From start to finish at Saturday's District 3A-11 Track and Field Meet, the boys and girls of Fort Myers High School were at the head of the field as the Green Wave collected a total of 11 event victories and a first-place finish for the boys and a second-place finish for the girls.
Among the highlights from the Green Wave were a new district meet and program record-setting performance by junior Alexandra Chlumsky in the pole vault as she cleared 11 feet, 7 inches and Fort Myers made it a sweep in the event as junior Xavier Pantig took the boys competition as he cleared 11 feet, 9¾ inches.
"It's really rewarding to see this many kids move on to regionals," Green Wave head coach Sheryl Jones said.
"There were a couple things that we didn't do as well as we wanted to, but we did what we needed to do. At this stage, it's all about the person who's able to come out here and perform at that high level of competition that will get the job done."
Where the Green Wave had the upper hand were in the field events and with their distance running contingent on both the boys and girls sides. Juniors Jacob Lemmon and Fiona Kurland have been among the top performers on the biggest stages in Florida throughout the season and on Saturday, each put themselves in position to build up to peaking at the state tournament.
Lemmon notched his second-best throw in the discus this season with a toss of 189 feet, 7 inches to earn a district title and advanced in the shot put with a throw of 47 feet, 11 ¼ inches to take a third-place finish behind North Fort Myers' Isaiah Taylor, who threw 49 feet, 4½ inches for the win. With the regional meet at Charlotte High School not until April 26th, Lemmon will take more time to work on fine-tuning his technique.
"I was happy with how I did today, but I didn't really take advantage of the extra three throws that you get in the finals," Lemmon said.
"Being as windy as it was today, sometimes it can help if you catch a headwind just right but I was just a bit off on a few things. I'll have some time to fix my form up going towards regionals."
Kurland earned victories in the 800 and 1600 meters and played a role in Fort Myers' winning 4x800 relay along with Caroline MacKenzie, Sarah Schultz and Stephanie Ormsby as the Green Wave were defeated on the team scoreboard by Charlotte by just eight points. For the senior headed to the Naval Academy in the fall, following in the footsteps of former six-time state champion and current Furman freshman standout Krissy Gear hasn't been an easy task but Kurland has picked up one a key aspect that helped her friend become so dominant on the track that has helped her reach new heights this season.
“I definitely feel like I’ve gotten better at racing I feel like, having more of that killer instinct wanting to win instead of last year just settling for second behind Krissy. This year it’s now, I want to win."
Part of being around such an accomplished runner while having more than respectable finishes in the postseason in her Fort Myers career has helped Kurland find a mindset of how to prepare herself for the rest of the season.
“We'll cut down our mileage going towards regionals and states, but not so much on intensity. I still feel like I have a lot of work that needs to be done, I'm not super satisfied with my times and I know I can improve more.”
The distance runners for the Green Wave boys showed their depth across all of the events with the 1600 meter run seeing Fort Myers claim four of the top five spots led by junior Nick Carpenter taking home first. Carpenter would also add the 800-meter title and sophomore Kyle Skinner took the 3200-meter run championship. Carpenter added another event win, teaming with Reese Novella, Jonathan Edwards and Liam Holston to bring home the title in the 4x800 relay with a time of 8:14.11.
Seniors Voldrick Dorelien and Jonathan Cassamajor took a 1-2 finish in the 100-meter dash as Dorelien came across in 11.33 seconds to edge his teammate by 0.04 to speak to the strength of the Green Wave program on the day.
Island Coast senior Precious Tillman won the district title in the shot put for the fourth year in a row while taking the discus for the third time. As accomplished as Tillman has been in her career as a Gator, she is looking to better her mindset heading into her final events in her high school career to help her land a scholarship at the next level.
“I just have to build my confidence up a little bit more in each event,” Tillman said.
“I feel like I’m ready to go but I honestly don’t know what the numbers are for me to want to go for. Colleges are looking for more than what I’ve been at. I’ve got the strength I need but technique is what I need to get together and tweak before the state meet.”
Cape Coral junior Joilynn Lewis was another top performer in the field events on Saturday as she was victorious in the long jump and triple jump for the Seahawks.
Host Ida Baker shined brightest in the 4x400 relay with anchor Ryan Ringer pulling away from the field to give the Bulldogs the title, and Ringer continued his fine season in the 400 meter with another victory for the junior for the second year in a row in the event.
