Racing to the finish line, 20 track and field students made their way to The University of North Florida Jacksonville, FLA for the FSHAA Outdoor State Finals held May 3-4. After continuous training, the girls team finished third out of 45 teams and the boy’s team finished eleventh out of 52.
Head cross country coach and assistant Track coach Damian Sutton said the team’s main goal is always to win states, so the meets and practice between conditioning and states are crucial
“The most rewarding part of the process as a coach is seeing these kids succeed in life. Whether it’s them getting a college scholarship through the sport, learning how to be a team player, learning to push themselves and not give up or them just becoming an overall better person, it’s just a great feeling knowing we coaches make a positive impact in these kids’ lives,” Coach Sutton said.
“Even though track is an individual sport, students definitely learn how to be a team player. They definitely build great relationships with their peers because track meets last at least 8 hours each day, which does not include all the time they spend together at practice. From the state meet this year, they really had to fight and have each other’s back because we had some injuries and everyone had to pick up the slack. They learned how to get through adversities to reach a common goal,” Coach Sutton said.
A student who has specifically excelled in this sport by adhering to adversity and is sophomore Sherri-Ann Norton started her track career at nine years old in fourth grade. She started with distance running, hurdling and sprinting, and later moved onto jumping in seventh grade. Norton placed multiple times at the state competition.
“When I placed at states it was a surprising, but expected, feeling. I came into the meet with a lot of confidence and high expectations of myself that I will achieve the goals that I set, and so I did. It was much excitement and I was very proud of myself considering the fact last year at states I didn’t place top 10 in any of my events. To come this year and make top 3 in both really meant a lot to me,” Norton said.
Not only did Norton accomplish her track state goals, but she was also recognized by The Miami Herald when she was invited to a breakfast to receive an award for making First-Team All Broward.
Along with Norton, other students placed at states, you can view their results below or on the Florida Runner’s website.
1st place, 100m: Sherri-Ann Norton
5th place, 100m: Myrka Cadet
3rd place, 200m: Myrka Cadet
5th place, 400m: Kenya Thompson
8th place, 400m: Jadae Barrett
7th place, 800m: Jadae Barrett
2nd place, 4x100m: Thalia Dyer, Endeyah lane, Myrka Cadet, Sherri-Ann Norton
1st place, 4x400m: Kenya Thompson, Jadae Barrett, Myrka Cadet, Danielle Bess
3rd place, Long Jump: Jada Joseph
2nd place, Triple Jump: Jada Joseph
3rd place, 400m: Monte Parker
4th place, 4x100m: Vinson Davis, Davonte Brown, Damian Sutton Jr., Jacolby Spells
4th place, 4x400m: Monte Parker, Emory Clemons, Damian Sutton Jr., Jayden Geathers
