Spann second in county finals

Posted on 23 June 2011 by LeslieM

By Gary Curreri

Pompano Beach Middle School 8th grader Denise Spann (left) finishes second in both the 400-meter and 200-meter dashes at the Broward County Middle School Track and Field Championships at Cooper City High School recently. Photo by Gary Curreri

Denise Spann took the loss hard in the Broward County Middle School Track and Field Championships.

The Pompano Middle School 8th grader hoped to win the title in the girls’ 400-meter dash after placing second last year. She was the top seed in the event having qualified with a time of 59 seconds flat.

The Margate 14-year-old gave it her all; however, rival Shankeise Shivers, from William Dandy Middle School, was a little better and handed Spann her first defeat of the season in the event. Shivers, also an 8th grader, clocked a 57.30, while Spann was right behind at 58.87. It was one second off her career best AAU time of 57.77.

“I was just trying to come in and do my best, and my great opponent, Shankeise, had the better race today,” Spann said. “It is good to get the competition here because during the year you are used to winning a lot. This will make you work harder for it.”

Following the race, she dropped to her knees and sobbed and then had to prepare for her second race of the night – the 200-meter dash. Spann said she’s been running track since she was 9.

“It is fun when you win and you have to have a lot of dedication for the sport,” said Spann, who runs every day of the week with meets on the weekend. “Sometimes, you are going to lose. You learn how to be humble and not be cocky going into a race. If you go in cocky, you are not going to win.”

Spann placed second in the girls’ 400-meter dash with her second best time of the year at 58.87. She was third in the girls’ 200-meter dash (26.70) and was also a member of the fifth place 4×400 relay that clocked a time of 4:39.31.

Spann’s best finish in AAU track came at last year’s nationals for 13-year-olds when she placed seventh overall in the 800 as she clocked 2:21.69.

“On a scale from 1-10, it’s a 10 because I don’t do anything else, and I am really good at it,” Spann said. “I want to go to at least the Olympics.”

Deerfield Beach Middle School’s Cadeebra Calecote took fifth in the girls’ 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.98, and teammate Ariyan Herring was seventh in the girls’ 100-meter dash as she clocked a 13.61.

Deerfield Beach Middle School’s Luis Ayala won the boys shot-put championship with a toss of 45-03.00, while teammate Malik Flemming placed third in the boys 100-meter dash with a clocking of 11.75.

 

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