Providence's Skyy Dixon wins double FHSAA 1A sprint titles to open state track meet

In high school track's fastest girls events, Skyy was the limit.

Providence junior Skyy Dixon raced away with the girls 100-meter dash — then added a second title in the 200 after a review — to highlight a rainy Florida High School Athletic Association Class 1A track and field championship, held Wednesday at the University of North Florida's Hodges Stadium.

Dixon, along with University Christian senior Kayla Cleveland, overcame two extended lightning delays to earn Jacksonville's first gold medals of the four-day meet.

Shaking off the effects of a late-spring bug, Dixon wasn't sure how much strength she would have for the state meet. As it turned out, she had more than enough, helping Providence to fifth in the team standings as well.

"It feels really good, especially after being a little sick this week," she said.

Dixon dashes to win

Dixon's 11.79 wasn't quite a personal best for the 100 — that distinction belongs to her 11.59 from regionals two weeks ago — but it dominated this field.

Blasting away from lane 5, she crossed three-tenths of a second clear of Tyra Cox of Chaminade-Madonna to join Emily Stallings, who won from the outside lane in the 800 in 2014, as Providence individual track champions.

"I was going for a little bit more, maybe an 11.4 for my PR, but I'm just happy to win," she said.

After placing third in the 400, Dixon's second win required a longer wait. She finished the 200 in 24.46, apparently good for second place. But race officials disqualified first-place finisher Cox under a violation of National Federation of State High School Associations Rule 5.12.1a, ruling that she took three consecutive steps outside her lane.

Suddenly, Dixon was a 200 champion as well, the first Northeast Florida runner to complete a girls sprint double since Palatka's Ka'Tia Seymour in 2017.

Cleveland wins UC's first hurdles crown

In her final state meet, University Christian senior Cleveland closed with a championship.

Cleveland burst from the blocks quickly and narrowly edged P.K. Yonge's Nymera Presley in the girls 100 hurdles, crossing in 14.09 to Presley's 14.15. No other runner came within three-quarters of a second.

Her triumph was the first on record for UC in any individual girls track event. Cleveland wasn't finished, placing third behind Dixon in the 100 only minutes later.

Harvest Community's Zaire Davis also finished third in the boys 400 hurdles, running 57.02 in the state's newest event.

Kasica sets javelin mark

While Dixon and Cleveland supplied the local highlights, the top scores belonged to schools elsewhere in the state.

Tallahassee Maclay's third place in the finishing 4x400 relay enabled the Marauders to hold on for the overall girls team title, one point ahead of Chaminade-Madonna and two clear of Oxbridge Academy. Palm Beach Gardens Benjamin topped the boys team list.

A record also tumbled as Shorecrest Prep's Sonoma Kasica surpassed her own state meet mark in the girls javelin with a throw of 146 feet, 11 inches.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High school track & field 2023: Providence's Skyy Dixon wins sprints