Girls track
Alexis Love, sr., Palmetto Event: Sprints. To her credit: Love was a three-time regional champion and a three-time medalist at the Class 3A state meet en route to earning her second straight All-Area honor. Love ran the 100- and 200-meter dashes as well as the anchor leg of the Tigers’ 400 relay team. Love won championships in all three events at the district and regional meets and was seventh in the 100 and eighth in the 200 at state. But Love’s best performance came in the state relay, when she helped the team of Kymbrell Smith, Brandy Gordon and Trijala Keley place second in the state in the 400. Love also won three championships at the county meet, as well. Fast fact: Love became one of the area’s top track athletes despite her battles with asthma. What’s next: Love is on her way to Division I Murray State University on a track scholarship.
Honorable mention
Bayshore — Breann Richardson, jr., shot put, discus.
Braden River — Olivia Moore, so., sprinter.
Bradenton Christian — Emily Egan, sr., distance.
Cardinal Mooney — Patricia Gillezeau, jr., distance.
Lakewood Ranch — Kaitlyn Wolfe, so., sprinter; Devon McDermott, fr., distance; Emily Wray, so., distance; Natasha Pelton, sr., hurdles; Leah Wierichs, jr., distance; Megan Reuss, sr., distance, pole vault; Kelsey Grimaldi, jr., distance; Tracy Spronatti, sr., distance; Shanvia Jones, sr., high jump; Danielle Komen, jr., pole vault; Alyssa Sherman, sr., long jump, triple jump; Madison Bradley, so., long jump; Kristen Skokos, sr., triple jump.
Manatee — Nicole Iglesias, jr., distance; Jessica Pate, sr., distance; Courtney McDonald, sr., high jump; BreeAnne Campbell, jr., shot put; Taylor Mealy, sr., discus.
Out-of-Door Academy — Alana Rogers, jr., sprinter; Ashtin Frank, 8th grade, high jump.
Palmetto — Kymbrell Smith, so., sprints; Jessica McKinnis, jr., distance; Brandy Gordon, jr., Trijala Keley, so.
Saint Stephen’s — Hannah Howell, 8th grade, distance; Lisa Balducci, sr., hurdles; Morgan Williams, fr., hurdles; Sara Hillstrom, jr., distance.
Southeast — Betty Jones, sr., shot put.
Boys track
Robby Bennett, sr., Bradenton Christian Event: Hurdles. To his credit: Bennett became the first Panther to win a state title in the 110-meter hurdles when he did so during the Class 1A state track and field championships at Showalter Field in Winter Park. Bennett won the gold with a time of 15.59 seconds to beat Mount Dora Bible’s Tyrone Johnson, who ran a faster time than Bennett during the preliminaries. Bennett also finished second in the 300 hurdles. He won district and Bay Conference titles in both events and was the regional champion in the 110 hurdles.
Fast fact: Bennett redeemed himself after narrowly missing the state meet last year — he was running third at the regional race when he tripped over a hurdle and never recovered.
What’s next: Bennett will further his athletic career and education at Lees-McRae College, a Division II school in North Carolina.
Honorable mention
Email Story
Printer Friendly 
Quick Job Search
@Nyx.replyAnswerText@