Alonso Track and Field/Cross Country
Alonso Ravens Track and Field
Ravens produce strong performances at the Wildcat Invite
Next home meet will be the Raven Invitational on March 18.
The 2023 Invitational season started strong for the Ravens who took part in the Wildcat Invite at Wharton High School on Saturday, Feb 25. The Ravens had many distinguished moments. Here is a brief run down of some of our noteworthy efforts..
1. Up, up and away: Sophomore Krisangel Arce captured the high jump title in fine style. His PR leap of 1.92M (6ft-4) moves him to No.4 in Class 4A in the state. Arce was a regional qualifier last year as a freshman.
2. The Grateful 8: The girls 4x800 team of Maria Ortiz, Skyler Gillett, Anneka deVries and Nathalia Mallo delivered a stunning performance capturing the first place title with a time of 10:34. They finished 25 seconds ahead of second place. The boys 4x800 squad of Ryan Winslow, Adrian Sanchez, Preston Cooper and Asher Pollard came in second with a time of 8:34.
3. The Magic Mark: Sophomore Patty Kilkelly is starting to make a claim as a legitimate 400M runner. Kilkelly's time of 1:00 brings her to the edge of the 59-second threshold, considered a measuring stick for elite 400M runners. Only four other Ravens girls sprinters have run under the 1:00 mark - Quatasia Fantroy, Shaniya Benjamin, Megan Wetzel and Stephanie Sandborn. Now that's elite company.
4. On Your Marks. Speaking of elite company, pay close attention to sophmore sprinter Akyla Loyd who PR'ed in the 100M (12:50) and the 200M (26.17), finishing fifth in both races. In only her second official race of her high school track career, the basketball player turn sprinter continues to proove the value of being a two-sport athlete.
5. Launching it: Girls javelin record holder Kaitlyn Donohue has picked up where she left off with a strong throw of 20.99M. Donohue holds the school mark of 23.00 M set last year. Sophomore Alizee Grazier and freshman Kayma Colon are right on her heals. Grazier's toss of 19.69M and Colon's throw of 16.44M set up for some competitive practices over the next few weeks.
6. Jump, Jump: A tip of the hat goes out to girls high jumpers Jada Hodge (1.37M) and Ashlyn Fisher (1.32M), who finished second and third to score 14 points for the girls team.
7. Notable PRs: There were several other Ravens who produced noteworthy PRs at the Wildcat. Here's a brief rundown: Isabella Quinlan (800M, 2:46; 1600M, 5:57); Kailey Hardee (3200M, 15:29); Sharlin Morel (400H, 1:11); Victor Prieto (400M, .54.67); Benjamin Cole (400M, .57.14); Ryan Winslow (1600M, 4:43); Asher Pollard (1600M, 4:50); Devin Vaughter LJ, 6.25M); Ethan Fisher (TJ, 11.05M); Huy Nguyen (Jav, 21.97M).
8. Distance Debutantes: Now's a good time to acknowledge our girls who made their debut as distance runners in the 1600M. Isabella Phillips (7:25), Grace Lemon (7:38), Eva-Maria Rodriguez (8:31), Ella Twiss (8:47) and Claire Manzanero (9:32) all shook off common pre-race jitters to complete their first ever distance race. Fantastic effort ladies!
9. Camp rules, again!: We have very strict camp rules. Our camp is to be kept clean as best as possible and is not a place for inappropriate behavior/language. As well, we are in the spirit of respectful competition with everyone, but do you see members of other teams sitting on the bench of the opponent during basketball games, baseball games? Do you see fans/parents on the sidelines of football games? The camp, like the bench, is for members of the team. It is not our policy to allow non-team members to be in our camp. We repeat, it is not our policy to allow non-team members in our stands. Should something go missing, or some situation arise, we have no control over non-team members. Please, treat our team camp as sacred ground. If someone is not a member of our team, they should not be hanging out in the team camp.
10. Stands. The home bleachers/stands are for fans, not for athletes. Athletes belong with their team. Fans belong in the stands. Keep that in mind. Again, this is an issue of control. During meets, the coaching staff is responsible for you. We know and can monitor you in the team camp, not in the stands.
