Aquinas coach gets title in final meet

WINTER PARK -- St. Thomas Aquinas boys track coach Dave Shepherd got a send-off on Friday night worthy of a Hollywood script.

The Raiders made sure Shepherd, who is stepping down as boys coach, closed out his boys coaching career on a high note by winning its first boys track state title at the Class 3A Track and Field Finals at Showalter Park in Winter Park.

Aquinas senior and Auburn football signee Philip Pierre-Louis, who led the charge with a victory in the 200 meters, finishing second in the 100 and running anchor leg on the 1,600-meter relay team's third-place finish, said the Raiders were determined to help Shepherd add the missing piece to an otherwise sparkling coaching resume.

"It was extra incentive for us to win it for coach Shep," said Pierre-Louis, one of 20 athletes on the Raiders roster to win a football and track title this season. "He told us that he was stepping down as boys coach. We were running it for the team and coach Shep. He had never won one as boys coach. We finally did it for him."

Shepherd is expected to stay on as girls coach and hand the boys head coaching reigns to two-year assistant Alex Armenteros, who has been instrumental in developing a standouts sprints and hurdles corps led by Pierre-Louis, Ethan Grant, Cody Riggs and Justin Byrd.

When asked what he will remember most about Shepherd, Pierre-Louis said it would be the attention to detail he demanded in every event and knack for pushing the right buttons.

"Shep is probably my favorite coach," said Pierre-Louis. "A great guy overall. He can be real funny but there are days in practice when he is serious and will go off on you."

Before their historic breakthrough on Friday, the Raiders boys program could only show six runner-up state finishes which were overshadowed by eight state titles for the girls team.

"It is a great feeling to win two state titles," said Pierre-Louis. "Last year we could not even win one. My senior year nobody thought our class would be the one that did it."