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Wake-Up Call: Locke takes moment to savor triumphs

By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 11, 2009

Updated: 05/11/2009 05:57 am

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The Wake-Up Call greets you each weekday with news, views and a few Tampa Bay area sports offerings to anticipate for the day and night. We encourage suggestions and contributions.

Good morning!

For a moment, he wasn't a track and field legend. He was a kid.

Chamberlain High School senior Dentarius Locke - the fastest kid in Florida, actually - was walking barefoot, a gold medal around his neck, his spikes in hand. His mission was accomplished. Locke won the 100 and 200 meters at the Class 4A championships - setting a state record in both events - setting in motion the possibilities that lie ahead.

NCAA titles at the University of Tennessee?

Olympic appearances in 2012 or 2016?

Locke was by himself Saturday night, heading out of Showalter Field in Winter Park, when he stopped to check the event time sheets taped to the stadium's wall. It was almost a reminder that it all actually happened.

"This was a night I won't forget," Locke said.

Neither will anyone else.

Locke, a 5-foot-7, 150-pound bundle of energy and charisma, electrified the packed house by going 10.32 in the 100 meters (breaking the 2-year-old record of Jeff Demps, now a football player at the University of Florida). Earlier, Locke set a state record in the 200 meters qualifying (20.58, topping the 5-year-old mark of Walter Dix, a double bronze medalist at last year's Beijing Games).

Making it official, Locke later won the 200 finals in 20.70.

"Oh, my gosh, Locke was something else, something like I've never seen before," said Jacksonville Mandarin junior Kevin Bell, expected to be a high-Division I cornerback prospect in football, who was second in the 200 meters final (21.55).

"That boy can move. Chasing him brought out the best in me. A lot of people chase him. I don't know how many can actually catch him."

Not many.

Actually, in Locke's senior season, not any.

Venice senior Adrion Archer, a running back headed to Kent State University on a football scholarship, lost twice this season in the 100 meters - the region finals and the state finals, both times finishing second to Locke.

"I feel like I accomplished a lot,'' said Archer, who was second at 10.61. "I'd love to be first this year, but that guy [Locke] is breaking records left and right. I mean, you look up, 15 meters into the race, and he's already got you. He's phenomenal."

"You have to keep it in perspective,'' Venice coach Larry Shannon said. "You're second place, but you're second to a guy who's the fastest ever at the state meet. I mean, ever!. If Dentarius makes a mistake, we thought we'd be state champs. But Dentarius doesn't make mistakes."

Deerfield Beach senior Devard Robinson, a football quarterback who is headed to Michigan on scholarship, was third in the 100 meters at 10.61. Normally, Robinson said, he is turned off by the bravado of state-meet sprinters. Locke was different.

"I'm actually proud of him," Robinson said. "I take my hat off to him, and there are a lot of guys I wouldn't take my hat off to because they boast so much. But he doesn't boast or brag. He's the real thing. He's a talent. It was good to compete against a real champ. I know he probably worked for this night his whole life."

Locke woke up Saturday morning in an Orlando hotel room, listening to the lyrics of T.I. and Rihanna in "Live Your Life."

You're gonna be a shining star, with fancy clothes, and fancy cars,

And then you'll see, you're gonna go far,

Cause everyone knows, just who you are,

So live your life, ay, ay, ay

He thought about his life, the corrective braces that he wore as a bowlegged 3-year-old, how he almost slipped off the tracks academically at Riverview High School, how he got things back together with a transfer to Chamberlain and responding to the discipline of his father, Jesse.

"It's not like it was always easy," said Locke, who will be the first member of his immediate family to attend college. "Even when I was young and always the fastest guy at my school, my form wasn't always good. I've had to work.

"But doing this, it's something I have a passion for. When I get on the track, I'm a different person. When they say to get ready for the blocks, to get in those lanes, I'm hyped. I'm ready for the moment. I want it to be memorable."

No matter where life takes him now, Locke's record-setting night will always have a spot in Florida's high school track lore. You heard with the crowd's roar. And you saw it in the face of Locke, beaming with kidlike wonder.

Bradley, Guyton gain some fame

Men's basketball player Charlie Bradley and women's basketball player Wanda Guyton are the headliners in the University of South Florida's inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame class.

