a serious state contender next season.

• Boys' team scores (top 5 plus Broward): 1. St. Thomas Aquinas, 65; 2. Dwyer 49; 3. Booker T. Washington 48; 4. Hillsborough 42; 5. Navarre 40; 14. Northeast 13, Hallandale 13.

• Girls' team scores (top 5 plus Broward): 1. Oak Ridge 89; 2. Tampa Wharton 48; 3. Booker T. Washington 46; 4. Pensacola Pine Forest 36; 5. St. Thomas Aquinas 35; 7. Fort Lauderdale 22; 29. Hallandale and Monarch 6; 34. Stranahan 5.

• Boys' individual results (top 3 plus Broward top 8 finishers) -- High jump: 1. Marquis Mack (Sarasota Booker) 6-10; 2. Frankie Hammond, Jr. (Hallandale) 6-10; 3. Cedric Simmions (Forrest) 6-10; Pole vault: 1. Riley Egan (STA) 16-7; 2. Kirk Dandridge (Lecanto) 15-6; 3. Mike Vani (Merritt Island) 14-6; 6. Shaun Hall (STA) 13-6; 8. Hunter Moon (STA) 13-0; Long jump: 1. Kevin Hardy (Vangaurd) 24-1 ¼; 2. Darrell Young (Jefferson) 23-10 ½; 3. Terrence Mitchell (Hillsborough) 23-10; 4. Cody Riggs (STA) 23-7 ¾; Triple jump: 1. Travis Allen (South Lake) 46-5; 2. Antwain Harvey (Naples) 45-4 ½; 3. LaVaughn King (Tampa Bay Tech) 45-3 ¾; 13. Justin Byrd (STA) 43-2 ¼; Discus: 1. Gabriel Torres (Navarre) 189-3; 2. Jared Thomas (Pensacola) 183-8; 3. Anthony Hannah (Robert E. Lee) 177-06; 13. Samuel Carrington (Fort Lauderdale) 144-03; Shot put: 1. Marcus Hicks (Dwyer) 54-10; 2. Maurice Coon (George Jenkins) 54-8; 3. Geoffrey Hilson (Auburndale) 53-6; 5. Andrew Datko (STA) 52-0; 3,200 relay: 1. Booker T. Washington, 7:54.52; 2. Navarre 7:59.11; 3. Tampa Wharton 8:01.46; 110 hurdles: 1. Avis Commack (First Coast) 14.52; 2. Justin Byrd (STA) 14.86; 3. Junior Cadet (Dwyer) 15.10; 6. Charles McDonald (BTW) 15.15; 100: 1. Jeffery Demps (South Lake) 10.40; 2. Philip Pierre-Louis (STA) 10.76; 3. Sean Lange (Northeast) 10.83; 1,600: 1. Johnathan Esteban (Robert E. Lee) 4:22.03; 2. Hunter Boykin (Navarre) 4:22.95; 3. Ryan Noeker (Lake Weir) 4:24.54; 400 relay: 1. South Lake 41.28; 2. Dwyer 41.29; 3. Hillsborough 41.45; 400: 1. Dedric Dukes (BTW) 47.78; 2. Reshaw Exilien (Dwyer) 48.01; 3. Colby Walden (Hillsborough) 48.38; 300 hurdles: 1. Cody Riggs (STA) 37.41; 2. Avis Commack (First Coast) 38.19; 3. Jeramiah Thompson (JAX) 38.47; 800: 1. Hamilton Boykin (Navarre) 1:56.27; 2. Tory Webb (Lecanto) 1:56.86; 3. Michael Leshore (Boca Ciega) 1:57.28; 10. Stephan Chung (STA) 1:59.50; 200: 1. Philip Pierre-Louis (STA) 21.29; 2. Leonardo Seymore (Dwyer) 21.39; 3. Jeffery Demps (South Lake) 21.40; 3,200: 1. Eric Larson (Washington) 9:22.81; 2. Erick Montoya (Estero) 9:23.42; 3. Matt Mizereck (Leon) 9:28.81; 1,600 relay: 1. Booker T. Washington, 3:15.16; 2. Wolfson, 3:16.11; 3. St. Thomas Aquinas 3:16.71.

• Girls' individual results (top 3 plus Broward top 8 finishers) -- High jump: 1. Danielle Williams (Pensacola) 5-8; 2. Monica Carney (South Lake) 5-6; 3. Alexis Muniz (Monarch) 5-6; Pole vault: 1. Keari Brink (Ridgewood) 11-0; 2. London Enos (Wharton) and Bethany Holden (Martin County) 10-6; Long jump: 1. Lanie Whittaker (BTW) 18-6 ½; 2. Tomika Story (Ridgeview) 18-5 ½; 3. Denae Fluellen (Oak Ridge) 18-4 ¼; Triple jump: 1. Tomika Story (Ridgeview) 39-6 ½; 2. Latera Davis (Gainesville) 39-2; 3. Marissa McEleveen (Blake) 37-10; 6. Jahneel Tyrell (FTL) 36-8 ¾; Discus: 1. Atasha Warren (Sebastian River) 136-7; 2. Tachira Charles (Oak Ridge) 130-9; 3. Megan Fenzau (Brandon) 124-3; 7. Kayla Mobley (STA) 117-8; Shot put: 1. Atasha Warren (Sebastian River) 46-7; 2. Kayla Mobley (STA) 41-4; 3. Tyesha Thomas (Dunedin) 41-3; 3,200 relay: 1. Wharton 9:22.43; 2. Satellite 9:24.63; 3. Pine Forest 9:29.45; 8. Fort Lauderdale 9:51.83; 110 hurdles: 1. Sherika Ward (Leesburg) 14.59; 2. Ashley Bolling (Wolfson) 14.91; 3. Monique Harris (Fort Lauderdale) 15.20; 6. Jessica Mason (HALL) 15.90; 100: 1. Tatianna Fisher (Oak Ridge) 12.12; 2. Denae Fluellen (Oak Ridge) 12.39; 3. Tiffany Wilcox (Rockledge) 12.40; 1,600: 1. Ashley Shiver (Satellite) 4:58.97; 2. Jessica Butler (STA), 5:00.58; 3. Katrina Skinner (Wharton) 5:01.95; 400 relay: 1. Oak Ridge, 48.19; 2. Pine Forest 48.49; 3. Fort Lauderdale 48.58; 5. St. Thomas Aquinas, 48.77; 6. Hallandale, 48.83; 400: 1. Lanie Whittaker (BTW) 54.47; 2. LaShae White (Tampa Bay Tech) 56.51; 3. Jasmine McCoy (BTW) 57.70; 300 hurdles: 1. Amani Bryant (Wharton) 42.92; 2. Martisha Hart (Oak Ridge) 43.59; 3. Monique Harris (Fort Lauderdale) 43.90; 800: 1. Lanie Whittaker (BTW) 2:16.32; 2. Megan Lawrence (Seminole) 2:17.18; 3. Kayla Helms (Escambia) 2:17.22; 200: 1. Sherika Ward (Leesburg) 24.74; 2. Tatianna Fisher (Oak Ridge) 24.92; 3. Adrianna Hill (Rutherford) 25.36; 3,200: 1. Jessica Butler (STA) 11:02.66; 2. Juliana Stern (Satellite) 11:15.51; 3. Katrina Skinner (Wharton) 11:19.91; 1,600 relay: 1. Booker T. Washington, 3:50.98; 2. Gainesville 3:56.16; 3. Pine Forest, 3:56.51; 6. St. Thomas Aquinas, 3:59.49.