A smaller Westminster Academy group couldn’t defend its regional title for a third consecutive year, as the reigning two-time state champion fell to Highlands Christian by 25 points at Dade Christian School on Thursday.
The Knights led the field with seven boys qualifying for state in nearly every event, including sophomore Ryan Szklany, who finished first in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs.
“We knew it was a good possibility [winning regionals], but last night I just decided not to stress about it because I knew they could pull it off, and they delivered,” Highlands Christian coach Jarod Ebemhack said. “We qualified somebody in almost everything into the state meet, so yeah, this was really good.”
The star performer from the Knights was on the girls’ side though, as junior Sara Carroll won four events, including the 100-meter hurdles for the third consecutive year.
“I think it went pretty well. I [set personal records] in most of my events, so that was good,” said Carroll, who won the high jump, triple jump and the 100- and 300-meter hurdles.
Despite the second-place finish, Westminster Academy coach Vaughan Nembhard was “extremely” happy with the results as six boys qualified for state.
“It’s a great performance because we have a much smaller team, but a quality team. I’m very proud of my athletes right now,” Nembhard said.
The South Florida HEAT will send 10 girls to the state finals at IMG Academy in Bradenton next week as it won the girls’ regional for the third consecutive year. The HEAT ran away with the event, beating second-place Westminster Christian by 34.5 points.
“Really the key is that they love each other,” HEAT coach Bob Bemis said of the girls’ team. “None of them are track aficionados. They come together. They just really love each other.”
Region 4-1A boys’ finals — Team Standings: 1. Highlands Christian 113, 2. Westminster Academy 88, 3. South Florida HEAT 77.50, 4. Dade Christian 50, 5. Florida Atlantic University 46.
Individuals (top four qualifiers advance to 1A state finals at IMG Academy, May 6-7): 110 Hurdles: 1. Torry Holmes (NC) 15.62, 2. John Zolnowski (SFH) 15.86, 3. Jake Peterson (HC) 16.42, 4. Robert Ramsay (FAU) 16.46; 100: 1. Ryan Rhoden (BRC) 11.25, 2. Christopher Julien (HC) 11.29, 3. Jonathan Gill (DocCH) 11.40, 4. William Ray (WC) 11.57; 1600: 1. Ryan Szklany (HC) 4:31.23, 2. Guilherme Pereira (DSA) 4:35.27, 3. Tucker Hindle (BRC) 4:38.02, 4. Saahr Eduoard (WA) 4:38.34; 400 Relay: 1. Highlands Christian 43.81, 2. Village Academy 43.81, 3. Doctors Charter 44.21, 4. King’s Academy 44.47; 400: 1. George Williams (WC) 50.24, 2. Liam Christiansen (SFH) 52.08, 3. Noah Hibbert (SFH) 52.24, 4. Nick Rowe (WA) 52.39; 300 Hurdles: 1. John Zolnowski (SFH) 40.89, 2. Torry Holmes (NC) 42.56, 3. Matthew Brown (WA) 42.81, 4. Jake Peterson (HC) 42.84; 800: 1. Patrick Sastre (WA) 2:01.36, 2. Hunter Walton (HC) 2:01.78, 3. Connor Bradley (FAU) 2:05.82, 4. Jacob Kuyper (CSC) 2:07.60; 200: 1. Jonathan Gill (DocCH) 22.52, 2. Robert Ramsay (FAU) 22.71, 3. Ladari Levarity (NC) 22.78, 4. Aaron Ashe (AC) 22.84; 3200: 1. Ryan Szklany (HC) 10:04.18, 2. Guilherme Pereira (DSA) 10:07.58, 3. Saahr Eduoard (WA) 10:33.08, 4. Tucker Hindle (BRC) 10:39.82; 1,600 Relay: 1. South Florida HEAT 3:27.50, 2. Westminster Academy 3:28.54, 3. Highlands Christian 3:30.02, 4. Doctors Charter 3:36.40; 3,200 Relay: 1. Westminster Academy 8:25.92, 2. South Florida HEAT 8:26.63, 3. Highlands Christian 8:29.89, 4. Coral Springs Christian 8:42.64; High Jump: 1. Robert Ramsay (FAU) 5-10, 2. Delimar Martina (HC) 5-10, 3. Alex Genck (SFH) 5-8, 4. Steven Charlotte (SAC) 5-8; Pole Vault: 1. Kevin Shaw (KA) 12, 2. Scott Bush (HC) 10-6, 3. Godday Hornsby (SFH) 10-6, 3. Peter Tsouroukdissian (CSC) 10-6; Long Jump: 1. Robert Ramsay (FAU) 20-11, 2. Mardochee Jean (VA) 20-5.50, 3. Owayne Haughton (CSC) 20-2.50, 4. Ollivier Gassant (FAU) 20-1.75; Triple Jump: 1. Churchill Perry (WA) 44-4.75, 2. DeWayne Terry (DC) 43-6.75, 3. Matthew Brown (WA) 42-6, 4. Will Craven (BRC) 40-2.50; Shot Put: 1. Abule Abade-Fitzgerald (DC) 49-5.25, 2. Milton Ingraham (DC) 47-8, 3. Kennethson Armstrong (HC) 43-7.50, 4. Robert Augustine (NC) 42-0.75; Discus Throw: 1. Milton Ingraham (DC) 155-9, 2. Nicholas Sharpie (WA) 137-2, 3. Kennethson Armstrong (HC) 127-1, 4. Jorge Lopez (WC) 117-1.
