- May 16, 2024
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Mainland's Marquis "Quiso" McCants jumps to new heights at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet. He brought home a first in the long jump and triple jump along with a second in the 110 meter hurdles. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze freshman Taevon Orr jumps to a fourth at the FHSAA District 6-3A meet at East River High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland track and field captain Emmanuel Y'Israel takes third place on his fourth attempt in the long jump at the FHSAA District 6-3A meet. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland track and field athletes pray together before they start the girls long jump at the FHSAA District 6-3A meet at East River High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze senior Landon Smith flies during the boys long jump at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet at East River High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland senior Demond Noelien throws the shot put at the FHSAA Distict 6-3A track and field meet at East River High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze senior Charlotte Low throws the discus in the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet at East River High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze track and field athletes Jasmine Miller (left), Allison Low (center) and Arianna Tilley (right) watch their teammates throw the discus at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland discus throwers Sydney Noelien (left), Aubri Beckton (center) and Janiyah Giddens (right) at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland track and field athlete Aubri Beckton launches the discus at the FHSAA District 6-3A meet at East River High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland girls place third in the 4x800 relay at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland's Jack Mathis passes to Khalil Wilmore in the 4x800 relay at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland's Antonio Wilson Jr. takes third in the discus at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet held at East River High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Buccaneer Demond "D.J." Noelien takes home second in discus at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet. Photo by Michele Meyers
A few of Mainland's track and field athletes seek shade near the throwing field during the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet held at East River High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze Sandcrab Isabella Fontanelli throws the shot put at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet. She placed 14th in the event, fifth in javelin and eighth in shot put. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland's Diaria Franklin, Brielle Jackson and Janiyah Giddens stop to watch the hurdlers at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet held at East River High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze senior Colin Kiel places eighth in the triple jump at the FHSAA District 3A-6 track and field meet held at East River High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Sandcrab Allison Low finishes tied for fifth with Winter Springs in the high jump at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet. Photo by Michele Meyers
Buccaneer Sydney Noelien takes home third in shot put at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet. Photo by Michele Meyers
Four Seabreeze athletes place in the girls triple jump at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet--Emma Uneda, second; Anastasia Von Bretzel, fifth; Annabella Torres, seventh and Naomi Neesmith, eighth. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland's Amyah Watlington (left) takes first with Seabreeze freshman Lauren Lancing (third from left) a close second in the girls 100 meter hurdles at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet. Photo by Michele Meyers
Buccaneer Emmanuel Yisrael steamrolls his way to first in the boys 110 meter hurdles at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet held at East River High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland athlete Emmanuel Yisrael places first in both the 110 meter and 400 meter hurdles at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland sophomore Gabrielle Lett sprints to second in the 100 meter dash at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze athlete Landon Smith competes in the boys 100 meter dash at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet held at East River High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland's Ezaiah Shine (second from right) finishes second to Edgewater's Tyson Carter while Mainland sophomore Jontrell Edwards (left) is eighth in the 100 meter dash at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze sprinter Kalease Heggins (right) passes the baton to Naomi Neesmith in the girls 4x100 relay at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet held at East River High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland's Zion Noralus leaps to third place in the boys high jump at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet held at East River High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Buccaneer Nathan Kirk places fourth in the boys high jump at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet held at East River High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland's Zion Noralus laughs after he clears the bar at 6' 1.5" in the boys high jump event at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet held at East River High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland's Blake Irwin throws for 139' 9" and a third place finish at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet. Photo by Michele Meyers
East River High School throwers Eva Guerrier and Amaya Houston hangout at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet. Photo by Michele Meyers
Suhaib Mansour (3), Kajuan Curry (4), Abaraham Osorio (5) and Andrew Prowell (6) vie for position at the front of the pack in the 800 meter run at the FHSAA District 6-3A. Curry went sub two minutes for the win. Photo by Michele Meyers
FHSAA Dristrict 6-3A 4x400 relay champs (left to right) - Drayden Wood, Ezaiah Shine, Kajuan Curry and Khalil Wilmore. Photo by Michele Meyers
FHSAA Dristrict 6-3A girls 4x400 relay champs (left to right) - Aquila Rivers, Taliyah Nixon, Yasmin Polk and Kiera Williams. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze senior Chandler Mitzo won the district javelin title on April 26 and followed that up with a regional championship. File photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze sophomore Logan Smith launches the javelin for a sixth place finish at the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field meet held at East River High School. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland track and field coach Ebony Harris (left), coach Vern Conaway (center, back) and head coach Terrence Anthony (right) pose with their boys' team--winners of the FHSAA District 6-3A Championship. Photo by Michele Meyers
Kajuan Curry (left) and Khalil Wilmore get some video in after winning the 4x400 relay with teammates Ezaiah Shine and Drayden Wood. The Mainland boys team are the FHSAA District 6-3A track and field champions. Photo by Michele Meyers
For the fourth consecutive year, the Mainland boys track and field team ran away with the District 6-3A championship on April 26 at East River High School.
