Niceville track pair finishes strong at state
Staff Reports
Niceville senior Anna Carr turned in a school-record and personal-best 24.35 in the 200 meters to take one of two third-place finishes in Saturday's Class 4A state meet in Winter Park, while fellow senior Ryan Howard punctuated a memorable season of his own with an eighth-place finish in the 800 to cap a successful day for the Eagles.
"Overall, it was a good day," Niceville coach Henry Spillers said.
Carr also placed third in the 100 meters after turning in a time of 12.32 to help the Niceville girls finish 14th overall.
Spillers couldn't help but gush over Carr's day.
"She had a very good day," Spillers said. "There was some tough competition in 4A but she represented Niceville very well.
"To run that many events in a day - we thought she had a very solid day - and to cap it off with a personal-best and school-record time, you can't ask for much more than that."
For Howard, just earning a chance to compete in Winter Park was an accomplishment in itself.
After failing to qualify for the state meet one year ago, Howard elected to make the move up from the 400 to the 800 this season.
On Saturday, that decision proved to be a good one.
"It's the first year he's really ever run the 800," Spillers said. "To move up and then develop and run the times he ran to get to state, that's pretty impressive on his part."
Spillers called Saturday's performances by his seniors a fitting one.
"It was a good way for them to go out on a good note and for them to finish their careers on a positive note," Spillers said.
"They both will be running at the next level."
