June 9, 2002|By Richard Burton, Sentinel Correspondent
LEESBURG -- Laura Floyd set school records in four individual events and as a member of the 4x400 relay team for Leesburg's track and field team this season.
"It's rare to find someone who loves track and field as much as she does,'' Yellow Jackets
coach Marshall Jungreis said. "She is such a hard worker, and a good
leader. Laura had no problem letting her teammates know if they were not
putting forth a good enough effort, all the while leading by example.''
Floyd, the Sentinel's girls track athlete of the year for Lake and
Sumter counties, established records in the 100-meter hurdles (15.30
seconds), 300-meter hurdles (45.19), triple jump (36 feet, 5 inches),
long jump (17 feet, 5 inches) and on the 4x400 relay team (4:13.43).
Floyd,
who did not compete in the hurdles until this season, was at her best
in the 300-meter hurdles. She placed seventh in the event at the Class 3A meet.
Also at state, Floyd took ninth in the 100-meter hurdles and 12th in the triple jump.
In
her junior year, Floyd set the school record in the 800 meters (2:21).
She welcomed a chance to try different events this season.
"Last
year, I was kind of burnt out going into track season after doing cross
country and weightlifting, plus soccer,'' said Floyd.
Floyd practiced at Leesburg with her team. Jungreis helped her with the sprint aspect of it and she then went to Clermont to work with coach Jimmy Brown to fine-tune the hurdling technique.
"I would get home almost every night at around 7:30, so it was a lot of hard work,'' she recalled.
Lees-McRae College in Banner Elks, N.C., offered Floyd a scholarship to play soccer and run track.
"They
were looking for well-rounded athletes,'' Floyd said. "I think I will
mostly be doing hurdles and triple jumps, and then with soccer they were
in need of a center-midfielder, which was what I play.
"I am really happy with it, and real happy that I get my number [13] when I go there.''
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