Aquinas’ girls duo and North Miami star set to battle for hurdles titles at state meet
.JPG "Eddiyah Frye of St. Thomas Aquinas wins the girls 100 m hurdles during the 2018 BCAA Track and Field Championships finals , March 23, 2018 at Dillard High in Fort Lauderdale")
They were fierce rivals during their AAU track and field days.
And in the four years since Alexis Glasco and Eddiyah Frye became teammates at St. Thomas Aquinas, their battles on the track got more intense.
“Since our freshman year, it’s become way more exciting with us on the same team,” Frye said. “It’s very competitive. I feel like the hunger will get more intense [at state].”
Frye and Glasco will each enter this Saturday’s Class 4A state meet at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville having posted top four times in the nation in both the 100- and 300-meter hurdles.
Frye, a University of North Carolina signee, is the top-seeded hurdler in the 100 with a time of 13.42 seconds, which is the second-fastest in the nation in that event this season per DyeStat.com. She is third in the 300 hurdles (42.42 seconds), but has run a 42.19 — the fourth-fastest in the nation.
Glasco, a Coastal Carolina signee, is seeded first after running the 300 hurdles in 40.28 seconds — the fastest time in the nation while seeded fourth in the 100 hurdles (13.45 seconds).
The competition in those events, which will also feature North Miami High senior Amanda Kinloch (seeded second in the 300 and third in the 100), is expected to be among the best on the girls’ side at this year’s meet.
Kinloch ran the 300 hurdles in 41.31 seconds at regionals and the 100 in 13.65 seconds.
“It’s going be a show,” Glasco said.
Glasco and Frye are at the core of an Aquinas squad, which is trying to win a third consecutive state championship after winning the last two meets that were held in 2018 and 2019. Last year’s meet never took place after the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While both Aquinas standouts are constantly checking the clock to see who is running better than who, their friendship and respect for one another has grown as much as their competitive drive.
“They challenge each other in practice,” Aquinas coach Alex Armenteros said. “It’s a friendly rivalry because they are all fierce competitors and hungry. This year they have both stepped up their roles as captains, and brought true senior leadership to the program.”
OTHER CONTENDERS
Aquinas isn’t the only powerhouse girls’ program looking to repeat as state champion.
Miami Northwestern will try to keep one of the state’s longest active championship streaks in any sport going when the Bulls chase their 12th consecutive state crown in Class 3A and 17th overall.
Junior sprinter Aaliyah Butler is ranked second in the 400 meters this season, having run a time of 53.05 seconds. Butler spearheads another deep Bulls squad also running in the 200 and forming part of a 1,600-meter relay team that has run the third-fastest time in the nation in that event (3:43.84) this season per DyeStat.com.
The Class 3A meet, which will be held on Friday, is loaded with perennial contenders Southridge and American Heritage also in the hunt.
Southridge junior Alyssa Jones is the top high jumper (5-11 3/4) and long jumper (21-4) in the nation once again this season and leads the Spartans along with sophomore sprinter Cynteria James.
Two more athletes to watch in Class 2A are North Broward Prep senior sprinter Mackenzie Osher — the top seed in the 200 meters and one of the top two in the 100 and 400 meters. Calvary Christian senior Simone Eloi is the top seed in the triple jump.