Star-Banner all-county girls track: Vanguard's Trinity Harris is field athlete of the year

Many track and field athletes find one or two events that they enjoy and are good at — and they stick to them. There are always a few athletes, however, who want to do it all. Vanguard’s Trinity Harris falls into that second category.

As a junior, Harris competed in four events: triple jump, long jump, 200 meters and 4x100 meter relay. Often praised by her coaches as being very athletic, coachable and naturally talented, it’s no surprise that she happens to excel at each event, too.

She won her events at multiple meets in the season, and over the championship circuit — districts, regionals and state — made it onto the podium in three out of the four. For her success, Harris is the Star-Banner Girls Field Athlete of the Year.

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“She’s very much a team player so she always maxes out the events that she does,” said Vanguard track and field coach Danny Gilman. “She’s very competitive. Not outwardly competitive, but you can tell inside of her, she really, really wants to do her best and help the team. I think she just strives for perfection, especially in the triple jump and the relays working with the other girls.”

She excels most in the triple jump. Not only did she win both the District 5-3A and the 3A Region 2 meets, but she went to state, placing 11th overall — the highest finish by a Marion County girls field athlete in any event (tied with Trinity Catholic’s Skylar Moore in the 1A javelin).

How Trinity Harris grew to love competing in triple jump

Harris came to love the triple jump at a young age. She was introduced to the sport by her coach at Oakcrest Elementary: Kimberley Wilkerson. One of the draws  for Harris was how unique triple jump.

“Usually, you don’t see a lot of people doing triple jump, (specifically) a lot of girls,” she said. “Like when I go to (local) track meets, there’s really not that many triple jumpers.”

By the time Harris reached middle school, Wilkerson followed and continued to coach Harris. Harris set the Belleview Middle School record for the event. She credits Wilkerson for her continued love of the event and success.

Wilkerson is "a hard coach but she’s not aggressive,” Harris said. “She’ll work with you until you get it and she won’t let you quit.”

While Harris may love the triple jump and it's her best event, it’s actually not her favorite. She can't get enough of competing in the 4x100 meter relay. She ran the relay with Ky’Dreona Means, Jahhi Clarke and Jakiya Watkins. The squad placed second at districts in a time of 50.10 and fourth at regionals in 49.72.

Harris enjoys running the fourth leg for her team.

“When I’m sitting there waiting for my team to come and we’re kind of behind, it makes me push even more to try to get us back up there,” she said.

Unfortunately, by the end of the season, Harris began dealing with shin splints, forcing her to drop running events in favor of her jumps. Her hope next season is to stay healthy, finish top five at state in the triple jump and work to get a chance to compete at the next level.

Gilman says he’s excited to see what next year brings and that by focusing on her technique, Harris can reach new heights.

“She’s such a natural athlete, she’s just a very good jumper in general,” Gilman said. “I think she has a lot of room to improve. She’s already winning local track meets and placing up high at bigger invitationals. So, the sky’s the limit with her.”

Ocala Star-Banner Girls All-County Track and Field Team

100- Jahhi Clarke, Vanguard: Ran 12.41 at 3A, Region 2 meet

100- Tyheerah Rushing, Forest: Ran 12.41 at East Coast Classic

200- Gracie Zacarias, Forest: Ran county-best 26.15 at 4A, Region 1 meet

400- Brianna Carey, West Port: 15th place at 4A meet in 58.79

800- Rhema Taylor, Vanguard: 18th place at 3A meet, best time of 2:23.04

1600- Pippa Worden, Vanguard: Seventh place at 3A meet in 5:03.08

3200- Pippa Worden, Vanguard: Ran county-best 11:09.78 at The Villages Inv.

100h- Jessilyn Garrett, West Port: MCIAC champ ran 17.32 at Buffalo Inv.

300h- Asia Nettles, Vanguard: 16th place at 3A meet in 50.25

4x100- Forest: MCIAC champs’ best time was 49.25

4x400- West Port: Ran county-best 4:08.89 at 4A, Region 1 meet

4x800- West Port: Ran county-best 9:58.85 at 4A, District 1 meet

High jump- Aniyah Hope, Vanguard: 12th place at 3A meet, best jump of 5-3.75

Pole vault- Coralei Deriso, Forest: County-best 7-10.05 at Buffalo Invitational

Long jump- Camile Lemoine, Lake Weir: Won District 5-3A meet in 17-4

Triple jump- Trinity Harris, Vanguard: 11th place at 3A meet in 35-9.50

Shot put- Hope Willis, Belleview: MCIAC champ threw 35-6.5 at The Villages Inv.

Discus- Michala Hanson, Vanguard: Threw 112-00 to win MCIAC

Javelin- Hope Willis, Belleview: County-best 107-3 to win MCIAC

Honorable mention: Zoe Blanford (Belleview), Christina Seecharan (Belleview). Tanaya Walthall (Belleview), Kiley Summerlin (Belleview), Kassandra Patton (Belleview), Allison Robb (Dunnellon), Tatianna Matthews (Dunnellon), Kiana Maxwell (Dunnellon), Emma Hatcher (Dunnellon), Destini Eleam (Forest), Ila Lorient (Forest), Alyssa Gill (Forest), Lei Johnson (Forest), Alora McEwan (Forest), Aniyah Roberts (Forest), Maya Fontenot (Forest), Mercades Johnson (Lake Weir), Whitney Gledden (Lake Weir), Rose Raymond (Lake Weir), Armoni Reynolds Manns (North Marion), Alexa Switzer (North Marion), Emma Sinkler (North Marion), Kinley Manning (North Marion), T’aniyah Wilkerson (North Marion), Keriona Jackson (North Marion), Zyon Jackson (North Marion), Waleshia Howard (North Marion), Dejonay Little (North Marion), Jeinalisse Alicea (St. John Lutheran), Dawn Obot (St. John Lutheran), Meliah Quinones (St. John Lutheran), Skylar Moore (Trinity Catholic), Zoe Zinnie (Trinity Catholic), Sophia Bonenclark (Trinity Catholic), Thya Tran (Vanguard), Brooklyn Fratello (Vanguard), Audrey Taylor (Vanguard), Kristen Moore (Vanguard), Abigail Taylor (Vanguard), Tyleah Ponder (Vanguard), Ariana Ramos (Vanguard), Jakiya Watkins (Vanguard), Alexandra Rudnianyn (Vanguard), Kaylie Saez (Vanguard), Gabrielle Evangelista (West Port), Karla Evangelista (West Port), Mia White (West Port), Alison Solomon (West Port), Cassandra White (West Port), Merwin Guillen (West Port), Isabelle Rhodes (West Port).

The girls all-county track and field team was compiled by John Patton with assistance from local coaches and results at FHSAA.com. Two athletes ran the same county-best time in the 100, so they shared that spot.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Meet the Star-Banner all-county girls track and field team