Dillard girls go down to the wire for victory; Mantecon shines at 3A state track
It came down to the final relay.
And as they have time and again in recent years, the Dillard High girls’ track and field team stepped up when the pressure was at its highest.
A clutch victory in the 1,600-meter relay - the final event of Friday’s Class 3A state championship meet - the Panthers emerged with their third consecutive state team title after overtaking runner-up Niceville on the strength of that triumph.
Dillard scored 10 valuable points to bring its total to 69 for the meet. Niceville’s 1,600 relay squad finished seventh, scoring only two points to finish with 64 overall.
The quartet of Reliniyah Jones, Maddison Simpson, Ayanna Bryant and Desiree Frazier posted a time of 3:45.71 to secure gold with Frazier finishing strong on the final leg to secure victory. Miami Northwestern finished second in that relay and fourth overall in the team standings.
Dillard bookended the day with relay titles as it also won the 3,200 relay to begin the running portion of the meet. Shynah Collins, Kelly Greene, Abigail Richards and Maddison Simpson teamed up to run a winning time of 9:05.93 in that event.
Despite not winning an individual event, the Panthers had several athletes secure valuable points with top eight finishes. Among the highlights, Frazier finished second in the 400 while Collins finished third in the 800. Bryant and Simpson finished third and fourth respectively in the 400 hurdles.
Broward County’s lone individual girls’ state champion was Plantation’s Nyla Christian, who jumped 6.10 meters to win the long jump championship. It was her second consecutive state title in the event after she won it last season while competing for Northwestern.
MANTECON SHINES
Belen Jesuit’s Marcelo Mantecon continued to add championships to his stellar career as he won gold in four events (three individual, one relay) on Friday.
The biggest highlight came in the 3,200 meters where Mantecon finished with a state meet record time of 8:56.02. It was his second consecutive state title in the event and gave him four individual state championships for his career.
Mantecon began the day by leading the Belen 3,200 relay team to gold with a collective time of 7:51.30. Nicholas Veloso, Jack Michalak and Sebastian Fernandez ran the first three legs with Mantecon finishing things up. It was also a repeat for Belen in that event. Michalak’s 1:54.49 split was key to the relay’s victory.
Unfortunately for the Wolverines, their 76 points was not enough to repeat as team champions. Niceville took home that prize with 88 points.
Mantecon also won his first state title in the 1,600 with a time of 4:17.38, finishing just under a minute ahead of Michalak’s 4:18.26. Mantecon won the 800 with a time of 1:51.40 to beat Choctawhatchee’s Brendan Cutler by less than half a second (1:51.87).
RESULTS
Boys’ team scores: 1. Niceville 88; 2. Belen Jesuit 76; 6. Dillard 32; 8. Northeast 22; Individual winners - 100: 1. Davion Crumtje (Rickards) 10.30; 100 ambulatory: 1. Nevian Brooks (Am) 11.96; 3. Jean Theagene (Pal) 12.53; 6. Toriano Treadwell (ATM) 14.79; 200: 1. Davion Crumtje (Rickards) 20.79; 5. Bryan Labardy (NM) 21.42; 7. Oshane Parke (NE) 21.54; 200 ambulatory: 1. Nevian Brooks (Am) 24.58; 2. Jean Theagene (Pal) 26.44; 5. Toriano Treadwell (ATM) 30.81; 400: 1. Christopher Gordon (Rockledge) 47.18; 4. Marckenzy Joseph (NW) 47.87; 6. Jahfari Ferrell (Dil) 48.09; 7. Ka’Nard Boucard (Mir) 48.30; 400 ambulatory: 1. Nevian Brooks (Am) 56.48; 2. Jean Theagene (Pal) 1:01.79; 4. Toriano Treadwell (ATM) 1:10.98; 6. Gabriel De La Rocha (CBay) 