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East Lake's state hopes rest on Kaitlyn Kirby, Jennifer Lima

 
East Lake's Jennifer Lima has qualified for the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meters at state. (Andy Warrener, Special to the Times)
East Lake's Jennifer Lima has qualified for the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meters at state. (Andy Warrener, Special to the Times)
Published May 4, 2017

Six years ago, East Lake's girls track team finished last at the district meet.

Since then, the program has made remarkable strides under coach Britt Taylor, taking second at districts in 2012 and winning a title the following season.

District trophies are now commonplace. The Eagles have won five straight.

Region titles are old news, too. East Lake won its first last season.

The goals are bigger. The Eagles are trying for a top-five finish at state, which would be the highest in school history.

It will be difficult. East Lake graduated Cieanna Nichols, a consistent scorer in the sprints. What depth the Eagles did have was thinned out during an ultra-competitive region meet last week.

The bulking of the scoring will have to come from a pair of Division I-A bound seniors, Kaitlyn Kirby (USF) and Jennifer Lima (FSU).

That might be good enough considering how strong the two are in a number of events.

"The team in 2015 was the best overall," Taylor said. "Kirby and Lima allow us to compete better on the state stage because they are elite. They are by far the two best girl athletes we've had."

Kirby, a former soccer player, is a versatile athlete who can do well in just about any event in track. Her specialty in college will be the heptathlon.

In high school she concentrates on the hurdles and the field events. At last week's region meet, Kirby cleared 1.57 meters (5 feet, 1.75 inches) to win the high jump and hit a mark of 5.81 meters (19 feet, 0.75 inches) to take first in the long jump.

She also qualified for the state meet in the 100 meter hurdles by finishing second with a time of 14.32 seconds.

Kirby said her goal is to medal in all three events. Her best shot is in the long jump, where she is seeded third.

"We graduated a lot of talent the last two seasons, and I really felt like this season was my year," Kirby said. "I went all in on track and that included setting great examples for my teammates in practice and in school. I tried to lead by example this year."

Lima is a distance specialist who has been running in road races since she was in elementary school. She had to battle back from a broken ankle in soccer that sidelined her the early part of last season in track.

She was dominant in cross country, winning conference and district titles. In track, she focuses on the distance trifecta: the 800, 1,600 and 3,200.

At last week's region meet, Lima took second in all three events. She ran the 800 in 2:16.70, the 1,600 in 5:04.41 and the 3,200 in 11:14.88.

Lima's goal is to set personal records in all three races. She also wants to break five minutes in the 1,600 and lower her time enough in the 3,200 to qualify for the New Balance Outdoor Nationals this summer.

"Being a senior I've definitely had to step up," Lima said. "Kaitlyn and I have done a good job of bringing the distance and sprinting sides of our team together."