High track and field: Lake, Sumter schools put up solid results at state finals

Frank Jolley, Daily Commercial
·5 min read
The Montverde Academy boys and girls track-and-field teams celebrate following platform finishes at the FHSAA state championships recently at the University of Florida. The Eagles' boys team won the Class 2A team title and the girls team finished second.
The Montverde Academy boys and girls track-and-field teams celebrate following platform finishes at the FHSAA state championships recently at the University of Florida. The Eagles' boys team won the Class 2A team title and the girls team finished second.

By all accounts, the recent Florida High School Athletic Association Track and Field State Championships were a success for programs in Lake and Sumter counties.

In all, one area program — Montverde Academy — won the boys Class 2A team title and student-athletes from multiple schools won individual titles during last week’s championships in each of four classifications on the Percy Beard Track at the University of Florida.

Here’s a look at the top area performances.

Class 1A

Wildwood’s Kendall Brown recorded the lone first-place finish for Lake and Sumter counties when she took top honors in the girls triple jump. The junior topped everyone with a winning leap of 37 feet, 7.75 inches, topping her closest competitor by more than an inch.

Brown’s performance sparked the Wildcats to an eighth-place finish in the girls team competition with 28 points.

Wildwood’s Ja’Kyra Corbin wins the 100 meter dash during the Class 1A-Region 2 track and field championships on May 4 at Mount Dora Christian Academy. Corbin finished third at 100 meters recently at the FHSAA Class 1A state finals in Gainesville.
Wildwood’s Ja’Kyra Corbin wins the 100 meter dash during the Class 1A-Region 2 track and field championships on May 4 at Mount Dora Christian Academy. Corbin finished third at 100 meters recently at the FHSAA Class 1A state finals in Gainesville.

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Other top-five finishes for local girls included Wildwood’s Ja’Kyra Corbin, who was third at 100 meters with a time of 11.78 seconds. Corbin, only a freshman, finished .19 seconds behind the winner, Fort Meade’s Azaria Whitehurst.

Also, Wildwood freshman Emma Strickland posted a fifth-place finish in the javelin with a top throw of 112 feet.

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MDCA’s Reggie Virgil wins the long jump during the Class 1A-Region 2 track and field championships on May 4 at Mount Dora Christian Academy. Virgil was second in the event at the Class 1A state finals in Gainesville.
MDCA’s Reggie Virgil wins the long jump during the Class 1A-Region 2 track and field championships on May 4 at Mount Dora Christian Academy. Virgil was second in the event at the Class 1A state finals in Gainesville.

Among the boys, Mount Dora Christian Academy senior Reggie Virgil was runner-up in the long jump with a leap of 22-4.25. The Bulldogs senior was within 4.25 inches of Orlando First Academy’s Will Richards.

Virgil also earned points for MDCA with an eighth-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.56 seconds. He was fifth in the high jump with a best leap of 5-11.5.

Virgil’s teammate James Andrews finished sixth in the 110-meter hurdles, with a time of 15.36 seconds. Also in the triple jump, Wildwood freshman Vernell Brown III finished seventh with a leap of 42-9.

Wildwood also earned points with a fifth-place finish in the 4x400 relay. The Wildcats — Jesse Strickland, Omari Smith, Alan Best, and Jeremiah Colebrooks — recorded a time of 3 minutes, 29.34 seconds.

Among teams, MDCA finished 16th with 15.5 points and Wildwood was 34th with six points.

Class 2A

Montverde Academy shined in the boys and girls competition. The Eagles won the boys title, outlasting Jacksonville Bolles, 90 points to 66. In the girls, the teams’ swapped positions, with Bolles edging Montverde 68-to-62.

For the boys, Montverde’s Micah Larry led the way with three first-place finishes. Larry won at 100 meters with a time of 10.46 seconds, topping teammate Zyaire Nuriddin (10.52 seconds).

Larry also picked up wins at 200 meters (21.06) and in the long jump (25 feet, 11.5 inches).

Nuriddin won at 400 meters (46.89).

Montverde Academy got another win when Kyle Johnson took the triple jump with a distance of 47-6.25. Johnson won the event by more than two feet.

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Also in the triple jump Umatilla’s Kobe Diggs finished third with a distance of 44-9. Diggs also earned points with a seventh-place finish in the long jump.

Other top finishers among area boys included: Montverde Academy’s Jackson Parker (third place, 800 meters), Tavares’ Matthew Raucci (seventh, 800 meters), Montverde Academy’s Riley Novack (fourth, 1,600 meters and sixth, 3,200 meters), Montverde Academy’s Alex Georgiev (third, pole vault).

Montverde Academy also picked up a third-place finish in the 4x800 relay. Team members were: Parker, Novack, Cooper Saban and Anthony Picciano.

Umatilla’s boys team finished 24th with eight points and Tavares was 49th with two points.

In the girls competition, Montverde Academy junior Micayah Holland won at 100 meters and 200 meters. Eagles teammates Javony Valcourt won at 400 meters and sophomore Alivia Williams was third.

Montverde Academy sophomore Michelle Smith won the 300-meter hurdles and finished third in the 100-meter hurdles.

Also for Montverde Academy, senior Ashley Conklin was third in pole vault and Shaunece Miller was fifth in the high jump.

The Villages also recorded its share of stellar efforts. The Buffalo’s 4x800 relay team — Katherine Probola, Llia Byron, Ella Thomas and Whitney Clark — finished third and the 4x400 relay team — Katherine Probola, Llia Byron, Claribel Hernandez and Ella Thomas — finished fifth.

Among individuals, Marissa Sullivan was second in the javelin and junior teammate Caley Sosnowski was fifth.

The Villages finished 11th in the team competition with 22 points.

Class 3A

Lake Minneola’s Valentino Rudolph earned points in three events — two individual and one relay.

Rudolph finished second in the 100 meters with a time of 10.56 seconds. He backed that up with a fifth-place finish at 200 meters. Rudolph teamed up with Kyeaure Magliore, Ethon Cole and Kai Evans for an eighth-place finish in the 4x100 relay.

In the 4x800 relay, Lake Minneola’s team — Lash Bradshaw, Tavin Bradshaw, Emmanuel Carrillo and Quinn Niemann — picked up a fifth-place finish. Lake Minneola junior Tyshone Bolden was third in the high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 3.5 inches.

The Lake Minneola boys recorded a seventh-place finish with 24 points.

Among area girls, Lake Minneola’s Lily Henne recorded second-place finishes at 1,600 and 3,200 meters. Henne accounted for all of Lake Minneola’s team points (16), which was good for 11th place in the team competition.

This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: High school track: How Lake, Sumter teams fared in FHSAA championships