Miami Northwestern Wins 17th 3A Girls State Title

By Todd Grasley of DyeStat

The top track and field athletes in the state of Florida headed to Hodges Stadium at the University of North Florida for a chance to bring home a championship. This year’s rendition saw classes 1A and 3A compete Friday with 2A and 4A  going on Saturday, as the Florida state championship meet returned after 2020's cancellation.

Class 4A Highlights (Saturday Night) 

Niceville wasn’t able to pull off the team sweep and upset girls favorite St. Thomas Aquinas, but the Eagles came pretty close! Niceville won the boys title and came up three points short on the girls side (98-95). 

The Niceville girls went 2-3-4-5 in the pole vault to pick up 23 points and went 1-2 in the javelin with Makenzee Ely and Makenzie Hague. However, it wasn’t enough to overcome the sprint/hurdle/relay success of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Niceville's boys rode that same field event heavy game plan to a team title scoring 21 points in the javelin, winning the high jump, going 1-4-5 in the shot put, and 3-4-8 in the discus.  

The Evans High girls of Orlando opened the 4A state meet with a state-leading and top five national time of 9:14.24 in the 4x800 and the boys followed suit. Miami Columbus ran a US#6 time of 7:51.52 as all eight teams in the field were under eight minutes. 

In the girls hurdles, a pair of future NC A&T teammates, Eddiyah Frye of St. Thomas Aquinas and Amanda Kinloch of North Miami, squared off in highly anticipated matchups. It was Frye who picked up the win in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.53. Frye also won the long jump. Teammate Alexis Glasco took first in the 300-meter hurdles with Kinloch in second. Glasco’s 41.58 was slightly off her season-best and the state-leading mark of 40.28. 

Ethan Exilhome of Timber Creek won the 110-meter hurdles in 13.77 and was second in the 100 at 10.75 seconds. Junior Jassani Carter of Flanagan swept both the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash with marks of 11.98 and 24.10 respectively.  

The boys 400 final came down to the wire with Osceola's Markevus Jackson clocking 46.99.  

Haley Thornton of Palm Harbor University has been consistent all season in the distance events, and that consistency paid off with her first state title in the 1,600 meters. Thornton ran 4:50.27 and finished second in the 3,200 behind Penelope Sosa of Coral Park, who won with a time of 10:41.30.  

Meanwhile, much hoopla surrounded the boys distance events, highlighted by Rheinhardt Harrison of Nease, the state record holder in the 3,200 meters and one of the best runners in the nation. Harrison picked up his first of two titles on the night by winning the four-lap event in a new PR of 4:08.14 and then the 3,200 titles in 9:02.26. Nease finished second despite not running Harrison or Bradley Ball in the 4x800, still taking fifth. 

The girls 800 showcased some of Florida’s brightest mid-distance stars with Cha’iel Johnson of St. Thomas Aquinas, the daughter of former Cincinnati Bengals star Chad Johnson winning her first state championship in a time of 2:11.42 and leading six runners under 2:15. On the boys side, FSU signee Samuel Austin won in 1:51.06.  

Sanford Seminole's boys clocked the fastest 4x100 meter relay of the weekend with a time of 41.12. 

Class 3A Highlights (Friday Night)

Coach Carmen Jackson’s Miami Northwestern girls won their 17th team title. The Lady Bulls edged out South Florida rival Southridge by six points in a battle that came down to the final events.

The Dillard boys flexed their muscle in the relays, sweeping the 4x100, 4x400 and 4x800 as well as 10 points from Renard Jean in the 800-meter run to defeat Belen Jesuit and win the 3A team title. 

The meet's lone US#1 performance of the weekend came from Curtis Williams of Leon, who cleared rarified air with his long jump leap of 25-5.25 (7.75m). 

Alyssa Jones of Southridge brought the heat on the track and in the field. The junior won the long jump with a leap of 20-3.75 and followed that up with her second field event title of the afternoon in the high jump. Jones also won the 100 in a top 10 national time of 11.62 seconds and was runner-up in the 200 meters in 23.96.

Cydney Wright of Mailand won the 200 in the fastest time regardless of classification (23.68). Miami Northwestern's Aayliah Butler was the only runner to run sub 54 seconds in the 400-meter dash with her 53.89. 

Houston signee Aaron Bell of Terry Parker was equally electric. Bell swept the sprints in 10.31 and 20.72 seconds.   

The hurdle races featured the Dunbar duo of Lucheyona Weaver and Leonard Mustari, both destined for NC A&T this fall. Weaver cruised to the victory in the 100-meter hurdles with a wind-aided mark of 13.71 and then won the 300-meter hurdles in 43.11. Team champions Miami Northwestern picked up a major chunk of its 78 points in these two races. The Lady Bulls went 2-3-4-5 in the 100-meter hurdles, and 3-5-6 in the 300-meter hurdles. 

Mustari and Jerry Phillipe, two of the best prep hurdlers in the country, went head to head Friday night with Mustari picking up the win in both matchups. The Dunbar senior was also runner-up in the long jump just missing 25 feet by a quarter of an inch. 

In the distance events, Belen Jesuit tallied up a large majority of its 56 team points and a runner-up finish in the team standings. Javier Vento won the boys 1,600 in a time of 4:14.58 as the Wolverines placed four in the top six. Vento, a University of Florida signee, was also victorious in the 3,200 meters with a time of 9:02.61.   

On the girls side, it was the Caroline Wells show. The junior from Winter Springs anchored the Bears to the 4x800 relay title to start the day, with a 2:09 split. Two hours later she captured gold in the 1,600 meters in 4:51.62 and followed that up with yet another win in the 3,200 in 10:21.04. 

The American Heritage girls 4x100 relay time won the 3A title with a time of 46.25, which was just off the squad's season-best and US#6 time of 46.23. 

Isaac Travo of Land O’Lakes won both the shot put and discus titles with throws of 57-7 and 153-11, respectively. 

Jinah Mickens-Malik ended her high school career with her third 800-meter state title. 

Notable performances from 1A/2A: 

In the 1A girls distance events, Cambridge Christian picked up valuable team points. Mary Ellen Eudaly and seventh grader Eli Black went 1-2 in 4:52.93 and 5:01.75. Teammate Caroline Lehman won the 3,200 in 10:30.52. Lehman's mark was the second-fastest regardless of classification behind only Wells. 

Cara Salsberry of Somserset Academy and Meredith Adams of Calvary Christian finish first and second in the 2A girls discus with throws of 158-3 and 155-11, which were the furthest of any classification. 

Morgan King of North Broward Prep wins the 2A girls high jump with a clearance of 5-7.50.

Chandler Smith of Bishop Moore was an integral part of the Hornets team championship. Smith won the 100 in 10.50 and the 200-meter dash in 21.01. His 100-meter performance was the third-fastest of any classification while his 200 meters was the second-best. 

The 2A boys 1,600-meter run was one of the most competitive races all day. Senior Matthew Mule of Saint Andrews edged out the Satellite duo of Gabe Montague and Joe Western 4:11.31 to 4:11.88 to 4:12.78. Satellite finished second in the team standings behind Bishop Moore.

Team Champions 

Class 4A: Niceville boys 67 points, St. Thomas Aquinas 98 points

Class 3A: Dillard boys 80 points, Miami Northwestern 78 points

Class 2A: Bishop Moore boys 64 points, Bolles School girls 62 points

Class 1A: Mt. Dora Christian boys 45 points, Admiral Farragut girls 46 points

Para-Athlete: Frostproof boys 40 points, Bishop Moore girls 20 points