Track and field | Coaches, athletes leave first state championship at IMG with mixed reactions
BRADENTON -- Two firsts for the FHSAA this weekend in Bradenton elicited different reactions from head coaches around Manatee County.
The new format -- with all four classes competing in one venue over two days -- garnered mostly positive reactions. IMG Academy, the host site, drew mixed reviews for the new-look event.
"With their first time hosting it, I thought it was OK," Saint Stephen's head coach A.J. Brown said. "But I think it would've been better at a college campus."
Most of the local teams avoided the worst of the traffic jams that plagued the opening day of competition, but area coaches pointed to other issues with the venue and format.
Brown described the two days as "looser" overall compared to last year's Class 1A championship in Jacksonville.
University of North Florida played host the past few seasons at Hodges Stadium, a 12,000-seat multi-purpose facility where North Florida's track and field, cross country and soccer teams play. And the FHSAA split the championships across either four or two days. Even in the two-day format, only two classes competed each day. The formats and facility allowed for more restrictions. For example, athletes were limited to standing in the warm-up area and fans were required to stay in the bleachers.
With all four classifications sharing the same two days this year, the number of fans and competitors, combined with the size of the facility, made such
restrictions impossible.
IMG Field's bleachers didn't seat enough, so fans stood along the fences wherever they were able to. Some athletes had trouble hearing check-in calls from the warm-up field because of crowd noise.
"It was packed to capacity," Brown said. "If it was held at North Florida again with this format, I think it would've worked out really, really well."
For certain athletes, though, the appeal of the new format was obvious. Lakewood Ranch's Sophia Falco was the ideal model for the meet's benefits.
The junior competed in the maximum four events and scored 30 points for the Mustangs in their Class 4A championship effort. She competed twice as a jumper and twice as a sprinter, which meant three events per day and three finals on Saturday.
She began Friday afternoon with a second-place finish in the 100-meter preliminary and a third-place finish in the 200 prelim. Instead of worrying about finals in those events the same day, Falco could shift her focus to the long jump, where she won her first state championship.
"It would've been hard pacing everything," Falco said Friday, "but knowing I can go out there and do my best and come back tomorrow and try to do the same thing is kind of reassuring."
The next morning she finished second in the triple jump, added a silver medal in the 100 and a fifth-place finish in the 200.
By the second and final day of the championships, congestion eased outside the field and complaints waned. IMG stopped charging for parking to expedite traffic flow into the parking area and promoted the additional concession stands available across the street from the stadium at the campus center.
"Obviously, it was IMG's first time hosting this, so there's going to be some issues come up, and I don't think it's their issue," Lakewood Ranch head coach Mark Napier said. "I think it's more the high school athletic association."
David Wilson, Herald sports writer, can be contacted at 941-745-7057 or on Twitter @DBWilson2.
This story was originally published May 8, 2016 at 11:40 PM with the headline "Track and field | Coaches, athletes leave first state championship at IMG with mixed reactions ."