This past week marked the beginning of District competition for local 3A athletes and the last hurdle (pun intended) before State for 1A and 2A tracksters. When the dust had cleared, the Big Bend emerged, once again, as a force to be reckoned with.

On Tuesday, Chiles, Leon, and Lincoln competed in the 3A District 2 Meet. On the boys’ side, Lincoln finished second overall, Chiles third, and Leon fifth. Top performances included Lincoln’s Adrian Fooshe (second in the 400m in 51.38), Taylor Buzzard, of Chiles, who finished fourth in the 800m in 2:02.32 and third in the 1600m in 4:28.54, Leon’s Matt Mizereck (first in the 1600m in 4:15.12 and first in the 3200m in 9:17.12), and Lincoln’s 4x400m and 4x800m relay teams, who both finished second in times of 3:25.67 and 8:02.87 respectively.

Chiles dominated the girls’ competition. They were led by Ashton Gallaher (first in the 100m in 12.55 and second in the triple jump with 31-10.75), Lily Williams (first in the 800m in 2:22.90, first in the 1600m in 5:08.48, and second in the 3200m in 11:41.62), and Meisha Holton (second in the 100m hurdles in 15.03 and second in the 300m hurdles in 47.08). Lincoln’s girls finished fifth overall, bolstered by strong performances from Raven Diggs (first in the 200m in 26.44 and first in the 400m in 59.28) and Kendall Parker (second in the 400m in 59.92). Leon’s girls placed sixth.

On Friday, local 1A and 2A teams made the trek to Bolles High School, in Jacksonville, for a combined 1A-2A Region 1 Meet. Maclay’s boys destroyed the 1A competition by almost ninety points. Their top scoring athlete was sophomore sensation, Lee Williams, who took third in the long jump in 21-09.00, first in the triple jump in 45-07.00, first in the 100m in 10.97, and first in the 200m in 22.54. Patrick Swain took top spot in the 1600 and 3200. Maclay’s girls placed second overall, joining their male teammates in advancing numerous Marauders to State. They grabbed the top three spots in the 1600 and the top two spots in the 3200.

In 2A competition, Florida High’s girls placed second and their boys took fourteenth. Godby’s girls finished fifth and their boys asserted their dominance, once again, taking the top spot. Rickards placed tenth among the girls and fourteenth among the guys. Highlights of the meet included Florida High’s boys’ 4x800m squad, squeaking out a fourth place finish (in 8:24.21), fellow female Seminole, Elizabeth Ichite taking second in the 400m in 55.95, Rickards hurdler, Brittany Jones taking third in the 300m hurdles in 44.85, and a fight to the finish in the girls’ 4x400m between Florida High and Godby, with Florida High prevailing in 4:00.07 to Godby’s 4:02.57.

The end is near for the Big Bend’s best. This coming weekend, Winter Park will play host to the 1A State Championship on Friday and the 2A State Championship on Saturday. On top of that, 3A Regional competition will begin. So much happening in such a short span of time! The quickness of the post season calendar is rivaled only by the swiftness of the competition. And the competition is chomping at the bit, ready charge around that ring of fire, and into history.