T & F updates on USF football signees

[Mama_Bull]

To put their 4 x 100 relay time of 40.54 into perspective, the Big East held their outdoors track & field championships this weekend and Cincy won in a time of 41.15 and USF finished second in 41.27. The all-time Big East record is 40.40 done by Miami in 2001.

Hopkins' time in the 200m of 21.39 would have won the Big East championships. RU won in 21.44. USF placed 8th in 22.46 which was over the NCAA qualifying time of 22.18.

Hopkins also would have placed 3rd in the 100m. USF ended up running 6th.

Kamran joyer probably would have finished 2nd in the shot put, which he plans to compete in at USF. USF didn't have any athletes qualify for the finals.

That's just some of the comparisons.

http://www.monmouth.com/~scullion/09outdor/bigeast/

[Mama_Bull]

This article has a link to a different video interview with Hopkins and Webster, but the sound quality is poor. There are also videos of some individual races, including the Boys 100m, so you don't have to go through the entire track meet to find them.

2A State Meet Coverage

By Jason Byrne / May 2, 2009 3:18 PM Share   

Monsignore Pace Was Unbelieveable

In a word:  dominant.  They started out the meet with 20 points in the field events, lead by Deande Johnson's shot put victory and Gamy Cilien's third place in the high jump.  And then the running finals begun where the real fireworks started.

Derrick Hopkins sat out the entire season until the district meet with a hamstring injury.  The USF signee for football and track knew that he needed to stay off of the track to recover fully, while he did lots of cross-training and rehab.  It paid off big.  Though obviouslly not quite up to 10.25 and sub-21 200 meter shape he was in last spring, he looked plenty good crossing the finish line in first place of the 100 meter dash in 10.64.  His teammate Kayvon Webster rolled in behind him to tie up another eight points and it was readily apparent that the boys from Pace were not hoping to walk way from O-Town without making a strong statement.

That statement became loud and clear just about 20 minutes later in the 4x100 meter finals.  A buzz was humming around the track for those in the know, while the less saavy track followers wondered why suddenly the person next to them was trying so confidently to wager their entire life savings on Pace.  And then the hotdog profecy rang true... they did something really special.

From just after the gun it was apparent there was going to be no contesting Pace for the lead.  The stagger was all but completely erased by the first hand off and by the second the crowd was to its feet.  Eyes went to the clock.  Third handoff:  flawless.  And when they crossed the line we all knew what we had witnessed... one of the best 4x100 performances in state history.  The official time was later known to be 40.54, which is a state meet record and the fastest time in the country this year.

After the race, I interviewed three of the legs from the team (the other was busy scoring more points in the 400), where they told me they had been planning this assault on the clock all year long.  They knew they had to bide their time until Hopkins' recovered and since all four are seniors they were determined to leave their mark on the recordbook.

Shortly after the interview, I was talking to Derrick Hopkins more when I introduced him to legendary journalist Bill Buchalter.  We were discussing records and Bill informed Derrick and I that the all-time state best (at any meet) was Boyd Anderson from 1998 at Golden South... 40.09.  Derrick got a brief look of fear and amazement and then it was replaced by confidence and determination.  He turned to Kayvon and told him about the time, with his eyes telling his teammate they have more work to do.  They will be heading to Golden South also in a few weeks.  Wanna guess what their new goal is?

That wasn't it for Pace by any means.  While all this interviewing was going on, their missing 4x100 meter leg (Sterling Griffin) was busy scoring another eight points with his 48.34 400 meter.  They had planned a repeat of the 100 meter 1-2 finish in the 200 meters.  It almost happened too.  Hopkins gave himself another gold medal (21.39), while Webster had to settle for third place (22.01).

To close the night, they brought the crowd to their feet again in the 4x400.  Dunnellon looked to have the race wrapped up when lo and behold here comes Miami Pace roaring from well back several places.  Down the homestretch the gap closed.  The Dunnellon anchor could feel him coming, as the crowd roared, and he attempted to squeeze every bit of speed out of his legs to hold him off, fighting muscle fatigue and stumbling over the finish.  Pace nipped him at the line with a lean and a .22 margin of victory.

What a night for Pace!

http://fl.milesplit.us/articles/23210

[Mama_Bull]

I'm not sure if anyone tried to find the video interview which included Sterling Griffin as it moved from its original location. Below is the link to it. It's a 27 minute tape of the latter part of the meet. The opening shows the end of the 4 x 400 relay with Griffin's amazing come back to reel in two guys at the wire.

The great interview begins around the 24 minute mark. So, if you don't want to watch the other parts of the video you can scroll over to that point.

I can't seem to embed the flash video here, so you'll have to go to this link to watch it.

http://www.mogulus.com/distanceprepsdotcom/ondemand/pla_7047261697090727253?initthumburl=http://mogulus-user-files.s3.amazonaws.com/chv2distanceprepsdotcom/2009/05/02/08cd0544-cc45-4192-aabc-4eb6de8942d2_880.jpg&playeraspectwidth=4&playeraspectheight=3

BTW, there is LIVE video coverage of this weekend's State Championships at distancepreps.com. Lindsey Lamar will be trying to win the 100m, 200m and 400m. I don't know if he will be running the 4x100 relay. Kamran joyer will try to win the Shot Put.

