- April 26, 2024
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If everything falls into place for Flagler Palm Coast at the Class 4A boys track and field championships on May 20, the Bulldogs could win their third state championship.
FPC won state titles in 2007 and 2009 and finished third in 2008 and second in 2019.
“I would say our team is just as talented as we were in 2019,” FPC coach Dave Halliday said.
The track championships will be held on four consecutive days, May 17-20, at the University of North Florida.
Based on regional times, Halliday and his coaches project the Bulldogs to finish in a three-way tie for second place with Sanford Seminole and Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas — 14 points behind three-time state champ Niceville. But track meets are not decided on paper.
“We could end up sixth or seventh or win the whole thing,” Halliday said.
The Bulldogs finished second with 68 points behind Niceville (97.5 points) at the Region 1-4A meet on May 5. To knock the Eagles off their perch, the Bulldogs will have to knock off a bunch of personal records.
Many of them did that at region. They’ll try to do it again at state. Ashton Bracewell (discus) and Gerod Tolbert (long jump) won district titles. Bracewell, a first-year discus thrower, broke his PR by 5 feet, launching the disc 162 feet, 6 inches.
“He’s only two to three feet away from the school record, which could be nothing in discus,” Halliday said. “He was the best discus thrower of all four regions. But you just have to do it on the day.”
Tolbert, who placed fourth in triple jump at state last year, did not qualify in that event, but he did win long jump at region with a PR of 22 feet, 8.5 inches. Robert Harris finished third with a PR of 22 feet, 0.75 inches.
Zach Spooner ran a PR of 9:15.40 to finish second in the 3,200, two seconds behind Class 4A top-ranked Matt Ryan of Nease.
The 4x400 (Isaiah Joseph, D.J. Murray, Brandon Kalasnik and D.Z. Steward) and 4x800 (Kamron Davis, Joseph, Peyton Woodward and Kalasnik) relays both placed second.
Three FPC shot putters qualified with at-large bids, led by sophomore Colby Cronk (fifth), who threw a PR of 51 feet, 6.5 inches.
Mainland’s boys team won Region 2-3A with 96 points. Lake Minneola and Ocala Vanguard tied for second with 60 points.
The Bucs won three events and finished second in two others. Jonathan Williams (110 hurdles), Cameron Boatright (400 meters) and the 4x400 relay (Seth Sawyer, Logan Camara, Boatright and Drayden Wood) all took home gold medals.
Boatright ran a PR in the 400 of 47.84 seconds.
The 4x800 relay (Sawyer, Khalil Wilmore, Jack Mathis and Camara) finished second. High jumper Zavier Mincey also placed second.
Seabreeze’s girls placed fifth at Region 2-3A. Mackenzie Roy broke her own school record with a 5:05.02 to win the 1,600.
The Sandcrabs placed second in the 4x800 with Nickole Dane, Kirsten Glaenzer, Arianna Roy and Mackenzie Roy running 9:46.44.
On the boys’ side, Seabreeze’s Zeli Hayworth and Chandler Mitzo placed 1-2 in javelin with Hayworth throwing a PR 177 feet, 4 inches. Mitzo threw 173 feet, 5 inches. Klellan Lubbe ran a PR of 1:58.08 in the 800 to finish second.
At the Region 1-3A meet, Matanzas’ girls broke a couple of school records. Sierra Howard, Jordan Youngman, Luise Sommer and Evanne Miller broke the school mark in the 4x400 with a 4:01.66 to place second. Youngman broke the school mark in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:05.23.
At the Region 2-1A meet, a couple of Father Lopez throwers were runners-up. Angelina Stable was second in pole vault at 9 feet, 4.25 inches. Hailey Bruce was second in Javelin with a throw of 127 feet, 7 inches.
The Class 1A state meet will be on Thursday, May 18, while the 3A meet will be Friday, May 19.
BULLDOGS AT LAKE MARY
FPC's softball team will travel to Lake Mary on Thursday, May 11, for a regional quarterfinal game. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The fifth-seeded Bulldogs finished the season with a 13-4 record. It was first winning season since they went 14-12 in 2017, which was also the last time they reached the playoffs.
Fourth-seeded Lake Mary enters the playoffs with a 12-13 record, but the Rams had played a tough schedule.
The Bulldogs' top hitters are senior Bailey Holmes (.556, 27 runs), Aun'yale Howard (.545, 25 runs).
The quarterfinal winner will travel to top-seeded Lake Brantley or play host to No. 8 Winter Park in a regional semifinal on Tuesday, May 16.
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