Bulldog boys win LCAC track title
Cape High junior Jeremy Davis leaned his head forward past Ida Baker’s Joseph Byrd at the finish of a thrilling 100-meter dash Tuesday afternoon. Spectators standing on the finish line, as well as meet officials, declared as much.
It came as a surprise, then, when moments after the race both runners returned to the finish line to hear the results – and Byrd was awarded the victory.
Byrd was timed in 10.40 seconds to Davis’ 10.41 to win the sprint title at the LCAC Track & Field Meet at Island Coast High School.
Though Davis’ head was across the line, Byrd’s chest broke the plane first, which is what the judges look for – evidently.
“The chest is what they go by,” Cape High coach Larry Gary said. “The kids need to understand that. That’s why we tell them when you lean, lean with your chest.”
Davis ran a 10.50 to Byrd’s 10.40 in the preliminaries and improved that in the exciting finals showdown. Byrd took a wait-and-see approach after crossing the line, but was surprised by the result.
“At first, I thought he had it,” Byrd said.
His dramatic win was one of many highlights for Baker. The Bulldogs finished on top of the boys’ team standings with 134 points. East Lee County was second with 92, and South Fort Myers third with 80. Cape Coral placed fourth, followed by Fort Myers, Dunbar and Mariner.
Baker’s girls placed third in the standings behind champion Fort Myers and runner-up Dunbar.
The meet began Monday with field events with the running events taking center stage Tuesday. The participating LCAC schools included host Island Coast, Cape Coral, Mariner, Ida Baker, North Fort Myers, Fort Myers, Cypress Lake, Riverdale, Dunbar, South Fort Myers, Lehigh, East Lee County and Estero.
Baker freshman Payton Van Horn continued her strong showing in the meet, delivering a breakout performance in the 100-meter hurdles.
After running a 17.10-second in the prelims, Van Horn burst through in the finals to place first in a time of 16.20. It was, by far, her personal-best time in the event as well as a new school record. She edged Cape High’s Shamelle Vargas (16.30), who entered the finals as the top seed.
“I had a lot of adrenaline going,” said Van Horn, who also placed second in the high jump and triple jump. “I made sure I ate good and stayed hydrated.”
Though the early afternoon consisted primarily of prelims, the meet began with the 4×800 relay finals. Fort Myers’ girls took first, but Mariner and North Fort Myers waged a close battle for second.
Mariner led North until the final 400 when North’s Stephanie Nevadunsky pulled ahead of the Tritons’ Alicen Wilbur. Wilbur managed to regain the lead in the final 100, giving the Tritons second place and a new school record of 10:39.
“(Wilbur) really fought,” said Mariner senior Emily LaBarbera, who ran the first leg. “I’m glad she did because we wouldn’t have gotten that time if she didn’t have to.”
In the boys’ relays, Ida Baker earned a first-place finish in the 4×800 and second in the 4×400. The team of Zack Nall, Jeff Miller, Jessie Betts and Mark Fowler were timed in 8:29 in the 4×800, winning by 13 seconds.
After his close win in the 100, Byrd was unable to chase down Fort Myers’ Jamain Cole in the 200. Cole ran a 21.50, Byrd 21.60 and Cape’s Prince Holloway finished third with 22.00.
Meet host Island Coast, a young and maturing program, was led by freshman Mike Dumas, who finished sixth in the high jump, seventh in the 110 hurdles and anchored two relay teams.
