Zarrella looks strong for state meet

Lakewood Ranch freshman Kristen Zarrella appears to have the best chance of getting the highest finish among the Manatee County athletes, who will be participating in the Class 3A State Track Meet on Friday.

Zarrella finished second in the 1600 and 3200 meter runs at last week’s region 3 meet, but her times in both are among the best that have been reported so far in Class 3A.

Katie Russo of Fort Myers High beat her out in the 1600 in a photo finish. The Green Wave senior was clocked in at 5:02.80 while Zarrella crossed the finish line in 5:02.95.

Those times were much better than the winners in in the 3A Region 2 and 4 meets. The winner in region 2 came in at 5:11.94 and region 4 in 5:24.94. Region 1 has not reported in because of weather conditions.

In the 3200 meter run, Sarah Spann of Fort Myers won with a time of 11:20.87 and Zarrella was second (11:29.26). The best time in region 2 was 11:27.92 and 11:48.03 in region 4.

Zarrella got caught up in a very fast pace in the 1600 meter run, which might have affected her time in the 3200. If she paces herself a little different at states, it could propel to even better times.

Palmetto High’s Dasha Grooms won the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 14.76 seconds in region 3. The region 2 champ came in at 14:20 and region 4 in 14.69.

Bayshore's Cody Blackwell won the discus with a throw of 142-06 while four people threw better than 150 in the region 2 with the winner throwing it 171-10. The region 4 winner threw 157-03.