FHSAA state track and field has 8 Orlando area champions at UNF

JACKSONVILLE — Two elite triple jumpers, two Ocoee High standouts, two young distance prodigies, a pole vault winner with gymnastic experience, and a sprinter who set a national record before she hit high school — all among the best in Central Florida history — scored state titles to highlight Orlando area accomplishments on the final three days of the FHSAA state track and field  finals at the University of North Florida.

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Kissimmee Gateway junior Maxwell Garcon became the sixth Orlando area boy to leap 50 feet in the triple jump in Friday’s Class 3A meet. He jumped from second to first place by bouncing out to 50 feet and three quarters of an inch on his fourth and final attempt.

That came a day after Montverde Academy junior Samuel Johnson, already in the exclusive 50 foot club, jumped 50-4¼ to take the 2A championship. Johnson, who leaped 50-9¾  to win at the Florida Relays, also won the long jump for the Eagles.

The all-time triple jump record-holder is Seminole High graduate Andre Scott, who set a national record (since broken) of 53-7½ as a 2003 senior in Orlando’s discontinued Golden South Classic postseason meet. Scott’s FHSAA meet record of 52-5½ still stands. He became an Auburn All-American and has been a college assistant coach for more than 20 years — now at Ole Miss.

Here’s the all-time triple jump list:

53-7 Andre Scott, Seminole, 1993.

51-6 James Beckford, Boone, 1993.

51-2 Armani Wallace, Colonial, 2025.

50-9¾ Shane Lewis, Deltona, 2010.

50-9½ Samuel Johnson, Montverde, 2026.

50-3¾ Maxwell Garcon, Gateway, 2026.

Ocoee senior Jaiden Manning, who  gave up football after going out for track as a sophomore, won Saturday’s 4A boys 110-meter hurdles in 13.92 seconds. He’s now confident he will earn a college scholarship to race.

His senior teammate, Devin Matthews, an oh-so-close state runner-up in the 800 last year, erased that disappointment with a 47.24 victory in the boys 400. He is also getting college attention.

“I felt really relaxed and for the last 200 I just left it all on the track,” Matthews said. “This means a lot because I felt short last season.”

On the girls side, Lake Minneola sophomore Vanessa Waite had to settle for second in the 100-meter dash with an 11.57 time, but then sped to a 4A victory in the 200 with 23.17 performance. That’s Florida’s fastest this year and the No. 9 time in the nation. Waite set a 15-16 national age group record with a 23.26 time to win at the 2024 AAU Jr. Olympics and was happy to finally eclipse that time.

“I was a little down about not winning the 100, but I know I’m better in the 200,” Waite said. “That’s my race. I’m very confident in myself now.”

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Bishop Moore freshman Annabella Tomasic ran a career best 4:53.25 to win the 1,600 title in 3A. That’s her third state title — along with her November cross country win and the cross country championship she claimed as a seventh grader running for Lake Highland Prep. Tomasic was Friday’s runner-up in the 3,200 at 10:44.47.

Montverde Academy senior Nakira Hudson won the 2A girls 400 (53.24), finished fourth in the 200, and ran on the winning 4×400 relay as the Eagles tied Bolles of Jacksonville for the team title. Both scored 84 points. Montverde senior Jizelle Holland piled up points with runner-up finishes in both hurdles finals, a sixth in the triple jump and a leg on the winning relay.

Lake Nona Arrabella Duffel, a tiny sophomore (5-feet-tall) who was a highly-ranked age group tennis player before switching to distance running, won the 3,200 with a strategic 10:29.10 effort.  Finishing 15th out of 16 in the 2025 state meet was her motivation.

“I’ve been wanting this for so long,” said Duffel. “It’s like tennis in a way because every single lap is like a different (tennis) set.”

