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Track and field regionals: Mainland boys win title, Colby Cronk hits state's top shot put

chris boyle, daytona beach news-journal
·5 min read

Mainland's boys captured their third major track and field team trophy of the season Wednesday by winning the Region 2-3A championship at Plant City. The Buccaneers produced 80.5 points, three more than runner-up Lake Minneola.

Senior jumper Marquis McCants and senior hurdler Emmanuel Yisrael were among the Buccaneers to book their spots at next week's FHSAA state championships in Jacksonville. McCants was the runner-up in the long jump (6.81 meters), in addition to a third-place effort in the triple jump (13.78). Yisrael added a silver in the 110-meter hurdles (14.68 seconds), along with a fifth-place time in the 400 hurdles (57.63).

Mainland's Emmanuel Yisrael (center) races to with the Boys 110 Hurdles event at the Five Star Conference Track and Field event at Flagler Palm Coast High School, Thursday, April 4, 2024.
Mainland's Emmanuel Yisrael (center) races to with the Boys 110 Hurdles event at the Five Star Conference Track and Field event at Flagler Palm Coast High School, Thursday, April 4, 2024.

The Bucs had three throwers score in the shot put: Madden Santiago (14.27, fourth place), Antonio Wilson Jr. (14.08, fifth) and Christian Hudson (13.80, seventh). Kajuan Curry (1:58.86) and Zion Noralus were third in the 800 and the high jump (1.92), respectively. Demond Noelien took fourth in the discus (45.45) and Ezaiah Shine continued a strong spring of sprinting by scoring in the 100 (10.86), the 200 (21.99) and both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays.

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Another pair of Volusia County throwers grabbed individual regional gold in Plant City. Seabreeze's Chandler Mitzo won the javelin (51.27), and New Smyrna Beach's Tim Beauchamp prevailed in the discus (53.80).

New Smyrna Beach's MaKenna Estes hit a season-best 3.60 meters to win pole vaulting gold, the identical height she cleared to win last year's region title. Teammate Asha-Mahri Manzueta, a state weightlifting champion earlier this year, scored in both the discus (30.56) and the shot put (9.98).

New Smyrna Beach's MaKenna Estes won the Region 2-3A girls pole vault title by clearing 3.60 meters.
New Smyrna Beach's MaKenna Estes won the Region 2-3A girls pole vault title by clearing 3.60 meters.

Mainland junior Kiera Williams clinched a trip to states in the 400, placing second in 58.67 seconds. Fellow junior Janiyah Giddens set a new personal-best (10.24) to take fourth place in the shot put.

Seabreeze freshman Lauren Lancing turned in a pair of fourth-place finishes in the hurdling events with times of 16.75 in the 100 and 1:07.66 in the 400.

Region 1-4A

Flagler Palm Coast's Colby Cronk throws the winning shot put during the Boys Shot Put Varsity event at the Five Star Conference Track and Field meet at Flagler Palm Coast High School, Thursday, April 4, 2024.
Flagler Palm Coast's Colby Cronk throws the winning shot put during the Boys Shot Put Varsity event at the Five Star Conference Track and Field meet at Flagler Palm Coast High School, Thursday, April 4, 2024.

State qualifiers Sanaii Gaines and Mackenzie Roy powered Spruce Creek's girls to a third-place regional finish at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville on Wednesday evening.

Gaines will compete in the long jump for the first time at states after a second-place flight (5.62). The junior added a fourth-place finish in the 400 (57.97), just ahead of teammate Jada Hawkins (58.95).

Roy ran second behind Creekside's state champion Alyson Johnson in the 1,600 (4:58.60) and the 3,200 (11:05.05), while twin sister Arianna Roy (4:59.47) was third and fourth (11:08.45) in those events.

DeLand's Kylie Neira competes in the Girls Pole Vault Varsity event at the District 3-4A track field meet at Spruce Creek High School, Wednesday, April 24, 2024.
DeLand's Kylie Neira competes in the Girls Pole Vault Varsity event at the District 3-4A track field meet at Spruce Creek High School, Wednesday, April 24, 2024.

DeLand's Kylie Neira will go for a second straight FHSAA Class 4A pole vault title, cruising to regional gold with her second-best performance of the season (3.90). University's Nyrania Barr-Miller produced a nearly identical time (15.16), one good enough for a district title, in placing third in the 100 hurdles.

Flagler Palm Coast junior Colby Cronk, a top contender in the shot put, set a new personal-best (17.96) to best the field by more than 2 meters. The N.C. State football recruit moves into the top slot statewide in the shot put, surpassing Lincoln's Bryce Davis, who had a throw of 17.88 at the FSU Relays in Tallahassee.

Region 1-3A

Sierra Howard brought home gold for Matanzas in the 800-meter dash (2:18.24), fending off Fort Walton Beach's Reece Knowlton by less than a second during Wednesday's meet at Hodges Stadium.

The Pirates' girls combined for 37 points, good for seventh place in the team standings. Jordan Youngman guaranteed a spot in the Class 3A 400 hurdles final with a time of 1:05 flat, and Evanne Miller finished fourth in the 400 (59.29).

Jordan Mills had Matanzas' top showing for the boys team, placing sixth in the 400 hurdles (58.49). Jeffrey Powell placed eighth in the triple jump (12.86), four-hundredths of a meter further than teammate Ladarien Baker.

Region 2-2A

Atlantic's Preston Kuznof tosses the furthest to win the Boys Javelin Throw Varsity event at the Five Star Conference Track and Field meet at Flagler Palm Coast High School, Thursday, April 4, 2024.
Atlantic's Preston Kuznof tosses the furthest to win the Boys Javelin Throw Varsity event at the Five Star Conference Track and Field meet at Flagler Palm Coast High School, Thursday, April 4, 2024.

Defending Class 2A javelin champion Preston Kuznof cruised to victory at Tuesday's regional meet in Mount Dora, surpassing 60 meters on three of his four throws with a top mark of 63.07. Kuznof accounted for 10 of the Sharks' 15 points in the team competition, with Mekhi Yan placing fourth in the high jump (1.87).

Atlantic's girls shined in the relay races, taking second in the 4x100 (48.65) and third in the 4x400 (4:07.47).

Region 2-1A

Bolstered by a strong throwing performance, Father Lopez's girls placed ninth in Region 2-1A at Mount Dora Christian. The Green Wave's boys finished 11th, scoring in six events on the track.

Mackenzie Brewton secured a spot at states with a runner-up finish in the shot put (10.55), and took sixth in the discus (28.59). Adelae Fulton (discus, javelin) and Caroline Theriault (100 hurdles, high jump) both scored in two events, and Andreya Bridger ran eighth in the 200.

For the Green Wave's boys, Felipe Paredes took fourth place in the 400 hurdles (1:00.74) and crossed the line seventh in the 1,600. Ryan Herdel scored in three events, placing fifth in the 200 (22.54), sixth in the 100 (11.03) and eighth in the javelin (39.81).

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: FHSAA track and field: Regional meet roundup for Daytona Beach teams