BROOKSVILLE – Ashley Gentz already has a state championship under her belt this year from weightlifting, and on Tuesday she crept closer in her pursuit of more state hardware in track and field.
Gentz placed first in three individual events and was part of a winning relay, leading the Lady Sharks to a dominating victory in the Class 2A, District 7 Meet at Central.
“I feel great. Working up towards regionals, so I’m happy with how I did,” Gentz said. “It’s a great accomplishment for us as a team. We all work hard at practice and getting the district champ, it shows. It shows that all the work that we do in practice and all the hard work really does pay off.
“We all push each other. I’ve noticed at practices we all push each other to be as best as we can.”
The Lady Shark totaled 174 team points, with Crystal River in a very, very distant second at 72. This marked the fifth straight district crown for the girls team.
“Ecstatic, very proud for the girls,” Nature Coast girls coach Nikki Pierce said. “We’ve built a program year after year. I changed up a few things this year with sort of a different philosophy with how I gear the sprint workouts. It’s worked, and the girls just put in the hard work for me.
“Everybody did as I expected them to. Nice surprise, pleasant surprise for me was Leah Marville, freshman, winning the mile, and she’s only a couple of seconds off our school record with that.”
The senior Gentz, already the owner of multiple state medals in track, started off her day by capturing the long jump with a 16-6. She later won the 400 (58.80) and 200 (26.19), and capped her evening as part of the fastest 4×400, joining Velma Brinson, Eboni Johnson and Kaitlyn Pierce in running a 4:11.37.
“My 400 is exactly where I want it to be. It’s working its way; my times are getting better. So that’s where I want it to be,” Gentz said. “My 200 today could have been a little faster. I know I can do better than that. And then my long jump, I’m still working on. That’s a work in progress.”
“Her performance is exactly what I expected of her. She knew that she had a job to do and she did exactly that. It’s tough competing in four events, but she dug down and she did what she needed to, with ending the meet with a fantastic leg in the 4×4, running as fast as she did in the 400, basically.
“To be an athlete of her caliber, you have to have that mindset. You have to have that desire to win. But you can’t have a win-at-all-cost attitude. You have to remember that you are part of a team, and I think that Ashley has come to embrace that, more so this year than maybe she has in the past.”
The top four finishers in each event move on to the regional meet next Tuesday at Lake Minneola, and Gentz will look to build further momentum toward the final event of prep career, the FHSAA Finals.
“I want to for sure get PRs (personal records) and if I can bring a medal home, that’d be awesome,” Gentz said. “I’m not trying to get myself too pumped. Cause anything can happen. So I’m just trying to prepare for everything.
“I had a great weightlifting season, so now track season is coming to an end and I’m liking the results so far.”
The junior Kaitlyn Pierce took the triple jump with a 33-9, and was second to Gentz in the 400 (1:00.36) and 200 (26.92). Jouie Miller came in first in the shot put with a 36-4, as did Marville in the 1,600 (5:35.74). Marville was additionally second in the 800 (2:40.70).
Marville, Johnson, Emily Escamilla and Aliyah Dipalma were first in the 4×800, clocking a 10:33.74. Hernando’s Ashley Morris garnered first in the 3,200 (12:51.29), while Weeki Wachee’s quartet of Jasmin Dardiz, Jasmyne Miffin, Jasmine Mendoza and Juliya Ssosse ran a first-place 52.63 in the 4×100.
Nature Coast’s boys left as district champs, as well, scoring 123 points to comfortably beat out Ridgewood in second at 103.
Senior DeShawn Smith, known more for his exploits as an All-American running back, led the Sharks with a first in the long jump (21-6) and a second in the 100 (11.43), while helping the 4×400 take third, with Saban Reiter, Jacob Grantz and Dontay Washington (3:40.46).
Brian Haygood captured the triple jump (41-4), then came in third in the 200 (23.59) and fourth in the 100 (11.59).
“It’s nice to be back on top,” Nature Coast boys coach Rudy Story said. “These kids work their buns off all year long, not just during track season but really it’s an all-year thing. All the running, all the conditioning, lifting weights. They really deserve it, they really do. They work hard.
“I was surprised with the young kids that we have. The underclassmen, they really stepped up. I knew what we had coming back but I didn’t really know what we had sophomore- and freshman-wise, but those kids, they really are what made this.”
Hernando’s Trevor Foley won the 1,600 (4:37.32) and the 3,200 (10:10.94).
Follow Chris Bernhardt Jr. on Twitter @cpbernhardtjr.