Thursday’s award competes the run.
Fresh off leading his team to a Class 4A state championship, Spruce Creek’s Stephon Gallon was announced as the Florida Dairy Farmers’ Girls Track Coach of the Year on June 5. After placing second at districts and regionals, Gallon’s Hawks vaulted to first place at the final meet, becoming the first Volusia-Flagler girls squad to win a track and field state title since 1987.
It was also the first state championship in program history.
“In 2000, I arrived,” Gallon said. “It was supposed to be for one year. I was just a volunteer for that one year. And then, I was asked to come back and never left. In the 26th year, we win the state championship. That’s pretty sweet.”
The Hawks racked up 49.5 points at the state meet. St. Thomas Aquinas finished second with 43. Senior Mackenzie Roy added an individual crown in the 1,600-meter run.
During the regular season, Spruce Creek also defended its Five Star Conference championship.
“Just do what you’ve been doing, the training that the kids go through,” Gallon said of how his club flipped the runner-up finishes at districts and regionals into a state trophy. “They’re dedicated, and that makes a big difference. That showed — the conditioning part of it with the distance runners. Athletes who were not supposed to score did score …
“We did really, really well throughout, and they’ve been doing that all season.”
Gallon also spearheads the Hawks’ cross country program.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Spruce Creek’s Stephon Gallon named Florida Dairy Farmers Girls Track Coach of the Year
Reporting by Chris Vinel, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
