The past week has been one of the best weeks of the spring semester for Leon County Schools: spring break. While the running teams did not have to attend school, they did compete at various weekend meets at the beginning of break. On the second weekend (March 23-24), teams participated in FSU relays right here in Tallahassee! We were fortunate enough to have teams from both in and out of the state come here to compete. Some extra time to relax and catch a few hours of bonus sleep boded well for local competitors, and many athletes performed extremely well. Here are some of the highlights…>

Distance events: The first weekend of the break, some of Maclay’s team traveled to Georgia Tech for the Coaches Invitational. Junior Stefanie Kurgatt ran a personal record of 4:49.62 in the 1600, which is the fastest time by a high school athlete in the nation so far this year. Following this race, she was named the Warrior of the Week for flrunners.com, an award given to a Florida athlete who has performed extraordinarily the previous week. The following weekend, Lily Williams of Chiles had a stellar performance in the 3200. The top 3200 competitors from around the state and from every classification were all packed into one heat to battle in this 8-lap race. Williams took the lead early on, and gradually increased the distance between her and the next girl throughout the race. She ran an impressive time of 10:30.53, the fastest time in the state this season. Chiles’ Taylor Buzzard proved himself the fastest local distance runner in the 3200 at FSU with his personal record of 9:41.36. The boys’ 3200 was also an intense race with the state’s top runners. In the 1600, Leon’s Ben McMahon ran a personal record, and he finished fourth in the consolation heat. His time of 4:34.57 was 5 seconds below his previous time! In the 800, NFC’s Luke Strickland broke the 2-minute barrier with his time of 1:59.58.

Sprints: Lincoln, along with some other teams, traveled to Jacksonville the first weekend of break for the Bob Hayes Invitational Track and Field Meet; the Trojan’s Jadzia Beasley ran a time of 12.54. At FSU, Lincoln’s Briana Huff (1:01.00), Godby’s Sakezia Kelly (1:01.16), and Maclay’s Tamani Wilson (1:01.84) battled to the finish. Although there were other girls in their race, fierce local competition is always fun to watch! At the Coaches Invitational, Maclay’s Lee Williams broke 11 seconds for the first time this season, and he finished sixth with his time of 10.95. Trevon Holmes of Rickards (52.29) and Taj Williams (52.58) of Lincoln pushed each other to the finish in the 400 in Jacksonville. Even though the competition was stiff, Lincoln’s 4×100 team dominated FSU Relays; their time of 41.91 was over half a second faster than the second place team’s! They came back the next day to win the 4×200 as well by over a second in 1:27.70.

Field Events: Maclay’s Lillian VanWinkle placed second by pole vaulting 11-06.00 at FSU Relays. This was 6 inches better than her third place mark at Georgia Tech, which means that this sophomore is improving quickly. Winning the meet, NFC’s Darrielle McQueen triple jumped 36-10.25; McQueen is also only a sophomore! Bernicia Holifield from Godby threw the discus 111-06 at FSU, which earned her third place. Notable performances in the guys’ events include Godby’s Montavious Williams 21-09.00 long jump. He won the competition by half an inch! Maclay’s Kyle Weaver pole vaulted at both Georgia Tech and FSU, and he improved each time. His season best of 14-00.00 earned him fourth at FSU. In Jacksonville, Godby’s Brandon Hollifield high jumped 6-09.75, winning another gold medal for Godby.