South Fort Myers sophomore Te’era Stewart continued her standout season as she raced to victory in the girls 100 meters with a 12.48 to beat her teammate Khari Mitchell. The dup would team with 400-meter dash winner Myke’lah Miller and Armonee Brown to claim the victory in the 4x100 as the quartet ran in 48.56 seconds.
Mariner’s Elijah Butz, Lehigh's Antwoine Thomas, and Riverdale’s Anterieon Payne took home the wins in the 300 hurdles, 110 hurdles and high jump, respectively, as Butz outdistanced the field with a 40.53, Lewis came across in 15.29 and Payne cleared 6 feet, 1½ inches.
Boys
Team results
Fort Myers 152.5, Port Charlotte 83.5, Mariner 75, Ida Baker 70.5, Riverdale 69, Charlotte 59.5, North Fort Myers 53, Lehigh 51, South Fort Myers 23, Cape Coral 13, Island Coast 6
Event Results
High Jump: Anterieon Payne, Riverdale 6 feet, 1½ inches; Pole Vault: Xavier Pantig, Fort Myers, 11 feet, 9¾ inches; Long Jump: Tyreece Luther, Port Charlotte, 23 feet, 3¼ inches; Triple Jump: Tyreece Luther, Port Charlotte, 45 feet, 9¼ inches; Discus: Jacob Lemmon, Fort Myers, 189 feet, 7 inches; Shot Put: Isaiah Taylor, North Fort Myers, 49 feet, 4½ inches; 4x800 Relay: Fort Myers (Reese Novella, Nick Carpenter, Jonathan Edwards, Liam Holston), 8:14.11; 110 Hurdles: Antwoine Thomas, Lehigh, 15.29; 100 Meter: Voldrick Dorelien, Fort Myers, 11.33; 1600 Meter: Nick Carpenter, Fort Myers, 4:35.96; 4x100 Relay: Charlotte (Andrew Grace, Nycarion Harvey, Isaiah Dareus, Savorion Warren), 42.86; 400 Meter: Ryan Ringer, Ida Baker, 49.62; 300 Hurdles: Elijah Butz, Mariner, 40.53; 800 Meter: Nick Carpenter, Fort Myers, 1:59.95; 200 Meter: Savorion Warren, Charlotte, 22.62; 3200 Meter: Kyle Skinner, Fort Myers, 10:21.82; 4x400 Relay: Ida Baker (Kennice Beaubrun, Brian McKellup, Garret Petracca, Ryan Ringer), 3:24.94
Girls
Team results
Charlotte 148, Fort Myers 140, Port Charlotte 79, Cape Coral 62, South Fort Myers 57, North Fort Myers 39, Lehigh 33, Ida Baker 33, Island Coast 25, Riverdale 15, Mariner 12, Cypress Lake 2
Event results
High Jump: Kristen Locker, Port Charlotte, 5 feet, 3 inches; Pole Vault: Alexandra Chlumsky, Fort Myers, 11 feet, 7 inches (new 3A-11 and Fort Myers record); Long Jump: Joilynn Lewis, Cape Coral, 17 feet, 1½ inches; Triple Jump: Joilynn Lewis, Cape Coral, 34 feet, 8½ inches; Discus: Precious Tillman, Island Coast, 130 feet, 6 inches;
Shot Put: Precious Tillman, Island Coast, 39 feet, 3¾ inches; 4x800 Relay: Fort Myers (Stephanie Ormsby, Fiona Kurland, Caroline MacKenzie, Sarah Schultz), 10:00.70; 100 Hurdles: Eunice Noel, Charlotte, 15.09; 100 Meter: Te'era Stewart, South Fort Myers, 12.48; 1600 Meter: Fiona Kurland, Fort Myers, 5:14.42; 4x100 Relay: South Fort Myers (Myke'lah McMiller, Armonee Brown, Te'era Stewart, Khari Mitchell), 48:56; 400 Meter: Myke'lah McMiller, South Fort Myers, 1:01.82; 300 Hurdles: Eunice Noel, Charlotte, 47.88; 800 Meter: Fiona Kurland, Fort Myers, 2:25.91; 200 Meter: Kaitlyn Chavarria, Charlotte, 26.63; 3200 Meter: Isabella Coogan, Charlotte, 11:38.43; 4x400 Relay: Port Charlotte (Isabella Reyes, Emmalee Lowe, Kristen Locker, Shannon Ingman), 4:23.23