Mainland boys, Seabreeze girls win district track

Another district track and field meet, another trophy for the Mainland boys team.

The Mainland boys and the Seabreeze girls both took home championship trophies April 28 at the District 6-3A track meet at Orlando East River.

The Buccaneer boys have won six district titles since 2015, including four in a row from 2015 to 2018. They took home the runner-up trophy in 2019. There was no meet in 2020, and they have now won two more titles in a row in 2021 and 2022.

"We've had a pretty good run," said Mainland coach Terry Anthony.

The Mainland boys rolled up 168 points, with Seabreeze finishing second with 102 points. The Seabreeze girls tallied 134 points. Mainland finished fifth on the girls' side with 74 points.

Mainland sprinter Nate Davis won the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Jonathan Williams won both hurdles events for the Bucs. Nick Antoine and Zavier Mincey took first and second in the high jump. Mincey won both the long jump and the triple jump. And Isaiah Morrison won the shot put.

The Bucs also finished first in the boys 4x100 and the 4x400 relays. Their 4x100 time of 41.8 seconds ranks seventh in the state in Class 3A. Davis, meanwhile, ranks ninth in the 100 with a best time of 10.66 seconds. He ran 11.11 at district, while teammate Jordan Porter was third with an 11.18.

Porter, who also qualified for region in the 400 with a fourth-place finish, anchors both the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams.

"Jordan Porter is the key to all our relays," Anthony said. "We haven't had a finisher like him since Adrian Killins."

Killins, who was on NFL rosters in 2020 and 2021, helped the Bucs' 4x100 relay set the school record with a 41.57 in 2015.

The Bucs were 20 meters down in the 4x400 when Porter got the baton, Anthony said, and the senior wound up winning the event for Mainland by four-tenths of a second.

The Seabreeze girls won three events, including championships by Ella Chandler in the 800 meters and the 4x800 relay team of Chandler, Nickole Dane, Ariana Roy and Mackenzie Roy.

Chandler is ranked fifth in the state in the 800 in Class 3A, but with No. 3 Caroline Wells of Winter Springs not running that event at district, the Seabreeze senior gets bumped up to No. 4 in the rankings among potential competitors.

"(The Seabreeze girls 4x800 relay runners) were very upset that a girl dropped the baton right in front of them, and they had to go around her and they didn't get the (school) record. They're looking to break it at region." 

JENNA MEYERS-SINETT, Seabreeze track coach

The Sandcrabs' 4x800 team is ranked third in the state in 3A with a time of 9:42.85, which is just six-100ths of a second off the school record, Seabreeze coach Jenna Meyers-Sinett said.

"They were very upset that a girl dropped the baton right in front of them, and they had to go around her and they didn't get the record," Meyers-Sinett said. "They're looking to break it at region." 

Chandler, the fastest 800 runner on the squad, leads off the relay because she is faster when she has competition directly next to her, Meyers-Sinett said.

Seabreeze's Jayla Clowers-Jones won the 300 hurdles with a personal-record time of 49.56 seconds.

Father Lopez won both the girls and boys titles at the District 6-1A meet April 28 at Ocala Trinity Catholic. 

Hailey Bruce won the girls javelin with a school-record throw of 103 feet, eight inches, which ranks 11th in the state in Class 1A.

Angelina Stabile won the pole vault with the 25th-best vault in 1A at 7 feet, 10.75 inches. Caroline Theriault won the 100 and 300 hurdles. Jonah Gnochetti won the 300 hurdles and the triple jump.

Peter Hopfe of First Baptist Christian Academy in Bunnell won the 3,200-meter run with a time of 10:37.12.

Hopfe has the 29th best time in 1A with a 10:21.41 at the Embry-Riddle Spikes Classic.