11. Grades. Please note several of our athletes missed the meet because they were taking the ACT. We applaud them for putting academics first. Starting last week, we began checking the gradebooks of our team and some of you were given due notice. We will continue with that this week. Remember the Alonso TnF policy is clear, Ds put you on a short leash, Fs sit you down.
12. Other team sports. Please note, non-Alonso athletic pursuits - such as club sports and/or private workouts, have no baring on Alonso's track and field program and cannot take precedence over our practice schedule. Absences from our workouts to participate in other such pursuits are disrespectful to the program and will not tolerated.
This is the official 2023 schedule. The Ravens have a few key travel dates, so review the schedule carefully. As always, the County reserves the right to alter dates due to other sporting or weather-related events.
Feb 11 - Kincaid Classic @ Alonso (Pre-Season)
Feb 20 - @ Leto (multi-meet)
Feb 25 - Wildcat Invite @ Wharton
March 4 - Nash Higgins Relays @ Leto
March 11 - Freedom Invitational @ Freedom HS
March 18 - Raven Invite @ Alonso
March 25 - FSU Relays
March 25 - Manuel Griffin Relays
March 31/April 1 - UF Relays
April 1 - Steinbrenner Invite
April 5 - American Divisionals @ Alonso
April 12 - County Championships @ Wharton
April 14 - Senior Night @ Alonso
April 25 - Districts @ East Lake HS, 8 am
May 5 - Regionals @ Sumner HS (Riverview)
May 20 - State Finals @ UNF, J'ville
Girls Top three season's best for 2022
LJ: Howell (4.49), Morel (4.29), Woodley (4.21)
TJ: NA
HJ: Seales (1.42), McCutchen (1.37), Zhou (1.27)
PV: NA
SP: Hulton (8.53), Newton (7.61), Donohue (5.70)
Disc: Hulton (25.06), Newton (23.63), Donohue (19.99)
Jav: Donahue (23.0), Jones (21.65), Hulton (21.23)
100: Medina (12.70), PKilkelly (13.18), Bartolo (13.57)
200: Medina (26.43), Morel (28.03), McCutcheon (28.41)
400: Morel (1:04), PKilkelly (1:04), Mallo (1:05)
800: Gillett (2:27), Mallo (2:28), Ortiz (2:41)
1600: Gillett (5:26.76), Mallo (5:39), Howell (6:00)
3200: Gillett (11:49), Mallo (12:25), Henry (13:18)
300H: Morel (50.73), Howell (54.99), Fisher (1:00)
100H: Fisher (19.96), Howell (20.49), Rakita (21.88)
4x100: Medina, PKilkelly, Bartolo, Morel (51.82)
4x400: Kilkelly, Mallo, Gillett, Morel (4:20)
4x800: Gillett, Mallo, Ortiz, Howell (10:31)
Boys Top three season's best for 2022
LJ: Croichy (6.40), JSanchez (5.60), Arce (5.56),
TJ: Arce (12.28), Oliver (10.99), Atkins (10.40)
HJ: Arce (1.82), JSanchez (1.72), Pearson (1.52)
PV: TBA
SP: CWalters (13.51), Hall (12.11), HWalters (11.34)
Jav: Valentin (32.16), Lanford (31.58), Becher (28.15)
Disc: HWalters (33.20), Hall (31.88), Becher (26.72)
100: Croichy (11.12), JSanchez (11.48), Pearson (11.71)
200: Croichy (23.08), Ludlam (23.55), JSanchez (23.95)
400: Ludlam (50.67), Velazquez (53.05), ASanchez (55.5)
800: Hopkins (1:59), Velazquez (2:00), Winslow (2:07)
1600: Hopkins (4:24), Velazquez (4:37), Cooper (4:49)
3200: Hopkins (9:40), Cooper (10:21), Winslow (10.44)
110 H: Fisher (18.97), Bozied (19.16), Carravella (20.27)
300 H: Fisher (47.36), Caravella (47.54), Bozied (49.36)
4x100: JSanchez, Ludlam, Pearson, Croichy (44.49)
4x400: Velazquez,ASanchez, Arce, Ludlam (3:36)
4x800: Velazquez, Ludlam, Hopkins, Winslow (8:20)
Attendance guidelines, practice schedules and other information!