1:16.51; 800: 1. Marcelo Mantecon (Bel) 1:51.40; 4. Jack Michalak (Bel) 1:52.21; 5. Bradford Jeoboham (Dil) 1:53.64; 7. Prince Valbrun (NE) 1:54.24; 800 ambulatory: 1. Nevian Brooks (Am) 2:20.12; 2. Elijah Kellem (Calv) 2:27.00; 1600: 1. Marcelo Mantecon (Bel) 4:17.38; 2. Jack Michalak (Bel) 4:18.26; 6. Stefan Lungescu (AH) 4:23.96; 7. Matthias Murrle (Bel) 4:24.53; 8. Adam Stewart (PPC) 4:25.32; 3200: 1. Marcelo Mantecon (Bel) 8:56.02; 110 hurdles: 1. Kobe Johnson (Dunbar) 13.72; 4. O’hara Tommie (NE) 14.09; 7. Willie Goldsby (Dil) 14.54; 400 hurdles: 1. Anthony Gee (Pine Forest) 52.18; 4. Carlos Rodriguez-Novoa (Bel) 54.70; 6. Willie Goldsby (Dil) 55.45; 400 relay: 1. Rickards 40.96; 7. Northwestern 41.60; 1600 relay: 1. Dillard 3:15.57; 2. Plantation 3:16.03; 4. Belen 3:16.79; 5. Northwestern 3:17.76; 8. Blanche Ely 3:20.07; 3200 relay: 1. Belen 7:51.30; 2. Dillard 7:52.90; 6. Northeast 7:57.16; High jump: 1. Braelin Cobb (Citrus) 2.07; 7. Roshard Saintilus (Dil) 1.92; Pole vault: 1. Asa Locano (Niceville) 4.80; Long jump: 1. Darrell Hines (Hillsborough) 7.60; 4. Max Lusky Petit Monsieur (Plan) 7.27; 7. O’hara Tommie (NE) 7.01; Triple jump: 1. Maxwell Garcon (Gateway) 15.26; 2. O’hara Tommie (NE) 15.14; Shot put: 1. Charlie Perkins (Niceville) 17.80; Shot put ambulatory: 1. Alex Pring (South Lake) 9.52; 2. Jacob Sanders-Mark (Pal) 9.03; 4. Tomas Munoz (CG) 5.92; Discus: 1. Colin Butler (Ponte Vedra) 56.48; 3. Timothy Koonce (NM) 52.90; Javelin: 1. Brison Sullivan (New Smyrna Beach) 65.21; 2. Aleksandr Jurado (Bel) 57.79; 6. Jaime Saavedra (Bel) 54.79; Javelin ambulatory: 1. Alex Pring (South Lake) 27.80; 2. Jean Thegene (Pal) 24.89; 3. Jacob Sanders-Mark (Pal) 22.49; .
Girls’ team scores: 1. Dillard 69; 2. Niceville 64; 4. Northwestern 40; 8. Lourdes 22; Individual winners - 100: 1. Sanii Shield (Bayshore) 11.63; 4. Keviana Dickenson (Dil) 11.70; 5. Arianna Woolcock (Ever) 11.72; 6. Antaniyah Brown (NM) 11.74; 200: 1. Journee Belcher (Rickards) 23.60; 2. Arianna Woolcock (Ever) 23.84; 4. Antaniyah Brown (NM) 24.11; 6. Desiree Frazier (Dil) 24.19; 400: 1. Journee Belcher (Rickards) 53.19; 2. Desiree Frazier (Dil) 53.33; 5. Rellniyah Jones (Dil) 55.30; 800: 1. Keira Merrick (Satellite) 2:10.04; 2. Marisa Mantecon (Lou) 2:12.65; 3. Shynah Collins (Dil) 2:13.55; 5. Abigail Richards (Dil) 2:15.31; 6. Kelly Greene (Dil) 2:15.46; 7. Antionna Ford (NW) 2:16.57; 1600: 1. Annabella Tomasic (Bishop Moore) 4:53.25; 2. Marissa Mantecon (Lou) 4:54.84; 3200: 1. Celina Coryell (Satellite) 10:36.24; 100 hurdles: 1. Kaitlyn Brown (Beachside) 13.77; 2. Nyla Christian (Plan) 13.82; 3. Janae Jones (NW) 14.08; 4. Alexis Sutton (Dil) 14.09; 6. Pache Strachan (NW) 14.36; 7. Janae Beresford (Nor) 14.46; 400 hurdles: 1. Saylor Tolbert (Niceville) 59.82; 2. Lamayah Howard (NW) 1:02.48; 3. Ayanna Bryant (Dil) 1:02.67; 4. Maddison Simpson (Dil) 1:03.11; 400 relay: 1. Norland 47.13; 5. Northwestern 47.62; 1600 relay: 1. Dillard 3:45.71; 2. Northwestern 3:46.85; 3200 relay: 1. Dillard 9:05.93; 6. Northwestern 9:26.25; High jump: 1. Journee Belcher (Rickards) 1.72; 7. Janae Johnson (McA) 1.57; Pole vault: 1. Allison Davenport (Chiles) 3.60; Long jump: 1. Nyla Christian (Plan) 6.10; Triple jump: 1. Mikayla Shavers (Fleming Island) 13.09; 5. Tayla Cochran (Nor) 11.57; 6. Jessie Duverny (NM) 11.54; Shot put: 1. Cherldine Paul (Barron Collier) 14.21; 7. Alisa Scott (NW) 12.32; Discus: 1. Kennedy Scott (Lincoln) 47.14; 4. Dyaneisha Lalanne (NM) 41.84; 5. Alisa Scott (NW) 41.79; Javelin: 1. Shelby Plasier (Niceville) 45.23; 3. Katerina Chacon (Lou) 40.66.
This story was originally published May 9, 2026 at 8:15 AM.