Also selected were Dick Bowers, USF's first athletic director; Michelle Scarbrough, an All-American in rifle; and members of the 1984-85 women's swimming team that won a national championship (Nancy Bercaw, Suzanne Crenshaw, Susan Duncan, Merit Greaves, Tracey Hayes, Dawn Hewitt, Alicia McHugh, Margaret Mortell, Julie Muller, Joni Troupe, assistant coach Lou Manganiello and head coach Bill Mann).

The inaugural class will be inducted Sept. 17 at the Pepin Center.

The selections were made (after consideration of more than 40 nominations) by USF's Hall of Fame Executive Committee: Lee Roy Selmon, chairman of the USF Foundation Partnership for Athletics; Baldwin Connelly, founding partner; John Connelly, former USF varsity athlete; Ken Eriksen, USF softball head coach; Jim Fee, USF men's golf head coach; Richard Gonzmart, Columbia Restaurants president; Roni Laughlin, USF instructor and former coach; Linda Simmons, R.R. Simmons Construction president and CEO; and Barbara Sparks-McGlinchy, former senior associate athletic director.

There are plenty of former USF athletes and contributors worthy of this honor in coming years.

Wouldn't it be fitting if the architects of USF's two men's basketball NCAA Tournament bids (1990 and 1992) - Gary Alexander, Radenko Dobras, Fred Lewis and Bobby Russell - went in as a group?

Joyce on major roll at Durham

Can it be much longer for Matt Joyce (Armwood), the opening-day center fielder, to return to the Tampa Bay Rays? Joyce is batting .410 in his last 10 games for Triple-A Durham and .330 overall. He went 2-for-4 with a home run in Sunday's 4-3 victory against Gwinnett. Joyce was acquired from the Detroit Tigers in an offseason deal for RHP Edwin Jackson (2-2, 2.60 ERA in seven starts with Detroit).

Cashing in with Yankees

Veteran C Kevin Cash (Gaither) was called up to the New York Yankees from Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre after Jorge Posada went on the disabled list. Cash has played for the Blue Jays, Rays and Red Sox during his career. If he ever gets dealt to the Orioles, he'll be the first player with the modern American League East transaction "cycle."

Yankees call up Tomko, too

The Yankees also recalled RHP Brett Tomko (Florida Southern), 36, who is 95-99 with eight clubs during a major-league career that began in 1997.

Robinson collects first MLB hit

St. Louis Cardinals OF Shane Robinson (Jesuit), called up on Thursday from Triple-A Memphis, collected his first major-league hit on Sunday. It was an eighth-inning ground-rule double off Reds reliever Jared Burton. The Cardinals won 8-7 in 10 innings.

Eight total bases for Swauger

OF Chris Swauger (Jesuit), playing for Class A Quad Cities in the Cardinals' organization, went 3-for-4 with a triple, a homer and three RBIs in Sunday's 5-3 win against Cedar Rapids. Swauger is batting .307.

Kotchman is heating up

Atlanta Braves 1B Casey Kotchman (Seminole), acquired from the California Angels last season in the deal for Mark Texeira, went 3-for-5 with three RBIs in a 4-2 victory against the Philadelphia Phillies. It completed an outstanding week (10-for-26, his first two homers of the season, eight RBIs).

UF's Hilberth honored for academics

University of Florida senior softball catcher Kristina Hilberth (Dunedin) was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 3 team. Hilberth, a three-time SEC all-academic honoree, will earn her bachelor's degree in sports management this summer and plans on pursuing a master's degree at UF. Hilberth also won the Nike Scholarship Internship.

Birthday wishes

Happy birthday to Tampa Bay Buccaneers DT Chris Hovan, who turns 31 on Tuesday.

The Answer Man

Here's the answer to Friday's trivia question:

Coach Jeff Vardo's 1988 Plant Panthers captured the Class 4A state baseball championship, defeating Fort Pierce Westwood 12-2 in the final. That is the last Hillsborough County public high school to win a state baseball championship.

Monday trivia

Here's our daily sports trivia question, featuring a Tampa Bay/Florida spin. Try your luck by commenting below.

Who is the only winner of the 100-yard/100-meter dash at Florida's state high school track meet to become a first-round draft choice in the NFL?

Check for the answer in Tuesday's Wake-Up Call.

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