IMMOKALEE – Coming into the District 2A-12 track meet, Dunbar knew it had the speed and the number of athletes to sweep the boys and girls titles.
Confident but not cocky, the Tigers lived up to expectations. With a total of 15 district titles and 42 athletes qualifying for regional, Dunbar won both 2A-12 championships at Immokalee High School on Thursday.
“You come in with the mindset that you just want to beat your own (personal record),” Tigers senior Carisma Bryant said. “You want to better yourself. At the end of the day when you see it works out in your favor, it feels really good.”
Bryant won three girls titles in the field events, which Dunbar coach Thomas Guy credits for setting the Tigers’ pace early in the day. Bryant won the high jump with a personal record, the long jump, and triple jump.
Dunbar had 12 athletes qualify for regionals in the field events alone. The top four finishers in each event move on to the Region 2A-3 meet on April 26 at Wesley Chapel-Cypress Creek.
The Tigers boys captured four of the top five spots in the high jump, led by champion Caleb Snowden, a sophomore. Freshman Kevoun Watts was second.
“We expected to win,” Watts said of the team titles. “We worked too hard to come in and not win.”
Dunbar finished with 198 points in the boys meet to easily out-distance second-pace Immokalee (143). The standings were tighter for the girls, with the Tigers finishing with 187.5 points and Lely 170.
The performance of the day came from the Tigers’ Guerdine Michel. The senior sprinter won four championships, capturing district titles in the 100 meters, 200, 400 and 4x100 relay.
Junior Major Williams earned three titles for the Tigers. He won the 200, the 300 hurdles and the 4x100 relay.
In her first postseason meet, Lucheyona Weaver also won three titles for Dunbar. The freshman won both hurdles races and was on the winning 4x100 relay team.
For Bishop Verot, which finished third in the team standings, freshman Lauren Mills won three district titles. She won the 800 and was on the Viking relay teams that won the 4x400 and 4x800.
Dunbar senior Kamryn Smith advanced to regionals in all three jumps. She took second in the long jump, third in the triple jump and fourth in the high jump.
The performance, individually and as a team, felt especially sweet to Smith. She watched the district meet from the sidelines on crutches last year after suffering a leg injury.
Even though Smith is happy to be going to regional, she’s not content.
“It feels good to win, of course, but I think I could have done better,” Smith said. “If I keep practicing, I can do better (at regional).”
Track and field
District 2A-12 meet at Immokalee
Boys
Team scores
Dunbar 198, Lely 143.5, Immokalee 108, Clewiston 65, LaBelle 37, Bishop Verot 35.5, Gateway Charter 32, Oasis 27
Results
100 – 1. Gardner (IM) 10.93; 200 – 1. Williams (D) 22.19; 400 – 1. Wright (LE) 49.14; 800 – 1. Yrelus (IM) 1:59.49; 1600 – 1. Alvarez (LE) 4:42.98; 3200 – 1. Campbell (LA) 10:33.18; 110 hurdles – 1. Mustari (D) 14.79; 300 hurdles – 1. Williams (D) 39.82; 4x100 relay – 1. Dunbar (Jones, Milledge, Williams, Green-McKnight) 42.59; 4x400 relay – 1. Immokalee (Yrelus, Myrthil, Soverain, Martin) 3:25.72; 4x800 relay – 1. Immokalee (Yrelus, E. Mateo, P. Mateo, Soverain) 8:15.92; High jump – 1. Snowden (D) 1.94 meters; Pole vault – 1. Duverge (LE) 3.23 meters; Long jump – 1. Milledge (D) 6.59 meters; Triple jump – 1. Morancy (LE) 12.31 meters; Shot put – 1. Tull (CL) 13.47 meters; Discus – 1. Maldonado (O) 36.12 meters
Girls
Team scores
Dunbar 187.5, Lely 170, Bishop Verot 136.5, LaBelle 45, Clewiston 38, Immokalee 30, Oasis 24, Gateway Charter 7
Results
100 – 1. Michel (D) 12.62; 200 – 1. Michel (D) 25.85; 400 – 1. Michel (D) 57.75; 800 – Mills (BV) 2:30.34; 1600 – 1. Hart (LE) 5:26.17; 3200 – 1. Hart (LE) 12:20.99; 100 hurdles – 1. Weaver (D) 14.78; 300 hurdles – 1. Weaver (D) 48.50; 4x100 relay – 1. Dunbar (Franklin, Weaver, Thompkins, Michel) 50.14,; 4x400 relay – 1. Bishop Verot (Lewis, Gulati, Mills, Muller) 4:21.65; 4x800 relay – 1. Bishop Verot (Albrecht, Muller, Mills, Smith) 10:21.48; High jump – 1. Bryant (D) 1.52 meters; Pole vault – 1. Hamilton (LE) 2.43 meters; Long jump – 1. Bryant (D) 5.24 meters; Triple jump – 1. Bryant (D) 10.98 meters; Shot put – 1. Nippa (BV) 9.40 meters; Discus – 1. Nippa (BV) 29.76