- April 19, 2024
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It wasn’t how FPC track-and-field coach Dave Halliday envisioned it, but Saturday’s Class 4A state finals were still memorable for Flagler Palm Coast.
Because of the wet and windy conditions, the Florida High School Athletics Association changed the event to a heat vs. time finals and canceled all preliminaries.
When the day was over, and the rain began to fall harder, FPC finished as the 13th-ranked team in Class 4A.
“It was definitely the craziest state meet I’ve been to in 19 years of coaching,” Halliday said Monday.
Halliday is also the track-and-field chairman for Florida
FPC’s best finish was the 4x400-meter relay team, which finished second in the state, crossing the line in 3:19.81 minutes, just one second behind state champion Dr. Phillips.
Turrel Mathews filled in for Kadeem Williams to lead off the relay. Eddie Mutungu ran the second leg and was in a dogfight for fourth place. Eric Mejias took the baton for the third leg and catapulted FPC into first place heading into the final leg. Running the anchor Andrew Folk was passed with about 150 yards to go, though the team’s performance was good enough to give FPC its top finish of the weekend.
Kadeem Williams, who won the 300-meter hurdles at the region, was bothered by a lingering hamstring injury that forced him to withdraw from the 4x800 and 4x400 relays and focus solely on the hurdles.
But in Williams’ lone race, the hamstring injury persisted, and Williams finished 12th in the state, crossing in 40.84 seconds.
Colton Boyd finished the pole vault at 13 feet, securing a fifth-place finish. Boyd, a junior, will be the top returning pole vaulter next season.
The 4x800-meter relay team also had a new face, as Folk ran instead of Williams. The team finished in fourth despite missing Williams, the team’s fastest runner.
Losing Williams from both relays definitely hurt, Halliday said. But he was still proud of his team.
“We don’t have any superstars, just tough, gritty kids that have worked hard and compete hard,” Halliday said. “They all competed like warriors on Saturday. It was a series of unexpected events that those boys rose to each challenge.”
Oh, and Folk gave his 4x800-meter relay medal to Williams.
“It wasn’t in the cards for us Saturday, but the boys represented FPC with pride,” Halliday said.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
4x400-meter relay(Turrel Mathews, Eddie Mutungu, Eric Mejias, Andrew Folk): second, 3:19.81 minutes
4x800-meter relay (Eric Mejias, Kadeem Wynn, Brad Walbert, Andrew Folk): fourth, 8:11.82 minutes
Pole vault: Colton Boyd, fifth, 13 feet
300-meter hurdles: Kadeem Williams, 12th, 40.84 seconds
