One of the great joys of coaching is to witness the success of your team at a major event. Track Coaches Sue Tortora, Troy Urquhart, and Jordan Foley all have reason to be proud of their team as they competed well this past Friday evening. Montverde Academy hosted the Division 1A, District 7 meet, and with both the boys and girls teams placing 5th of 10 teams, there was much to celebrate.
The following team members set personal records in their event:
* Parinda Dechathipat, 800m
* Rebecca Mason, 100m Hurdles
* Corinne Missi, Shot Put
* Wendy Williams, 100m Hurdles
* Katie Young, 3200m
* Girls 4 x 400m Relay (Alex Williams, Rebecca Mason, Raegan Daley, Madi Salinas)
* Alex Anyaegbunam, Long Jump and Triple Jump
* Conner Bergin, 3200m
* Teddy DeWitt, Shot Put
* Mickey Mi, 100m and 200m
* Christian Peeples, Discus
* Luke Zhang, Discus
* Jeffrey Zhang, 800m
The boys 4x800m relay team (Conner Bergin, Tyler Gehr, Emilio Giler, Oumar Diakhite) broke the school record as did Emilio Giler in the boys 800m.
The following student-athletes qualified to compete in the 1A, Region 2 meet by placing in the top 4 in their event:
* Alex Anyaegbunam, 3rd (Personal Record), Triple Jump
* Corinne Missi, 3rd (Personal Record), Shot Put
* Teddy DeWitt, 3rd (Personal Record), Shot Put
* Susan Rifai, 4th, 4x800m Relay
* Maya Rifai, 4th, 4x800m Relay
* Ciara Hopkins, 4th, 4x800m Relay; 3rd, 1600m; 4th, 3200m
* Meghan Emling, 4th, 4x800m Relay
* Oumar Diakhite, 3rd (School Record), 4x800m Relay
* Conner Bergin, 3rd (School Record), 4x800m Relay
* Tyler Gehr, 3rd (School Record), 4x800m Relay; 2nd, 4x400m Relay
* Emilio Giler, 3rd (School Record), 4x800m Relay
* Jair Minors, 1st, 100m; 2nd, 200m; 2nd, 4x400m Relay
* Mauriq Hill, 2nd, 4x400m Relay
* Quintonio Lema, 2nd, 4x400m Relay
More coverage as well as some great photos can be found at flrunners.com. The 1A, Region 2 meet will be held at The First Academy of Orlando, Thursday, April 19.
Posted by Sue Tortora on 04-15-2012
The last regular season track meet is the final opportunity to evaluate performances prior to assigning events for the district meet. Wednesday evening’s meet at Trinity Prep proved to be very positive, yielding 14 personal bests and good feelings about how the Eagles stack up against the district teams.
Seventeen teams competed, including several large public high schools from Orange County. The girls finished in 9th place while the boys finished 10th.
Field Highlights:
* Tiffany DeWitt – Discus, 5th place with a personal record throw.
* Corinne Missi – Shot Put, 3rd place
* Alex Anyaegbunam – Long Jump, 3rd place
* Brandon La Motte – High Jump, 3rd place
Sprint Highlights:
* Jair Minors – 100m, 3rd place; 200m, 3rd place
* 4 x 400m Relay Team (Tyler Gehr, Jair Minors, Quintonio Lema, Mauriq Hill) - 6th place. Broke the school record!
Distance Highlights:
* Ciara Hopkins – 1600m, 1st place; 3200m, 1st place
* Girls 4 x 800m Relay Team (Ciara Hopkins, Meghan Emling, Maya Rifai, Addison Adkins) - 7th place
* Boys 4 x 800m Relay Team (Tyler Gehr, Conner Bergin, Emilio Giler, Oumar Diakhite) - 6th place
The Eagles will host the Class 1A, District 7 track meet Friday, April 13. The meet begins at 3pm.
Posted by Sue Tortora on 04-05-2012
Twenty two of the best teams in Central Florida competed at the Royal Invitational track meet this past Friday. The competition was fierce with Colonial, Jones, and Hagerty fighting for the top 3 spots. Your Eagles did not win the day but coming off spring break week they finished very a respectable 16th (girls) and 15th (boys). In addition, several set personal records and there were a few notable finishes.
Corinne Missi continues to impress with her rise to the top in the shot put. Corinne threw a personal best 32’ 8” to place 3rd behind a young lady from Hagerty and Chanel Coco from Father Lopez who currently leads the region with a best of 37’ 4”.
Jair Minors, despite not feeling the best, long jumped an impressive 19’ 9”, a personal record, to place 5th. Jair went on to place 4th in the 200m. His time is currently the best time in our district. Jair was unable to participate in the 4 x 400m relay but Brandon La Motte took his spot and the team, consisting of Tyler Gehr, Mauriq Hill, Quintonio Lema, and Brandon went on to set a best time of 3:41, only seconds off the school record. They placed 7th at the meet but should be seeded in the top 4 at districts with a real chance to advance.