SCHEDULED LIVE EVENTS (Subject to Change)

5/8 State 3A Finals

Winter Park HS

5/9 State 4A Finals

Winter Park HS

http://distancepreps.com/

[Mama_Bull]

I wonder how he stumbled across that video.    ;D

Cool video from Saturday's Class 2A high school track championships, where three future USF football players helped Miami Monsignor Pace to a state title. If you liked the explosive finish to Saturday's Kentucky Derby, check out the end of the 4x400 relay at the start of this video -- Pace is a full 10 strides behind the lead entering the last leg, but future USF receiver Sterling Griffin makes up a huge amount of ground in the final quarter-lap. If you fast-forward (kids, ask your parents what that means) to the 23-minute mark, you can see Pace's 4x100 winning relay celebrating the fastest prep time in the nation this year.

-- We've told you how three members of that Pace 4x100 relay are coming to USF, but could the Bulls get all four? The fourth sprinter, senior Jeffrey Allen, is trying to follow his teammates to Tampa. Pace track coach Pearson Sutton said Monday that Allen was hoping to get to USF as well, either on a track or football scholarship. If he's part of the football team (he played cornerback at Pace), he can't be on a track scholarship, and football is already three scholarships over its limit, so the most viable option would be him coming to USF as a sprinter only. Sutton said Middle Tennessee and Alabama State are also pursuing Allen to play football.

-- Pace's record-setting 4x100 relay isn't done running together -- Sutton said his sprinters are committed to running in two elite events -- the Golden South Classic meet in Orlando on May 30 and the Nike Outdoor Nationals meet in Greensboro, N.C., on June 18.

May 04, 2009 | Permalink

http://blogs.tampabay.com/usf/2009/05/more-recruiting-bulls-looking-into-69-shooter.html

[Greg Auman]

Thought about a Mama Bull shoutout there. Had I not had a bunch of other stuff, would have totally thrown something your way. Thanks much ...

[Mama_Bull]

Thought about a Mama Bull shoutout there. Had I not had a bunch of other stuff, would have totally thrown something your way. Thanks much ...

Greg, just ribbing you. No shoutout necessary.

You might be interested in THIS link which has the earlier part of the meet.

http://www.mogulus.com/distanceprepsdotcom/ondemand/pla_2796579849118098233?initthumburl=http://mogulus-user-files.s3.amazonaws.com/chv2distanceprepsdotcom/2009/05/02/855a36c7-9dc5-4c20-bf77-809c9bd6fa2b_4720.jpg&playeraspectwidth=4&playeraspectheight=3

The finals of the 100M (Hopkins 1st Webster 2nd) 25 minute mark. (This is the complete version with before and after)

Record Setting 4 x 100 relay (Pace 1st) 54.40 minute mark. (I'm surprised they didn't put out a seperate clip on this. Maybe someone, who knows how, can add it to YouTube.)

Somewhere after that time is the finals of the 200M (Hopkins 1st Webster 3rd), the finals of the 400m (Griffin 2nd) and at the end of the tape is the beginning of the 4 x 400 relay (Pace 1st). 

[Mama_Bull]

May 05, 2009

Future Bulls Joyer, Lamar seek state track titles

We've written a lot about the success of three future USF football players in leading Miami Monsignor Pace to a Class 2A state track championship on Saturday, and the Bulls will again be represented well at the Class 3A meet in Winter Park on Friday.

The best bet to win a state title looks to be offensive lineman Kamran Joyer of Wesley Chapel, who has easily the state's best mark in the shot put. His qualifying mark of 56 feet, 9 inches, is a full five feet farther than anyone else in his class has posted. Joyer, who finished second in the state in weightlifting last month, also will compete in the discus, where his qualifying mark of 148 feet, 10 inches, ranks eighth out of 16 finalists.

If you're looking for sprints, then Hillsborough's Lindsey Lamar, headed to USF as a running back and return specialist, has that covered. Lamar will compete in the 100, 200 and 400 meters, with the potential for multiple podium finishes as Pace's Derrick Hopkins, Kayvon Webster and Sterling Griffin did last week.

Lamar has 3A's second-fastest time in the 100 meters -- his 10.69 trails only the 10.61 recorded by Gainesville Eastside's John Little, who is headed to Charleston Southern and will face the Bulls in Tampa in September. Lamar and Little will meet again in the 200 meters, where Lamar's qualifying time of 21.85 seconds is third-best, but within 0.05 seconds of the best time in the field. Lamar goes into the 400 with the fourth-best time at 48.85 seconds.

Another name to watch Friday is Bradenton Manatee's 4x100 relay, which has Tracy "Ace" Sanders, a receiver that USF is recruiting hard, potentially following Manatee QB Brion Carnes to Tampa.

