Local athletes earned trips to Jacksonville last week by qualifying for the FHSAA State Championships in track and field. The events, held at Hodges Stadium, home to University of North Florida, were spread out over a series of days to accommodate the various divisions. Key West and Coral Shores, both 2A schools, competed on May 9 while 1A Marathon’s events were held the following day.
The FHSAA awards the top eight athletes in each event a medal at the state level, where the competitive fields are composed of the top two athletes in each of the four regions plus the 10 next best athletes overall.
One Keys athlete took gold last week. Key West’s Ian Newton brought a state championship to the Southernmost City in the pole vault, clearing 15’3” for the state’s top spot and a personal best.
Conchs head coach Dave Perkins did not mince words earlier this season, describing Newton as an incredible athlete whose potential was likely yet untapped. Last season, he came in 10th at the state championships, clearing the bar a good three feet lower than he did last week. His improvement over the course of a single year was remarkable.
Newton’s first-place finish was the only one for Key West, but plenty of Conchs medaled and all had stellar performances at states. Newton’s sister, Ariel, has proven her own prowess in the pole vault. The younger Newton matched her personal best, 10’4”, to crack the top 10 in the girls competition with two more years of eligibility remaining to take her own vaults to new levels.
The field events proved especially fruitful for Key West’s athletes. Senior Shane Lavallee earned a bronze medal, placing third in the javelin throw with a 168’10” toss. Lavallee was not the only Conch to earn a medal in the javelin event, as Audrey Smith, a junior, won fourth place in the girls competition with a 123-foot throw. Seniors Jeremiah Harvey and Peyton Zubieta also brought home medals in javelin, with Harvey’s 160’9” toss and Zubieta’s 157’9” throw earning sixth and seventh place, respectively.
Smith went on to secure ninth place in the discus event, just missing a medal but cracking the top 10 with a 115’11” throw. Junior Noah Mercer unleashed a 156’8” discus throw. Mercer’s efforts broke his own school record and earned him a fourth-place state medal. Sophomore Josh Johnson finished 10th in the shot put competition, propelling it 47’3”.
The only track competitor for Key West to qualify for states was senior Caylaa Makimaa. Coincidentally, Coral Shores’ only qualifier, freshman Ali Wheatley, made the state list in the same event. Both athletes have run exceptionally well this season in the 3,200-meter race, often finishing within seconds of one another and pushing each other to better times. At regionals, Wheatley outpaced Makimaa, but at states, Makimaa’s experience helped push the senior two spots ahead of Wheatley. Makimaa finished in 15th place in 11:51, while Wheatley was 17th, crossing the finish line in 12:05.
The following day, it was Marathon’s turn to compete against the best in the FHSAA’s 1A. On the track, Dolphins distance specialist Vance Bursa capped off his senior season with two races, qualifying for the state meet in the 3,200 and 1,600-meter races. Bursa placed 14th in the 3,200 and 16th in the 1,600 to secure his spot among Marathon’s top track athletes in school history.
Fellow senior Jay Marshall finished 13th in the 100-meter dash, where he holds the school record, set last season. But like Key West, it was the field events where Marathon shined this year.
A pair of junior Lady Fins brought home four combined medals. Ava Merryman placed seventh in the pole vault, clearing 9’4.25”. Merryman holds the school record in the event and will return next season with a state gold on her wish list. Teammate Justice Lee dominated the throwing events two weeks ago at regionals, qualifying for states in all three events. Her at-large bid in the javelin did not stop her from medaling in the event. Lee picked up the eighth-place medal by unleashing a 104’1” throw of the spear. She went on to capture bronze in the discus, re-breaking her own school record with a 123’8” toss. Still unfinished, Lee captured a third medal, a state silver, in the shot put event. Lee’s 40’6.25” throw added two feet to her prior PR and school record.