Mainland's girls team placed third for its best finish of the season, trailing runner-up Winter Springs by a mere 2.5 points. Seabreeze girls placed fifth and the boys finished ninth.
“Everybody was behind everybody today,” Mainland head coach Terrence Anthony said. “It was phenomenal. It was a great team effort today. We always say work hard, get better and have fun. They had so much fun today because all they did was get better.”
Six Buccaneers were crowned district champs in multiple events with two bringing in 34 points each — senior Ezaiah Shine and junior Kiera Williams. Shine snagged first in the boys 200-meter dash in 22.10 seconds and the 4x400 relay with teammates Kajuan Curry, Khalil Wilmore and Drayden Wood in a blistering 3:23.60 venue record.
Shine, a Tulane University football signee, also finished second in the 100-meter dash and third in the 4x100 relay with Jontrell Edwards, Corey Hill and Matthew Brown. Shine said he attributes his talent on the track and football field to his dad Eddie Shine and his brother. He said his dad knew his full potential and pushed him to his limits. It worked.
“It’s been a great week for me,” Shine said. “Me and my teammates have been pushing each other every day and working hard. We see how it pays off. I’m proud about it. I’m ready to go to states and get this chip. It will feel good to win two state championships my senior year — one for football and one for track. If I do that, I will feel accomplished.”
Williams led the Buccaneer girls in points and within striking distance of second place. She ran in four events, setting a personal record in each. Williams cracked the one-minute barrier in the 400 with a 58.43 to claim the district title and a venue record. She also placed second in the 4x100 relay in 49.66 with teammates Amyah Watlington, Alexandria Key and Kiana Joseph and took third in the 200 meters with a 26.23.
Everybody was behind everybody today. It was phenomenal. It was a great team effort today. We always say work hard, get better and have fun. They had so much fun today because all they did was get better. - — TERRENCE ANTHONY, Mainland head track and field coach
Willaims said her favorite event is the 4x400 relay. She and Aquila Rivers, Taliyah Nixon and Yasmin Polk ran a venue record 4:08:04 for the district win.
“Anchoring is my favorite part (of the 4x400) because everybody cheers you on as a team,” she said. “Our third leg (Polk) is so strong, she makes sure she will catch them, but I’ll make sure we bring it home.”
Mainland assistant coach Ebony Harris said after a tough season of no wins, the girls finally started to believe in themselves at the district meet. They had automatic regional qualifiers in 14 events.
“It really showed today,” she said. “We always believe in them but you could tell today that they really believed in themselves. They were the epitome of what we say every day — stand on business. And they did.”
Seabreeze's girls were led by freshmen Lauren Lancing and Tabitha Hick. Lancing took home the district championship in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:08:27. Hick placed fourth in the event with a 1:15.92. Lancing also placed second in the girls 100-meter hurdles. Junior Emma Uneda finished second in the triple jump in 10.65 seconds.
Seabreeze senior Chandler Mitzo took charge for the boys with a javelin throw of 51.51 meters for the district championship. The throw was over seven inches farther than second-place opponent Bryson Sullivan of New Smyrna Beach.
Seabreeze sophomore Hunter Shuler placed third in two distance events with a time of 4:40.49 in the 1,600 and 10:44.77 in the 3,200.
Mainland boys captain Emmanuel Yisrael won both the 110 and 400 meter hurdles, running times of 14.52 and 57.74, respectively. Senior Marquis McCants won the boys long jump with a 6.9-meter venue record and the triple jump with a 13.38-meter leap.
Mainland junior Amyah Watlington won the girls 100-meter hurdles with a venue record of 15.43 while fellow junior Curry won the boys 800-meter run and was part of the 4x400 win.
As a freshman, Yisrael worked with sophomore hurdler Jonathan Williams. He said they liked to say they built the hurdling program from the ground up at Mainland by coaching and pushing each other. Williams signed with South Carolina State University in 2023 to run track. He still holds the East River venue record in the boys 110 hurdles.
“He really got me here to where I am now,” Israel said. “He put in a lot of great times and I know if I can catch those times or beat those times, I’m in a great position.”
Mainland and Seabreeze automatic and at-large qualifiers will compete in the Region 2-3A meet on Wednesday, May 8, at Plant City High School.
