JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It was an excellent Thursday for area athletes as the high school state track and field meet reached the midway point at UNF’s Hodges Stadium.
Area athletes brought home 10 championships, including a pair of sprinting wins by Palatka’s Kedric Wright Jr. and team titles from the Raines boys and Bolles girls on a banner afternoon at the Class 2A meet.
For the Vikings, it put an exclamation point on a year that also included a football state championship last December. Raines put a stamp on the second day of the state meet with a win in the 3200 relay to mark an unbelievable day for area athletes.
The Vikings boys won their fourth team state championship and first since 1998, using its sprinting depth for a major win for head coach Steven Bellamy. Raines had 83 points, well in front of runners-up Calvary Christian and Palatka (34). The 49-point margin of victory was the second widest in state history, trailing only Shanks’ 76-point gap over Lecanto in 1995. The Vikings became the first Gateway Conference program to win a team boys state title since Wolfson in 2005.
For Raines, depth was key for their team title. Owen Kaye won state in the 200 and took fourth in the 100. Brown was runner-up in the 100 and Iason Williams was third in the 400 hurdles. The 400-relay team was second. And the 3200 relay team, which set a school record last month in the event, closed things down with a time of 3 minutes, 12.82 seconds to top Jackson in the final event of the night.
Palatka’s Wright had an elite afternoon. He pulled off a championship double, winning the 400 by more than a second (46.07), and then edging Raines’ Kelvin Brown Jr. by .02 to win the 100. Wright clocked a 10.60 to nip Brown (10.62).
For the girls, Bolles and Bishop Kenny had stellar days. Sienna Starks of Bolles won the pole vault and Evie Freeman won the long jump. The Bulldogs were runner-up to Bishop Kenny in the 3200 relay.
Terrell McCoy finished second in the shot put and fourth in the discus for a high points afternoon. Sofie Stam was runner-up in the 1600. It was Stam’s runner-up finish in the 3200 that helped give Bolles enough for a tie for the team title against Montverde. The Eagles forced the tie by winning the 3200 relay on the final event of the night. Both Bolles and Montverde had 84 points.
Episcopal’s Stella Krueger gave the Eagles a state champ with a win in the 3200. Jackson’s Danielle Hagans shined, going runner-up in the 400 and third in the 100.
For the Crusaders, Madeleine Wilkey won the high jump and the 3200-relay team beat rival Bolles by nearly 7 seconds for the title. Suwannee’s Ryleigh Hermanson brought home the state title in the 1600 run.
Class 2A state track and field meet
Girls
Team scores: T1. Bolles, 84; 5. Jackson, 32; 6. Bishop Kenny, 30; 8. Episcopal, 25; 9. Palatka, 23; 17. Suwannee, 12; T31. Paxon, 5; T31. Union County, 5; T38. Interlachen, 4; T44. Fernandina Beach, 2; T52. Ribault, 1.
Individual results (locals finishing in top six shown)
Pole vault: 1. Sienna Starks (Bolles), 11-9.75.
High jump: 1. Madeleine Wilkey (Bishop Kenny), 5-1.75; 3. Kendall Wilkinson (Palatka), 5-1.75; 4. Tori Sessions (Bolles), 5-1.75.
Long jump: 1. Evie Freeman (Bolles), 20-2.5; 5. Mya Shivers (Interlachen), 17-11.75.
Shot put: 2. Terrell McCoy (Bolles), 44-2.75; 3. Camilla Clarke (Bolles), 40-6.75.
Triple jump: 3. Destiny Williams (Palatka), 37-10.5; 5. Wynter Green (Bolles), 37-6.75.
Discus: 4. Terrell McCoy (Bolles), 133-1; 5. Camilla Clarke (Bolles), 129-1.
4x800 relay: 1. Bishop Kenny, 9:14.30; 2. Bolles, 9:21.17; 5. Episcopal, 9:38.35.
110 hurdles: 5. Nijah Garnes (Jackson), 15.28.
100: 3. Danielle Hagans (Jackson), 11.81; 6. Amia Bethea (Union County), 11.97.
1600: 1. Ryleigh Hermanson (Suwannee), 5:01; 2. Sofie Stam (Bolles), 5:04.08; 3. Kate Brice (Episcopal), 5:07.26; 4. Whitney Morgan (Episcopal), 5:08.14; 6. Charlotte Joseph (Bolles), 5:12.73.
400: 2. Danielle Hagans (Jackson), 53.28.
400 hurdles: 3. Nijah Garnes (Jackson), 1:00.13; 4. Jahzara Fields (Palatka), 1:00.88.
800: 5. Charlotte Joseph (Bolles), 2:17.37.
3200: 1. Stella Krueger (Episcopal), 10:54.29; 2. Sofie Stam (Bolles), 10:57.60; 4. Alexis Wilson (Bishop Kenny), 11:07.19; 5. Jillian Jakab (Bishop Kenny), 11:07.78; Camila Giles (Bishop Kenny), 11:08.80.
3200 relay: 2. Jackson, 3:46.39; 4. Paxon, 3:57.59; 6. Palatka, 3:58.37.
Boys
Local team scores
1. Raines, 83; T2. Palatka, 34; T4. Jackson, 26; T16. Bolles, 12; T42. Bishop Kenny, 5; T42. Episcopal, 5; T42. Stanton, 5; T50. Baldwin, 4; T54. Wolfson, 3; T59. Suwannee, 2
Individual results (locals finishing in top six shown)
Long jump: 2. Hamire Walker (Raines), 22-5.25; 5. Dequan Jackson (Palatka), 21-1.25.
High jump: 6. Raheim Roberts (Raines), 6-1.5.
Triple jump: 3. Sheldon Brown (Palatka), 45-6.5; 5. Raheim Roberts (Raines), 45-1.75.
Javelin: 6. John Quinn (Wolfson), 156-10.
4x800 relay: 2. Jackson, 7:52.52; 4. Bishop Kenny, 7:56.95.
Pole vault: 5. Thomas Coppedge (Episcopal), 13-9.25.
100: 1. Kedric Wright Jr. (Palatka), 10.60; 2. Kelvin Brown Jr. (Raines), 10.62; 4. Owen Kaye (Raines), 10.75.
4x100 relay: 2. Raines, 40.85.
400: 1. Kedric Wright Jr. (Palatka), 46.07; 3. Aariz Rahman (Stanton), 47.61; 6. Jonathan Downer-Barrett (Raines), 48.37.
400 hurdles: 3. Iason Williams (Raines), 54.13; 5. Kaori Arnold (Baldwin), 54.82.
800: 4. Brandon Webb (Jackson), 1:54,97; 5. Christian Humphrey (Jackson),1:55.88; 6. Bryson Lewis (Raines), 1:55.93.
200: 1. Owen Kaye (Raines), 20.87.
3200: 2. Aaron Ches (Bolles), 9:35.02.
3200 relay: 1. Raines, 3:12.82; 2. Jackson, 3:13.42.