By Gary Curreri

Blaise Leone is looking forward to the city’s first ever Extreme Aquathon on Saturday, April 20.

Leone, a Parks and Recreation Manager II for the city of Deerfield Beach, has slated a run/swim/run event for boys and girls ages 7-12 at the Deerfield Beach Middle School Athletic Complex at 501 SE 6 Ave.

“We wanted to do something new and different,” said Leone. “We wanted to make it fun for the kids. I see a lot of those kinds of extreme races for adults, the mud races and those types of things, so I wanted to do something different than just a running race. To increase the fun factor, we added obstacles to the first run portion of this race.”

“They will go through a series of tires and a series of foam obstacles before maneuvering through a low crawl like a cargo net,” Leone said. “They will go about 100 yards and go through a transition area, which is a 50-yard swim in the pool and, when they come back out, there will be about a ½-mile run through one of our baseball fields and then a lap around the track.”

The 7-9 age group will start at 8 a.m., while the 10- 12 age group will start at 9 a.m. The course will be the same for both age groups.

Leone said he would consider adding a cycling component once they get the race management down and doing a more extreme event for kids and also putting together an event for adults.

There will be Olympic-style medals for The top 3 places for both male and female participants in each age group. All participants also get a T-shirt, backpack and lunch provided by Muscle Maker Grill.

“They don’t have to be elite athletes,” Leone said. “It is a relatively short course that anyone can come and have fun.”

The registration fee is $23 and the registration is limited to the first 100 participants. Registration can be done in advance at the Middle School Athletic Complex office or online at www.deerfieldbeach.com. They will also accept registration on the day of the event.

For more information, contact the athletic office at 954- 480-4426.

Randall named coach of the year

Blanche Ely’s Melvin Randall was recently named the state’s overall boys basketball Dairy Farmers Coach of the Year.

Randall guided the Tigers to a 27-2 record and their second consecutive state championship. It was also Blanche Ely’s third state title during his tenure at the school as it also won the 6A title in 2007. Blanche Ely finished the season ranked No. 8 in the final MaxPreps XCellent 25.

Randall finished ahead of runner-up Neal Goldman of Tampa Jesuit, the Class 5A Coach of the Year who led his Tigers to a 31-1 record and the program’s first state title since 1984.

The Tigers concluded its campaign this season with a heartbreaking 66-65 overtime loss to Dallas Texas’ Prime Prep in the quarterfinals of the National High School Invitational, a postseason tournament that featured some of the best high school basketball teams in the nation.

Ely, which was making its second appearance in as many years at the tournament, was led by Kahlil Thomas’ team high 20 points and nine rebounds, Lance Tejada (12 points) and Therrell Gossier (11 points, 10 rebounds). Prime Prep’s Jordan Mickey had a game-high 28 points for the Spartans (37-1).