Whether you are a girl or a boy, this is the best time of year to be an athlete in the state of Florida.

Look in any direction and you will find something going on. State championships in track and field and flag football, regional finals in softball and regional semifinals in baseball.

The first week of May always signal that the spring sports are coming to an end, bringing to an end another impressive school year.

While cutbacks and the economy have taken center stage, there is also time for the youngsters to put all the negative talk and put behind them as they prepare to create memories.

For head coach Damon Cogdell and his Miramar Patriots, history was just this close. Imagine being the coach for the boys state 6A state championships and then coming back six months later and reeling in a girls flag title. It nearly happened.

Cogdell’s team beat Douglas on Friday to remain unbeaten and move to the final four, but the lone loss of the year to Tampa Alonso dashed those history making dreams.

Among some of the standouts who finished as one of the top teams in the state include senior quarterback Chelsey Walsh, senior defensive specialist Ashleigh Baptiste, sophomore Ranisha Cade and  juniors Jaqueline Futch and Breona Black.

TRACKING DOWN SUCCESS
The highlight of the state track and field meet last weekend at Showalter Field in Winter Park was the third consecutive boys state title for St. Thomas Aquinas and a very impressive second place finish for Fort Lauderdale’s girls and a third place for the Boyd Anderson girls.

Senior speedster Cody Riggs’ victory in the 300 hurdles assured the Raiders of the boys' team title in their first season in Class 4A Saturday at Showalter Field — they won in Class 3A the past two years.

Riggs, who ran the previous nation's-best of 36.51 early in the season, had a winning time in the 300 hurdles, 36.44.

Senior David Shepherd won the pole vault in a personal-best 15-6. Broward did extremely well in the 4x100 relay as Ely succeeded two-time defending champ Deerfield Beach as the king of the sprint relay. Terrence Cannon, Detric Johnson, Jabari Price and Rashard Smith timed 40.01. Boyd Anderson was a close second but was disqualified for running outside of an exchange zone.

Senior Garth Jobb of St. Thomas finished second in the discus (170-7) and shot put (55-5½). Raiders’ sophomore Arman Hall finished second in the 400 in 47.43.

Senior Cassius McDowell of Deerfield Beach ended a brilliant career with a fourth place finish in the 100.

BOYD ANDERSON COMES IN THIRD
Boyd Anderson's girls took third as a team. The Cobras' Shamona Haughton finished second in the discus with a throw of 135-3. Jasmine King was third in the 100 hurdles at 14.86. The 4x400 and 4x800 relay teams finished third.

Everglades’ senior Darshay Davis finished second in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. A year ago, as a student at Miami Norland, Davis never had a chance to compete in the 100 after a false start in the districts. In the 200, she was disqualified in the state finals.

There were other teams and individuals who also made a statement.

Regine Williams of St. Thomas Aquinas had her best day of the season in the long jump, winning the event by tying the state- best jump of 19-6 by Kayla Parker of Port St. Joe. Williams' previous best jump coming into the state meet had been 18-6 1/2.

St. Thomas Aquinas had a good showing in the 200, with Kirsten Nieuwendam finishing third at 24.17 and Williams finishing fifth at 24.56.

Brittany Todaro of Nova was fourth in the pole vault at 11-0 and Catrina Mancini of Douglas was fifth at 10-0.

FLYING LS MAKE A RUN
The previous day saw Fort Lauderdale’s girls put in a strong effort, but coming up short

Senior sprinter Bianca Smith, who qualified for the state meet with third fastest time coming out of regionals had a bad start in the 100. She failed to qualify for the finals finishing at 12.47 in her heat.

Sasha Ann-Lebert, Ashley Murray, Jahneel Tyrell and Shannay Gentles combined to earn 31 points giving Fort Lauderdale. Ann-Lebert was a winner in the shot put with a throw of 41-1 3/4, short of her best throw of the season, but good enough 10 points. Murray followed by finished second in the discus with a toss of 124-3, which was her best to end the season.

Tyrell was second in the long jump at 18-8 1/2 and added a points by finishing eighth in the high jump. Gentles placed fifth in the triple jump at 36-10.

Arlithia Mackey of Dillard finished sixth in the discus (114-5).

NEXT WEEK: We will check out what’s going on with softball and the baseball playoffs as well.

You can reach Larry Blustein via e-mail at FloridaKids1@hotmail.com. He can also be heard every Thursday night (9-10) on the Miami Dolphins High School Gridiron Report on WQAM (560 AM).