St. Thomas Aquinas junior Cody Riggs knows only two gears -- fast and faster.

As an all-state cornerback who finished with eight interceptions and 25 passes broken up for the national champion Raiders , Riggs has to be selective with his speed, knowing jumping a route too soon could result in six points going the other way.

Not so in track, where Riggs' attacking style has made him the No. 1 ranked 300-meter hurdler in Florida and the biggest reason reigning Class 3A state champion St. Thomas Aquinas has a chance to repeat.

Riggs ran a Florida-leading 37.77 in the 300 hurdles at the Louie Bing Classic and remained unbeaten with a 37.82 at the Sam Burley Invitational last Saturday. Riggs should also rank among the state leaders in the 110 hurdles, after improvement in his technique.

Alex Armenteros, the Raiders first-year coach and Riggs' stepfather since he was five, said Cody is on pace to eclipse the personal-record 37.41 which won him the state title last season.

''Cody's mentality is to try and catch everybody in the first three hurdles,'' said Armenteros, who succeeded long-time coach David Shepherd.

``He has the strength from running the 400 as a little kid. He attacks the hurdles hard and finishes the race like he starts it.''

The next test for Riggs comes at the Hallandale High School Invitational on Saturday. The 3,200 meter relay and field events open the meet at 10:00 and will be followed by the running finals at 4:30.

Already holding offers from Ohio State, FSU, Miami, Notre Dame and other prominent football programs, Riggs said winning a second title with Armenteros would be icing on the cake.

''I really hope we can win it again, especially with my dad as coach.'' Riggs said. ``He has never won a state championship. He always looks out for me and tells me the best thing to do. If he wasn't in my life I think I would be playing golf right now.''

MORE TRACK AND FIELD (BOYS)

• Pine Crest 118.50, Upperroom Christian 96, La Salle 83.50, Mater 52, Sagemont 2: 1600: Joel Rosen (PC) 2:04.50. 200: Sam Gervais (LAS) 11.73. Pole Vault: Zach Routman (PC) 5-08.

MORE TRACK AND FIELD (GIRLS)

• Pine Crest 141, La Salle 139, Mater 49, Upperroom Christian 16, Sagemont 6: 300 Hurdles: Chelsea Nunn (PC) 15.60. 200: Victoria Robavna (LAS) 13.92. 800: Alexus Jacobs (MAT) 59.76.

BOYS' VOLLEYBALL

• Archbishop McCarthy d. Pace 25-16, 25-16, 25-20: Alex Pope, nine points, 14 kills, four blocks, five digs. Eric Kosch, five points, five blocks, 18 assists. Nick St. Thomas, 18 digs. AM 1-0.

• Pine Crest d. Sagemont 25-23, 25-19, 10-25, 26-24: Jared Baum had 11 points, four aces, 13 kills, and 11 digs. Ionso Sheinberg added 11 points, two aces, and 40 assists. Jacob Katz six points, two aces, and 20 digs. For Sagemont, Vinny Delucia had 12 kills, 11 points, and four blocks. PC 1-0.

BOYS' TENNIS

• Pine Crest 3, Coral Springs 0: Zac Hershman won No. 1 singles 8-0; Zach Britton won No. 2 singles 8-0; PC 4-1.

GIRLS' TENNIS

• Pine Crest 7, Coral Springs 0: Courtney Malinchak won No. 1 singles 8-4; Samantha Taylor won No. 2 singles 8-0; Nicole Russell won No. 3 singles 8-0; PC 5-0.

SOFTBALL

MIAMI CHRISTIAN 9, SAGEMONT 8

MC 321 210 0 --9 5 0 SAG 304 100 0 --8 8 0

WP: Kayla Hernandez (5-8). LP: T. Maye. Top performers: Andrea Garcia 2-4, double, 2 RBI. Alex Rios 2 DP, 2 SB. Ashley Barcena 2-4, RBI. MC 5-9.

BOYS' VOLLEYBALL

• Archbishop McCarthy d. Pace 25-16, 25-16, 25-20: Alex Pope, nine points, 14 kills, four blocks, five digs. Eric Kosch, five points, five blocks, 18 assists. Nick St. Thomas, 18 digs. AM 1-0.

LACROSSE

• St. Thomas Aquinas 10, Cardinal Newman 7: Cole Champion led with five goals. Matt Kantor had 15 saves. Bryce San Martino added 15 ground balls.

For Thursday's high school sports schedule, go to www.MiamiHerald.com/hssports.