On Saturday, February 8th, our very own St. Petersburg High School track team had the pleasure of running at the Florida High School Indoor Championship. The Alachua County Sports and Events Center was a wonderful host of a well-run meet with plenty of exciting performances. 

For context, SPHS hasn’t competed in an indoor meet for over a decade. However, after these performances, Coach Robert Clarke says that “the new coaching staff intends to plan an entire indoor season next year.” 

Eleven of our talented athletes performed at their first-ever indoor meet: 

Ja’juan Cummings, Jamir Gainer, Joseph Galarza, Justin Garbowicz, Chris Gibson, Isabella Grasso, Jessica Grasso, Adrianna Masterson, Kaleb Morgan, Abner Neumann, and Zayvion Werts. Let’s touch on some of their highlights.

Personal Records are inevitable when it’s the first indoor meet, however, we had quite a few impressive freshman performances. Joseph Galarza (FR) ran a 23.40 in the 200m and a 52.40 400m. He admits that “it could have been better.” We are excited to see where his hard work will take him. Justin (FR), who is also a junior varsity football player, ran a 2:36.01 in the 800m. This was his first-ever track meet. He says he “had a lot of fun,” but it is fair to say that indoor “track air” is no myth. Ask him if you don’t believe it. Isabella Grasso (FR) ran her first-ever 3000m and earned an impressive 12:43.48. She also set a personal record in the mile with a time of 6:31. “My goal for the season is a sub-6 mile” Grasso said.

We had two Seniors run great as well, with this being their first and last indoor meet of their high school careers. Jessica Grasso (SR) ran a 6:01, winning her mile heat, and a 2:45.07 in the 800m. Zayvion Werts competed in three events. He earned a 24.35 200m, a 1.72m high jump, and an outstanding 54.08 seconds in the 400m dash. 

But the freshman and seniors need to watch their backs. Abner Neumann (JR) ran a 4:40.51 in the mile and an impressive 9:12.51. He’s giving our competition a run for their money. With two track seasons left to go and possibly an indoor season this coming year, SPHS can’t wait to see what he’s capable of. 

But apart from St Petersburg High School, we witnessed some impressive races. Kai Martin (SR) of Cambridge Christian ran a 1:51 800m. If you aren’t familiar with the track and field world, the current state record for the indoor 800m is 1:50. Kai now holds the second-fastest indoor 800 in state history. We also witnessed another impressive performance by Parker Banzhaf (SR), who ran unattached. He placed 3rd in the State Championship meet in Tallahassee this past Cross-Country season. At this latest indoor meet, He ran a 4:17.21 mile and 8:35.49 3000m. What a race to watch. After walking off the 3000m, Alyson Johnson (JR) ran a very impressive 4:51. 42 in the mile and placed first. What a comeback! Her younger sister, Sydney Johnson (FR), ran a 5.00. 92 in the mile as a freshman! Speed must run in the family. They both ran unattached.

Overall, we saw some awe-inspiring results from our athletes and competitors. Here at SPHS, we are excited to see how the rest of the season turns out. I’m sure their hard work will pay off. You can watch them at their two home meets of the season, hosted on the SPHS track: The St. Pete City Championship on February 20th and the John Tasopolos Invite on March 26th, and come support your fellow Green Devils as they race to make history.