Starting Jan. 8, 2023, pre-season conditioning for the 2023 track and field season will be four days a week, Monday to Thursday at 4 pm at the track. These are optional sessions. Mandatory regular season practices begin on January 30. Distance runners ALWAYS have a Saturday morning run. These practices are voluntary.
The official start to the 2023 track and field season is Mon. Jan. 30. From that point on, practices are daily and not voluntary, but mandatory. What that means is that EVERY athlete who is a part of our program is expected to attend practices, ALL PRACTICES.
That is what team commitment means. It is your responsibility to fix your schedule to make practices. If you can’t make a commitment to the team, and to practice with the team because of personal reasons, academic reasons, job schedules, etc, we completely understand. Then perhaps you need to rethink being a student athlete.
The program will make accommodations/exceptions for athletes involved in another Alonso sport sharing the concurrent season - baseball, softball, flag, tennis and lacrosse. Athletes currently in a winter sport (soccer, basketball, wrestling) are welcome to join us as soon as their season is over. Be aware of our temporary schedule, which is printed below. For instance, Saturday mornings are part of track and field commitment. Meets are on Saturday mornings and the attendance tends to be 100%.
Regular Practice Times: Once the regular season begins, practices are after school routinely Monday - Friday (from 4:00-5:35 pm). ALL distance runners have a Saturday morning run ( 7 am) which is mandatory.
PAPERWORK IS NOT NEGOTIABLE: All paperwork must be uploaded electronically, without any exceptions. A student athlete uncleared on the Home Campus app will not be allowed to practice, train or compete. Click this link County Athletic Paperwork to connect to the online process. Note, your paperwork is entirely online. Here are the primary requirements: a sports physical (completed on the County's EL2 document), $30 of insurance through the county's athletic insurance link, certificates from watching three videos (put all three together, take a photo and upload the single photo), ALL electronic forms and signatures completed, copy of appropriate utility bill (ex water, TECO, mortgage, tax, etc. Remember phone and cable bills are not accepted), copy of parent ID that matches your listed address.
OTHER SPORTS: Many athletes are multi-sport athletes, which is strongly promoted by our school and our Athletic Director. So, we share athletes. If you are in an active sport - like soccer, wrestling or basketball - you are excused. That sport is in season and is your priority. Win the state title, and then join us. If not, you are expected to be at our workouts. Our regular season begins on Feb. 16.
SPRING SPORT: Track and field is a spring sport, so that means we have critical meets just before and during the Spring Break. Please consider your commitment to the team, when planning vacations or absences. For instance, the Raven Invitational, our marquee home event, is scheduled for March 18, the Saturday at the end of Spring Break.
TESTING DATES: Also, note that many track and field meets occur on Saturday mornings, which are SAT/ACT dates. If you know you are taking a test that conflicts with a meet, it is critical that you inform the coaching staff ONE WEEK in advance. One of the rules of track and field is athletes cannot be substituted for others on the day of the meet. Roster spots are commonly set three days in advance. If you do not show up for your event, no teammate can take your place.
PROPER SHOES: A strong supportive pair of running shoes is vital for daily training in track and field. Shin splints, sore ankles, painful arches, and tender knees occur primarily due to poor shoes. Get yourself a good pair of shoes. If they are old or from the bargain shelves, you are taking a risk. You will also need to get a pair of competition spikes, since all of our meets will be on rubber tracks. Those don't have to be too expensive, since you use them sparingly. But, your will need them for meets.
NO TRADITIONAL TRYOUTS, NO JV: It has been the practice of the Ravens program that we do not hold tryouts in the manner most are accustomed. In other words, we do not make cuts, all are welcome. However, we do have team time trials, usually the week before the start of the regular season, and or in the preseason. The time trials seed athletes per event. In certain elite meets (for example, Saturday invitationals), only the top three or four athletes per event are allowed to compete. It does mean that our less experienced members of the team will compete in weekly duals and tri-meets, but may not on weekends.
Learn how to throw the javelin, step by step!