Yulee stunner, Bolles relay, Episcopal's 800 sweep highlight FHSAA 2A track championship

Tristen Evatt had never known what a 19-foot jump felt like. So maybe it wasn't so unusual that her greatest moment in the long jump pit left her momentarily breathless in victory.

"I honestly didn't feel like it was that good of a jump," she said. "I felt like I kind of landed early. I was like, 'Oh, this could be like a 5.8 or 5.7 [meters].

"I saw the 6 pop up, and I couldn't breathe."

The Yulee senior carved out a surprise slice of Hornet history with her girls long jump triumph, opening a Thursday parade of Northeast Florida victories in the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 2A track and field championships.

From Evatt's giant jump for Yulee to titles for schools all around the area — Bolles, Bishop Kenny, Bradford, Episcopal and Jackson — the wins never slowed down at a scorching-hot Hodges Stadium on the University of North Florida campus.

Before Thursday, Evatt had never surpassed 18 feet, 10 inches in competition. But facing her final jump of the event, she uncorked a massive leap, albeit officially wind-aided, for 19 feet, 11 1/2 inches — a personal best of more than a foot.

That launched her to the top of the standings, ahead of Victoria Hill of Trinity Prep and Evie Freeman of Bolles, sparking scenes of jubilation in Evatt's last high school meet before heading to USF. She called the moment "very overwhelming."

"I've placed like fourth or third every time," she said. "So this year was really just the year I wanted to win."

BACK ON TRACK: Top runners, jumpers and more to watch for four-day FHSAA track at UNF

BOLLES PILES UP POINTS, CAN'T CATCH MONTVERDE

Add Presley Wolfe to the ever-growing line of Bolles girls pole vault champions.

Wolfe passed at most of the preliminary heights, only needing two vaults to win the tournament. She cleared 11 feet, 3 3/4 inches to seal her victory, joining the likes of Laine Roberts and Audrey Wuerffel as recent pole vault champions in blue and orange.

"It feels great to keep the tradition alive and just show how good we're doing," said Wolfe, who has signed with Tulane.

While Wolfe's triple jump was the only event atop the podium for the Bolles girls, the Bulldogs piled up points around the track all day long.

Wolfe added a triple jump runner-up medal to her collection, Freeman placed third in the 100-meter dash, Terrell McCoy finished as shot put runner-up and Zee Curtis took second in the discus and third in the shot put. J'Nia Simpson of Tampa Catholic held off the Bolles throwers in both events.

The Bulldogs' 76 points weren't enough to defend their state girls title, which went instead to Central Florida superpower Montverde Academy because of the Eagles' near-stranglehold on the hurdles and sprints. Episcopal tallied 36 points for third.

FOOTBALL COMBINATION SPURS BOLLES RELAY

The Bolles boys also fell short of defending their Class 2A team title, finishing third with 45 1/4 points. A disqualification from second place in the 4x800 relay, handed down for a lane violation, proved costly: Montverde, which vaulted to first place by winning the concluding 4x400, won with 53 1/2 points and Florida High took second with 49.

Still, Bolles enjoyed its highlights, none more dramatic than a 4x100-meter relay that showcased the Bulldogs' famed football speed.

Santana Starks, Naeem Burroughs, Simeon Caldwell and Chase Collier, two wide receivers and two defensive backs on the gridiron, ran away with the race in 41.16 to beat out St. Petersburg Gibbs and Miami Washington. Bolles also took third in the 4x400 relay.

Burroughs, among the nation's most-recruited wideouts, is hungry for more.

"We wanted to go 40 today, but we have time," Burroughs said. "We still have three sophomores coming back next year."

Bulldogs senior Garrison Butler also placed second in the boys shot put, and Parker Adams took third in the 3,200 behind double distance champion David Serra of Ransom Everglades.

CRUSADERS, TIGERS, TORNADOES ON TOP

The Bishop Kenny distance squad that earned a cross country championship in November added victory in the girls 4x800 relay. Davis Johnson, Alexis Holmes, Taylor Lawhon and Emily Wheldon combined to blow away the field in 9:13.84, comfortably clear of Miami Carrollton and Bolles.

Wheldon recovered from that endurance test well enough to come in second in the 3,200 later in the evening.

Bishop Kenny added a second place in the boys 4x800 relay, behind only Cardinal Newman, and Mia Boka finished third in the girls discus.

Jackson also placed fifth in the boys standings, buoyed by a 1-2 in the boys 400 hurdles. Junior Nieko Garnes charged down the stretch to win in 53.58, with senior teammate Joseph Bargeron close behind. Bargeron also took second in the 110 hurdles.

"I was confident, but I was pretty mad after I lost the 110 [placing fifth]," Garnes said. "So I used all that anger and I put that into the 400 hurdles."

Also vastly outperforming his mark from regionals was Elijah Kellum of Bradford, who closed his high school career on top. On his final jump for Bradford, the senior flew 45 feet, 9 3/4 inches to win the boys triple jump.

EPISCOPAL DOUBLES THE FUN IN 800

Episcopal ended the night cheering as well after capturing two races in five minutes.

First, award-winning lacrosse midfielder Brooke McCoy capped her busy week with a surge around the final corner in the girls 800, overtaking Jackson senior Kennedy Hill and crossing in 2:11.53.

Minutes later, it was the turn of Jake Officer in the boys 800. The junior turned on the accelerator from the starting line and led wire-to-wire in 1:51.87, with Alejandro Vinas coming in third for Bishop Kenny.

The First Coast also had several near-misses for the top of the podium. Raines offensive line mega-prospect Solomon Thomas nearly repeated in the boys discus, only to settle for second after Florida High's Isaiah Farmer edged him by four inches on the last throw of the day. Wolfson senior Andrew Marello took third in the boys 1,600, Jackson's Kaitlynn Webbe came in third in the girls 400 and Paxon's girls sprints earned a pair of second places with the 4x100 relay and Kyndal Turner in the 100.

KUZNOF, SMITH LEAD STATE STARS

Port Orange Atlantic's Preston Kuznof didn't just break the FHSAA meet record in the boys javelin. He obliterated it, starting with a 200-foot opener and winning with a mark of 211 feet, 2 inches, overcoming Will Wainwright of Suwannee and Luke Twardy of Fernandina Beach. Wainwright also came in third in the shot put.

Also breaking records was Montverde's Michelle Smith. Ranked as the nation's top hurdler, she started with a 100 hurdles triumph and then raced around the 400 hurdles course at breakneck pace to win by a four-second margin in 57.82 for a new meet record.

Two-sport athlete Micahi Danzy, meanwhile, nearly led Florida High to a state title with victories in the boys 200 and 400, a second place in the 100 and a third in the long jump.

The competition continues at UNF through Saturday's Class 4A events.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: FHSAA track 2024: Winning Thursday for Northeast Florida athletes