Belen’s Mantecon, Carrollton’s Garcia are Dade Track and Field Athletes of the Year
Few athletes have dominated the running scene the way Belen Jesuit’s Marcelo Mantecon has in recent years.
Mantecon delivered the dominant performance of this year’s state track and field championships, winning three individual events and a relay to help the Wolverines finish as state runner-up in Class 3A.
And on the girls’ side, no one in South Florida was as elite in the hurdles as Carrollton senior Arianna Garcia.
Garcia was a repeat state champion in both events while leading the Cyclones to a third-place finish in Class 2A.
And so, Mantecon and Garcia are the Miami Herald’s Miami-Dade County Track and Field Athletes of the Year.
Mantecon followed up another spectacular cross-country season by securing individual state titles in the 800-meter race as well as the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter races. He also ran the anchor leg of Belen’s 3,200-meter relay, which secured gold with a winning time of 7:51.30.
Mantecon, who recently committed to the University of North Carolina, ran times of 1:51.40 to win the 800, 4:17.38 to win the 1,600, and 8:56.02 to win the 3,200 meters.
Mantecon’s time in the 3,200 was a new state meet record.
All of this followed his repeat individual state championship last fall during the cross-country season, which led Belen to another state team title.
Mantecon, a two-time Mr. Florida Cross-Country Award winner, was also named the Florida Dairy Farmers’ Mr. Florida Track and Field winner this past week.
Garcia showed off her versatility once again while running the fastest times in the county in the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles. She won the state title in the 100 hurdles in 14.05 seconds and then triumphed in the 400 in 59.46 seconds at the Class 2A meet.
Garcia also teamed up with Scarlett Lie-Nielsen, Andrea Gross and Gabriella Socarras on Carrollton’s 1,600-meter relay squad, which finished third.
Next up for Garcia is to excel in the hurdles events on a higher level as she competes for the University of Miami.
“It’s definitely going to be a big change and more physically demanding than high school track,” Garcia said. “But I feel like I’m ready. My coaches have prepared me well and I have a lot of confidence in coach (Amy) Deem at UM. I feel like it will be a safe environment in which I will be able to succeed.”