The Class 4A meet is Saturday, and one name of note there is former Largo quarterback Ryan Eppes, who is expected to walk on at USF this fall. Eppes has qualified in the long jump and has the 11th-best qualifying mark at 21 feet, 9 inches. We'll have more from the track events this weekend ...

Posted by Greg Auman at 09:40:30 AM on May 5, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

http://blogs.tampabay.com/usf/2009/05/future-bulls-joyer-lamar-seeking-state-track-titles.html

[Mama_Bull]

May 05, 2009

Fourth Pace sprinter plans to join USF football

If all goes well, this will make it 4-for-4 for USF football -- Jeffrey Allen, the fourth member of Miami Monsignor Pace's record-setting 4x100 relay, said Tuesday he's planning on attending USF this fall and accepting an invitation to be a walk-on cornerback for the Bulls.

His three relay teammates, Kayvon Webster, Sterling Griffin and Derrick Hopkins, signed with USF in February on football scholarships, and Allen said he's excited to keep the quartet together in college. The four won their second state championship Saturday with a state meet record time of 40.54 seconds, the fastest high school time in the nation this year.

"I'm really enjoying it -- we've been on a relay together for three years," said Allen, who attended USF's spring football game last month. "But they're more than just teammates."

Allen, comparable in size to Hopkins at 5-foot-9, 163 pounds, was a two-year starter at cornerback for Pace, getting two interceptions in each of the last two seasons. He said he has talked with USF coach Jim Leavitt and defensive coordinator Joe Tresey, as well as offensive line coach Larry Scott, who recruits Miami for USF.

Allen, who hopes to study sports management in college, still needs to be accepted into USF, but said he has the necessary grades and test scores to be admitted. His best asset is his speed, which he said fits in well with his three Pace teammates.

"I'm faster than Sterling," he said. "But Derrick, he's one of the fastest guys in the country."

May 05, 2009 | Permalink

http://blogs.tampabay.com/usf/2009/05/fourth-pace-sprinter-plans-to-join-usf-football.html

Personal Bests

100 Meter Dash - 10.99

200 Meter Dash - 22.77

http://fl.milesplit.us/athletes/179505

[Mama_Bull]

Class 3A

Terrence "T-Rex" Mitchell, Hillsborough (long jump, triple jump, 300 hurdles): The high-flying Mitchell comes in as the clear favorite in both jumping events, the top seed in each. He won both at Punta Gorda Charlotte in last week's region meet. His long jump (24-21/2) tied for 18th in the nation, his triple jump (47-83/4) among the top 35 in the country. The closest competitors are Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas' Cody Riggs (23-6) and Palm Beach Dwyer's Junior Cadet (45-111/2) in the triple jump. Mitchell could claim key points in the those events in Hillsborough's bid to win a team title. He also is a favorite in the 300 hurdles (38.54).

Lindsey Lamar, Hillsborough (100, 200, 400): Lamar won the 100 (10.69), 400 (48.85) and 200 (21.85) at regionals, but those out of the 3A-1 region will deliver the competition at state in all three races — East Side's John Little (10.61 in the 100), Jacksonville Lee's Joshua Edmonds (47.95 in the 400) and Tallahassee Lincoln's Pat Olschleger (21.80 in the 200). Lamar is among the top seeds in those races but will need his best day on the track to win a title. Armwood's Khiry McQuay (21.98) and Northeast's Juarez Wynn (21.99) also should contend in the 200.

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/tranckandfieldpreps/article998812.ece

[Mama_Bull]

Deerfield Beeach, headed by Denard Robinson (who USF offered but signed with Michigan), is looking to break the 4 x 100 record which the Pace boys set at the 4-A state championship this weekend:

The Bucks' mission is to not only defend their relay title but also leave Winter Park as the undisputed sprint kings of Florida. That title now belongs to Miami Pace after the Derrick Hopkins-led Spartans ran a nation-leading 40.54 to break the previous state-best (40.60) set by Boyd Anderson in 1998 in the 400-meter relay, and Hopkins swept the 100 and 200 at the Class 2A Finals last Saturday.

Witty said Pace's new time has raised the stakes for the Bucks and hinted at a rivalry brewing between the two powerhouses, who haven't faced each other this season but could set up a showdown at the Golden South Classic on May 30 in Orlando.

''Someone in the neighborhood came and told me Pace ran the 40.54,'' Witty said. ``They are just going to push us to our limit because I feel like we have not been pushed to our maximum speed yet. We want to go out with respect, not get the big head but also show them we can break records, too.''

Some questioned if the Bucks could match the 41.37 set at last year's state meet after losing Demarcus Fleming and Mantell Mack to graduation. Their replacements, Dotson and Witty, who returned from a football knee injury, have answered that by helping the Bucks top that mark at the BCAA Finals and then faster to 40.82, then the nation's No. 2 time, at the Region championships.

''The state record was one of our goals from the beginning of the year,'' Brown said. ``Pace broke it. They are the best right now. It is up to us to see if we can break their record. We have a special group of guys. Hopefully they can do some special things on Saturday night.''

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/high-schools/story/1036148.html