Boys Team Scores – 1. Ida Baker 134, 2. East Lee County 92, 3. South Fort Myers 80, 4. Cape Coral 70 1/2, 5. Fort Myers 66, 6. Dunbar 45, 7. Mariner 38, 8. Lehigh 31 1/2, 9. Estero 27, 10. Riverdale 23 1/2, 11. North Fort Myers and Cypress Lake 21, 13. Island Coast 13 1/2
Individual Results
4×800 relay – 1. Ida Baker (Zack Nall, Jeff Miller, Jessie Betts, Mark Fowler) 8:29.00, 2. East Lee County 8:42.00, 3. Cape Coral (Taylor Henninge, Blake Behr, Bradley Beatty, Erik Eaton) 8:49.00; 110 hurdles – 1. Battle (Dunbar) 14.60, 2. Jenkins (South) 15.00, 3. Chris Nenninger (Baker) 15.10; 100 – 1. Joseph Byrd (Baker) 10.40, 2. Jeremy Davis (Cape Coral) 10.41, 3. Watkins (South) 10.70; 1600 – 1. Montoya (Estero) 4:30.50, 2. Craig (Cypress Lake) 4:34.80, 3. Ryan (South) 4:35.00; 4×100 relay – 1. Fort Myers 43.00, 2. Baker 43.40, 3. Riverdale 43.80; 400 – 1. Occely (East Lee) 50.70, 2. Colton (Riverdale), 51.50, 3. Stokes (Fort Myers) 51.70; 300 hurdles – 1. Jenkins (South) 40.60, 2. Pevin Lewis (Cape Coral) 41.00, 3. Sean Francis (Baker) 41.10; 800 – 1. Miles (Fort Myers) 2:05.00, 2. Jessie Betts (Baker) 2:06.30, 3. Earle (South) 22:06.70; 200 – 1. Cole (Fort Myers) 21.50, 2. Joseph Byrd (Baker) 21.60, 3. Prince Holloway (Cape Coral) 22.00; 3200 – 1. Montoya (Estero) 9:49.30, 2. Craig (Cypress Lake) 10:12.60, 3. Zach Kovacik (North Fort Myers) 10:15.60; 4×400 relay – 1. Fort Myers 3:30.70, 2. Ida Baker (Zach Nall, Jessie Betts, Xavier Battle, Sean Francis) 3:31.20, 3. South Fort Myers 3:32.80.
Girls Team Scores – 1. Fort Myers 142, 2. Dunbar 129, 3. Ida Baker 85 1/2, 4. Cypress Lake 63 1/2, 5. South Fort Myers 61, 6. East Lee County 38 1/2, 7. Cape Coral 32 1/2, 8. Riverdale 27, 9. North Fort Myers 26, 10. Mariner 25, 11. Lehigh 15, 12. Island Coast 9, 13. Estero 6.
Individual results
4×800 relay – 1. Fort Myers 10:33.00, 2. Mariner (Emily LaBarbera, Kelsey Hasten, Renee Erickson, Alicen Wilbur) 10:39.00, 3. North Fort Myers (Wally Rosario, Tina Agostinelli, Chelsea Humbert, Stephanie Nevadunsky) 10:39.30; 100 hurdles – 1. Payton Van Horn (Baker) 16.20, 2. Shamelle Vargas (Cape Coral) 16.30, 3. Smith (Dunbar) 16.90; 100 – 1. Williams (Dunbar) 12.00, 2. Jiles (Dunbar) 12.10, 3.. Davis (Fort Myers) 12.20; 1600 – 1. Russo (Fort Myers) 5:25.00, 2. Spann (Fort Myers) 5:35.80, 3. Martin (Cypress Lake) 5:41.00; 4×100 relay – 1. Dunbar 49.80, 2. Fort Myers 51.90, 3. Cape Coral 51.90; 400 – 1. Daniel (Riverdale) 1:00.50, 2. Lee (Dunbar) 1:02.00, 3. Idolphine (Cypress Lake) 1:02.60; 300 hurdles – 1. Alexander (Lehigh) 49.70, 2. Parson (Dunbar) 51.50, 3. Shamelle Vargas (Cape Coral) 51.50; 800 – 1. Riguad (Dunbar) 2:24.00, 2. Russo (Fort Myers) 2:28.70, 3. Petrik (Fort Myers) 2:35.50; 200 – 1. Davis (Fort Myers) 25.10, 2. Newton (Dunbar) 25.90, 3. Williams (Dunbar) 26.00; 3200 – 1. Russo (Fort Myers) 12:14.50, 2. Spann (Fort Myers) 12:14.50, 3. Martin (Cypress Lake) 12:16.60; 4×400 relay – 1. Dunbar 4:08.10, 2. Cypress Lake 4:15.90, 3. Fort Myers 4:25.50.