Rain fell for much of Saturday’s 4A meet, and competition was stopped for just over an hour in the afternoon. UNF’s rubberized track held up well for fast race events, but wet conditions were a challenge in the pole vault for Lyman junior Nora Garraughty. That didn’t stop her from winning with an 11-feet, 9¾-inches clearance. She has vaulted 12-3½ in drier conditions and wants to climb past the 13-foot mark with continued training with Bill Cashman, whose Thin Air Vault Club has produced nearly 60 state champions in four decades.

“I thought it was fun vaulting in the rain. But the hard part was gripping the pole,” Garraughty said with a smile. “I wanted to jump higher, but I still have summer meets.”

CHECK HERE FOR ALL STATE MEET RESULTS, MAY 6-9, 2026

Class 4A girls

Spruce Creek’s Mikayla Palmer and Boone senior Naima Durandisse both cleared 5-7¾ in the girls high jump. Palmer won the state title because she had no misses until the bar was moved up to 5-9¾. Durandisse, who signed with Santa Fe College for basketball but hopes to get a ride to USF as a versatile jumper, had one earlier miss.

Cypress Creek senior Alondra Rodriguez, who won the girls 400 hurdles last season, finished fourth Saturday with a 1:00.28 time that was not what she wanted. Nia Armstrong of Sickles (Tampa), a sophomore, won with a 58.88 time that ranks No. 2 nationally.

Wekiva was third in the girls 4×100 (46.58).

Kissimmee Osceola’s Nicole Oliveira finished third in the girls long jump (18-5¼).

Ocoee’s Jayla Newton was third in the javelin (124-3).

Lake Brantley senior Layla Fuller finished fourth at 2:10.96 in a fast 800.

Boone’s girls were 12th with 19 points, followed by Lake Minneola (18), Osceola(17) and Seminole (17).

Class 4A boys

Oviedo senior Aiden Aysun was runner-up in the 1,600 with a school record time of 4:11.71.

Taylor Royster, another Oviedo senior, long jumped 23-11¾ to break his own school record and place second.

St. Cloud’s Denzel Hawkins was third in the 400 hurdles (54.42) and fourth in the 110s (14.32).

Lake Minneola had two boys runners-up: Wesley Morisseau in the high jump (6-5½) and Tyler Mullings in the discus (160-3).

Ocoee was fourth with 31 points in a meet won by Flanagan (77.5).

Class 3A

Bishop Moore’s girls ran an area-best 9:16.05 for second place in the 4×800 relay. The Hornets totaled 26 points, good for seventh in the team standings. Dillard of Fort Lauderdale topped Niceville 69-64 to take the title.

Innovation’s Mariah Turner long jumped 18-7¼ for fifth.

Elijah Cantero of Bishop Moore was the boys 400 runner-up (47.57) and ran on a 4×100 relay that placed second with a 41.23 time. Jones was fifth at 41.53.

The Hornets and Gateway tied for 11th in the boys team standings with 16 points each. Niceville won the title with 88 points.

Gateway’s Ethan Antle cleared 14-3¼ for fifth in the pole vault.

Class 2A

Montverde’s girls were led by senior Jizelle Holland, who scored in all four of her events. She was runner-up in the 100- and 400-meter hurdles with times of 14.30 and 59.84 seconds, sixth in triple jump, and ran on the winning 4×400 foursome (3:44.69).

Also for the Eagles, Angelica Wolfe was second in the 800 (2:11.70); DaQuana Howell was runner-up in the 200 (24.25) and fifth in the 100 (11.97); Adriana Rodriguez was third in the 400 (53.88) and fifth in the 200 (24.55).

Lake Highland Prep’s Saleigh Simpson placed fourth with a 40-2¾ shot put.

Montverde senior Grant Williams cleared 14-feet, 9-inches to win the boys pole vault. His ninth grade teammate, Max Georgiev, placed fourth at 14-3¼.

Windermere Prep’s Akai Tonge placed third in the boys 110 hurdles (14.55).

Lake Highland Prep’s Connor Allen ran 47.59 for third in the 400.

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