TRACK AND FIELD: Strong starts have Venice teams in position for postseason success

VENICE — As both groups near the month of April, the Venice boys and girls track and field teams have a lot to be excited about moving forward.

Through five meets so far this season, a solid number of athletes on both sides have the capabilities of making a run to the FHSAA state championships in mid-May.

GIRLS

Venice’s girls team has held its own in all five meets.

The Indians earned team victories in both the Bobcat Relays on Feb. 23 and in the Loretta Purish Invitational on March 1, upending teams like North Port, Riverview, Fort Myers and North Fort Myers along the way.

“What I like so far about this year’s team is we don’t have a ton of superstars,” girls track head coach Brenda Clark said. “We have a very well-rounded team. Everywhere you look, we have solid contributors.”

In the running events, Synaejah Williams has been doing impressive things as a freshman for the Indians.

So far, she’s picked up top-six finishes in the 100-meter races in three meets this season, including a first-place finish at the Purish Invitational on on March 1.

Williams has also been a key reason for the success put together by the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 relays so far.

Cross country runners Darcy Cernansky and Atarah Robinson have contributed for the track team as well, with both earning a number of individual victories in the long-distance runs.

Robinson has ran well in the 800, finishing first at the Bobcat Relays, second at the Purish Invitational and fourth at the Thomas Memorial Classic this past weekend. She’s also helped lead some of the long-distance relays to top-10 finishes.

Cernansky has finished in third and eighth, overall in the 3200 at the Purish Invitational and the Riverview Ram Invite, respectively.

“The cross country team has been lights out for us so far,” Clark said. “They’ve come in and made all of the distance events really, really solid this year.”

In the hurdle events, Jacey McReynolds and Michelle Croney have made some noise.

McReynolds has three top-five finishes in the 100 hurdles, while also being very skilled in the high jump (four top-six finishes, including two runner-up efforts).

Croney has excelled in both the 100 and 400 hurdle events, grabbing six finishes in the top five across both events. She won the 100 hurdle event at the Bobcat Relays with a time of 17.69.

Additionally, Venice has strong contributors in the field events as well.

Emily Ireland continues to be the team’s best at both the high jump and triple jump.

The senior has a first place and second place finish in the high jump and a a pair of second-place finishes in the triple jump.

Kyla Freddolino has paced the Indians in both the shot put and discus, while Alex Council has first, second and sixth place finishes in the javelin toss so far this season.

“A number of girls have a really good shot at making it to state,” Clark said. “High jump, long jump, discuss, javelin and hurdles all have a shot. I’m also feeling really good about the 4x400 and 4x800 relays.”

BOYSLike the girls, the boys have picked up a couple team wins, five meets into their campaign.

Venice won both the Purish Invitational and the Riverview Ram Invite over teams like Charlotte, Riverview, Dunbar and Fort Myers.

One athlete in particular has stood out above the rest at this point of the season for the Indians.

Matt Groves swept the Purish Invitational with wins in the 100, 200 and 400-meter races. He also won the 400 at the Riverview Ram Invite and finished second in the 200 at the IMG Invitational.

Spencer and Elijah Palmer have used a strong cross country season to their advantage in the distance events.

Spencer has three top-10 finishes in the 800, while Elijah has three top-10 finishes in the 3200.

Both Palmers have also been key to the success of the 4x800 and 4x1600 relays.

In the hurdle events, Chris Priede has stood out with three top-five finishes in the 110 hurdles to complement a number of top-10 finishes in the 400-hurdles event.

Priede has also helped lead the 4x400 relay team to two first-place finishes.

In the field events, the Indians have a solid nucleus of pole vaulters, including Chase Graziadei, who advanced to state in the event last season.

Graziadei has four top-five finishes, including a pair of wins at the Bobcat Relays and the Thomas Memorial Classic.

James Reynolds has two sixth-place finishes in the shot put this season, while William Schafer has two top-five finishes in the discus.

Paul Ramos is the team’s best at javelin. He has a sixth-place finish at the Riverview Ram Invite, and an event victory at the Purish Invitational.

“We have a lot of strong events, and I think we have a team that can win districts and perform well beyond that,” boys track head coach Charlie Powell said. “If we stay healthy and all of the athletes stay motivated and compete up to their potential, I think we’ll be fine. I think a half-dozen or more events could make it to state.”