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School Records Fall In Fast 800-Meter Run

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By BILL WARD | TBO.com

Published: March 12, 2009

TAMPA - It was near-perfect conditions for records to fall in the 800-meter run at Jesuit High's track meet Wednesday night — great weather, a fast track and some of the state's best middle distance runners.

But what ensued in that race took nearly everyone by surprise. School records in the 800 went by the wayside not only for Jesuit, but also for Sickles and Robinson. And the top-four finishers rose to the first four spots of the state leaderboard in the event. The top-seven finishers all cracked 2 minutes.

Sickles' Derek Wehunt — a guy better known for his mile and two-mile performances—emerged the winner when he out-kicked everyone in the final 100 meters to post a sizzling time of 1:52.9. That eclipsed the Sickles school record held by his twin brother, Dan, by more than four seconds. Derek also rocketed to the No.1 spot in the state for the 800, bettering the previous leader by more than four seconds. Finishing third in 1:53.8, Dan also beat his own record by a large margin and goes to the third spot in the state.

"I've run like a 1:55 or 1:56 in the [4x800] relay but this is the first time I've run this event open," Derek Wehunt said afterward. "I don't know what this means for me now. I mean, if my 800 times start looking better than my 3,200 times, then maybe I would try the 800/1,600 double at state.

Second-place Darrin Gibson of Robinson crushed his previous best (1:57.9) and the Knights' school record with his time of 1:53.2 and takes the state No. 2 position for the 800.

"I was just trying to hang on as long as I could," Gibson said. "I didn't think I was going to run that kind of time."

And then there was Jesuit's Connor Revord, who was the reason all these fast half milers turned up at the Tigers' all-weather track. This race was set up for him to break the school record of 1:54.75 held the last two years by Mike Akins. Even with the handheld timing penalty, Revord got the mark with his 1:54.0 (1:54.24 with the penalty). It wasn't exactly how Revord envisioned putting his name in the record books, but it was a good performance nonetheless.

"It's kind of a bummer the race had to end that way because I felt good up until that last 100," Revord said. "Those guys just had a little bit more and ran a great race—more power to them. It's great for Florida running."

Revord led the race for nearly 700 meters before Derek Wehunt went wide and Gibson followed to overtake the Jesuit standout. From there, it was a fight between Wehunt and Gibson, with Wehunt having just a little but more in the final 10 meters.

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