Lakewood Ranch state track champions develop pure gold relationship

The grandstands at IMG Academy had been cleared, the starting blocks were put away and the point totals were tallied for the Florida High School Athletic Association State Track and Field Championships.

When two of Lakewood Ranch High School’s brightest track and field stars left, they took with them four gold medals, two silvers and a bronze.

They also left with something else.

Each other.

Mustang seniors John Rivera and Sophia Falco became close during their sophomore year, bonding over their sport. Even so, they continued to be just friends until the weekend before the 2016 track state championships.

After going to the prom together as friends, Rivera asked Falco out two evenings later, after having dinner with Falco and her mother, Jeanne Falco.

“It took a while,” Sophia Falco said, smiling at Rivera. “It didn’t matter, but it was a relief, in a sense. I was happy.”

After the pair became official, their coach, Mark Napier, came up to them at practice and told them he thought the relationship made perfect sense. They agreed, and still do.

“We have the same goals,” Rivera said. “We are the same sort of person, basically. I feel happy with it and everything. It’s perfect. We enjoy it. Doing the same sport makes it more fun. I always hear her on the backstretch whenever I’m running my 800 (meters) or my mile. She is always there supporting me. It helps.”

Their support of each other was evident at the 2017 state championships. Rivera and Napier watched Falco win the Class 4A girls long jump May 5. Falco came to them between jumps, getting advice from Napier and confidence from her boyfriend. She won the event, jumping 6 meters. Later that day, after Rivera won the Class 4A boys 800-meter race in 1:53.16, he and Falco huddled against a wall near the medal stand, away from the rest of the world.

On the second day of the championships, Falco took home the Class 4A girls triple jump gold medal, springing herself 13 meters. She would later finish second in the Class 4A girls 100-meter race (11.83 seconds) and third in the Class 4A girls 200-meter race (24.26 seconds).

Rivera anchored Lakewood Ranch’s boys 4x800 team to a decisive victory. The team finished in 7:53.45, not its fastest time of the season, but perhaps its most impressive. The Mustangs were 12.07 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Christopher Columbus High.

Mustangs 4x800 teammate Andrew Dean called Rivera a “cheat code,” and said his, Brice Easton’s and Johnny Reid’s goal is to stay in good position for him to dominate. They did more than that at the championships. Dean started the race by getting the Mustangs in first place. Easton fell behind briefly before regaining control. Reid held steady, and handed Rivera the baton with a lead. At that point, the race was all but finished.

“At practice throughout the weeks, we had the state championships on our mind the entire time,” Rivera said. “We wanted the gold medal. We had the team to do it. It’s truly shown throughout this year. I had a boatload of confidence in everyone. I trusted them and they trusted me. Together as one, it turned out to be something great.”

Rivera also finished second in the Class 4A boys 1600-meter race (4:22.64). Rivera ran in the middle of a crowded pack for most of the race, with Freedom’s Timothy Doyle in front. Rivera made a late, strong charge but ultimately had fallen too far behind Doyle to catch him.

Also of note at the championships, The Out-of-Door Academy eighth-grader Saraiah Walkes cemented her reputation as a sprinting sensation. She won the Class 1A girls 100- (12.35 seconds), 200- (25.20) and 400- (55.57) meter races.

“I’m very happy that God blessed me enough to be healthy,” Walkes said. 

Walkes couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head when the awards announcer pronounced both her name and her school wrong. The three gold medals around her neck helped. Besides, he and everyone else will know her name soon enough. Her story is just beginning.