Region 4-1A girls’ finals — Team Standings: 1. South Florida HEAT 133, 2. Westminster Christian 98.50, 3. Highlands Christian 72, 4. Palmer Trinity 52.50, 5. King’s Academy 47.
Individuals (top four qualifiers advance to 1A state finals at IMG Academy, May 6-7): 100 Hurdles: 1. Sara Carroll (HC) 15.53, 2. Rebecca Christie (SFH) 16.98, 3. Danielle O’Connor (SFH) 17.08, 4. Sophia Lopez (SFH) 17.29; 100: 1. Shammae Shackleford (DocCH) 13.03, 2. Sydney Pereira (FLC) 13.17, 3. Kiara Edwards (VA) 13.28, 4. Nicole Paul (FAU) 13.44; 1600: 1. Natasha Strump (WC) 5:32.06, 2. Melissa Gomez (BRC) 5:33.99, 3. Carolyn Shields (SFH) 5:34.27, 4. Megan Brais (WC) 5:36; 400 Relay: 1. King’s Academy 51.08, 2. Westminster Christian 51.23, 3. South Florida HEAT 52.29, 4. Florida Christian 52.76; 400: 1. Kaylen Clark (HolCH) 59.56, 2. Sofia Jimenez (WC) 1:00.98, 3. Carme Gonzalez DelValle (PT) 1:02.63, 4. Sadrynie Myrtil (DocCH) 1:02.82; 300 Hurdles: 1. Sara Carroll (HC) 47.89, 2. Sophia Lopez (SFH) 49.26, 3. Abby Simpson (HC) 52.12, 4. Isabel De Allende Silva (WC) 52.16; 800: 1. Natasha Strump (WC) 2:26.34, 2. Andrea Zumpano (WC) 2:30.17, 3. Francesca Wight (KA) 2:35.19, 4. Taylor Summers (BRC) 2:38.13; 200: 1. Sydney Pereira (FLC) 26.34, 2. Stephanie Jimenez (WC) 26.37, 3. Treciyah Mitchell (NC) 26.87, 4. Sophia Baldeon (DSA) 26.96; 3200: 1. Melissa Gomez (BRC) 12:33.63, 2. Hayley Simonson (SFH) 12:35.56, 3. Sydnee Calder (BRC) 12:48.10, 4. Amanda Rodriguez (DC) 12:48.16; 1,600 Relay: 1. Westminster Christian 4:14.78, 2. South Florida HEAT 4:22.30, 3. Northwest Christian 4:28.50, 4. King’s Academy 4:36.08; 3,200 Relay: 1. South Florida HEAT 10:21.33, 2. Westminster Christian 10:24.77, 3. Boca Raton Christian 10:34.95, 4. King’s Academy 10:47.88; High Jump: 1. Sara Carroll (HC) 5-2, 2. Destini Wilson (PJP) 5, 3. Nadia Esperragoza (FLC) 4-10, 4. Abigail Serda (SFH) 4-10; Pole Vault: 1. Jade-Autumn Stoner (PT) 9-6, 2. Samantha Rodriguez (WC) 9-6, 3. Kirsten Vanhoutteghem (CSC) 8-6, 4. Margaret Wheatley (SFH) 8-6; Long Jump: 1. Destini Wilson (PJP) 17, 2. Shammae Shackleford (DocCH) 16-8, 3. Raevin Thompson (SFH) 16-6, 4. Rebecca Christie (SFH) 16-1.50; Triple Jump: 1. Sara Carroll (HC) 36-3, 2. Rebecca Christie (SFH) 34-8, 3. Emily Ballenger (KA) 34-7, 4. Mikayla Plante (SFH) 33-1; Shot Put: 1. Sofia Iglesias (PT) 33-11.75, 2. Kyrah James (PT) 33-11, 3. Sydney Blackburn (HC) 33-8, 4. Gracie Allison (SFH) 33-5.75; Discus Throw: 1. Sofia Iglesias (PT) 118-4, 2. Cara Salsberry (SAC) 102-7, 3. Danielle O’Connor (SFH) 102-1, 4. Sydney Blackburn (HC) 98-9.
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