Hillsborough High’s Jordan Sherit and St. Petersburg Catholic’s Ryan Green advanced to the finals of the SPARQ National Championship.
The first competition of The Opening at the Nike World Headquarters pitted the 150 participants against each other. After a preliminary round on Friday morning, the top 10 scores advanced to the finals. The scores were comprised of four competition events – the vertical jump, the kneeling power ball toss, the agility shuttle and the 40-yard dash.
At the finals competition, which was broadcast live on ESPNU, Sherit won the power ball toss event with a throw of 46 feet, 2.5 feet less than the national record. Green’s best finish was in the 40-yard dash where he finished fourth with a time of 4.46 seconds.
Linebacker Mike Mitchell was crowned the overall national champion. The Texas Plano West High player set a new SPARQ record with his aggregate score of 154.47. Mitchell won the 40-yard dash event with a time of 4.39.
Green finished seventh overall and Sherit was ninth.
The 7-on-7 competition and lineman challenge, where an overall offensive lineman and defensive lineman champion will be crowned, begin on Saturday.