Deerfield sprinter has huge day

BY FABIAN LYON
flyon@MiamiHerald.com
Step aside, Joseph Byrd. The new sprint king in the state is a Michigan football signee from Deerfield Beach who is only running track to stay in shape.
Deerfield Beach's Denard Robinson got the near-perfect start he needed, motored down the straightaway and won the 100 meters in a personal-best 10.44 seconds at the BCAA Track Championships at Coral Springs on Saturday.
Robinson's personal-best eclipsed the state standard for this year set by Byrd, a junior at Ida Baker, and it is the second-fastest high school time in the nation, according to Dyestat Elite 100 rankings.
'' I was kind of disappointed in myself to run a 10.44, but I will accept that,'' Robinson said. ``Running the No. 2 time in the nation is pretty good. I was trying to run a 10.3, but there was strong wind. I'm working harder on it and expect to hit a 10.3 by states.''
Boyd Anderson's Demar Dorsey finished second in 10.60 and Northeast's Isaac Gafferd third in 10.73. Gafferd's more heralded teammate, Sean Lange, couldn't overcome a late start and finished seventh.
Robinson returned a half hour later to help Deerfield Beach's 400-meter relay team, which also included Donte Dotson, Adrian Witty and Cassius McDowell, win in 41.34 seconds.
Coral Springs' Jarmal Jones won the 200 in 21.66, followed by South Broward's Andre Thomas (21.73) and Jenove Blanford (22.02).
St. Thomas Aquinas' Kirsten Nieuwendam won the girls' 200 in 24.94. South Broward's Camree Jackson, who won the 100, finished second and Hallandale's Kyri Tabor was third.
The Boyd Anderson girls' team and St. Thomas boys' team defended their titles with ease. St. Thomas rolled up 107.50 points to finish ahead of Boyd Anderson, Dillard and Deerfield Beach.
Drew Marcello and Hunter Moon went 1-2 in the pole vault, Stephan Chung won the 800 and Cody Riggs finished first in the 300 hurdles and third in the 110 high hurdles for St. Thomas.
''I'm glad we got out of here healthy,'' coach Alex Armenteros said. ``I think the boys did a great job and so did our ladies.''
Boyd Anderson started with a victory in the 3,200 meter relay and never looked back to finish with 164 points. Fort Lauderdale was second.
A late surge helped South Broward's Camree Jackson edge Hallandale's Kyri Tabor and Boyd Anderson's Shayla Sanders in the girls' 100. Tabor and Sanders were tied with 20 meters left before Jackson burst ahead before the tape to win in 11.98.
Sanders bounced back with a strong anchor leg to lead Boyd Anderson's 400-meter relay team, that also included Jasmine Gary, Kinnesha Jones and Acacia Sangster, to a comfortable victory.
Boyd Anderson finished in 48.34 seconds, followed by Hallandale (48.60) and Fort Lauderdale (48.61).
Jahneel Tyrell did everything in her power to keep Fort Lauderdale in contention.
As part of a 32-point effort, Tyrell won the long jump in a career-best 18 feet, finished second in the high jump and triple jump and ran anchor leg on the s third-place 400-meter relay team.
Coconut Creek senior Maya Pressley got teary-eyed when she started talking about her final BCAA appearance. Pressley, a fan favorite since middle school, defended her 300 hurdles titles and made it three consecutive victories in the high jump, where she is the reigning Class 4A state champion. Pressley, who has signed with Auburn, also finished third in the long jump.
''I know I wasn't going to get a chance to run for this crowd again,'' Pressley said. ``I went out there and ran my hardest because people were out there cheering for me. I'm going to miss them.''
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