In the distance events, the girls 4x800m team cut nineteen seconds from their season's best time, running 10:51. Ciara Hopkins dropped twelve seconds from her season's best time in the 3200m, running 11:59 and bringing home 7th place, and Tanner Dotson cut eight seconds from her personal best in the 3200m, finishing in 13:18. In the 1600m race, Susan Rifai, Katie Young, and Harry Vaughn all ran personal-best times, and both Addison Adkins and Oumar Diakhite ran personal-best times in the 800m race.
Posted by Sue Tortora on 04-03-2012
3 days following the annual invitational, the Eagles took on 4 public schools at the U-Dog Invitational at Umatilla High School. The girl's team placed 3rd to Umatilla and Eustis while the boys placed 4th, to Lake Minneola, Umatilla, and Eustis. Two school records in the 800m run were shattered by Ciara Hopkins and Emilio Giler, and 22 personal records were set at this meet.
Field Event Highlights
Alex Anyaegbunam – 1st place, long jump}
Jair Minors – 2nd place, long jump
Brandon LaMotte – 3rd place, high jump
Raegan Daley – 4th place, long jump
Teddy DeWitt – 4th place, shot put
Tiffany DeWitt – 2nd place, discus; 4th place, shot put
Corinne Missi – 1st place, shot put
Sprint Highlights
Raegan Daley – 4th place, 100m
Alex Williams – 5th place, 400m
Jair Minors – 1st place, 200m
Jair Minors, Tyler Gehr, Brandon LaMotte, Hans Hanley – 3rd place, 4x400m relay
Distance Highlights
Oumar Diakhite – 3rd place, 1600m
Conner Bergin – 4th place, 1600m; 5th place, 800m
Susan Rifai – 1st place, 1600m
Addison Adkins – 2nd place, 1600m, 4th place, 800m
Katie Young – 3rd place, 1600m
Emilio Giler – School record and 3rd place, 800m
Meghan Emling – 3rd place, 800m
Ciara Hopkins – School record and 2nd place, 800m
Parinda Dechithapat, Iman Ismail, Crystal Amaya, Janki Patel – 4th place, 4 x 800m relay
Posted by Sue Tortora on 03-14-2012
Twelve teams--Leesburg High School, Mt. Dora High, Mt. Dora Bible, Wildwood High, The First Academy of Orlando, First Academy of Leesburg, Windermere Prep, Foundation, Orlando Christian Prep, Central Florida Christian, Umatilla High School and your MVA Eagles--participated in an overcast morning of the 37th Annual Montverde Academy Eagle Track Invitational where the MVA girls' team placed 6th and the boys placed 4th.
There were some outstanding performances in the field and on the track resulting in 23 personal records. Following are individual results and a list of those who achieved personal records.
Field Events:
Ted DeWitt – 5th place, shot put
Brandon LaMotte – 3rd place, long jump; 3rd place, high jump
Tiffany DeWitt – 7th place, shot put
Corinne Missi – 3rd place, shot put
Raegan Daley – 8th place, long jump
Distance Events:
Conner Bergin – 6th place, 1600m
Oumar Diakhite – 6th place 3200m
Emilio Giler – 3rd place, 800m; 5th place, 1600m
Harry Vaughn, Hans Hanley, Jeffrey Zhang, Brian Donnelly – 5th place, 4x800m Relay
Addison Adkins – 8th place, 1600m
Meghan Emling – 5th place, 800m
Ciara Hopkins – 3rd place, 1600m; 2nd place, 3200m
Tanner Dotson – 4th place, 3200m
Susan Rifai – 6th place, 800m
Katie Young – 6th place, 3200m
Susan Rifai, Katie Young, Tanner Dotson, Meghan Emling – 1st place, 4 x 800m Relay
Sprint Events:
Tyler Gehr – 4th place, 400m
Lema Quintonio – 6th place, 200m
Jair Minors – 1st place, 200m
Ibrahim Mohammed – 6th place, 400m
Corinne Missi – 5th place, 100m
Jair Minors, Quintonio Lema, Tyler Gehr, Hans Hanley – 2nd place, 400m Relay
Personal Records were set by:
Addison Adkins
Brandon LaMotte
Carlyn Rosario
Chase Zagame
Christian Peeples
Clementine Guinet
Corinne Missi
Crystal Amaya
Emilio Giler
Ibrahim Mohammed
Iman Ismail
Jeffrey Zhang
Meghan Emling
Mickey Mi
Oumar Diakhite
Parinda Dechathipat
Quintonio Lema
Raegan Daley
Rebecca Mason
Susan Rifai
Sydney Hardat
Tyler Gehr
Wendy Williams
Posted by Sue Tortora on 03-13-2012
This past Friday, the Eagle Track and Field Team competed at the Trinity Prep Invitational in Winter Park. Fifteen teams competed including two powerhouse public school teams, Oak Ridge and Lake Howell. The boys placed 9th and the girls placed 10th overall. Twelve personal bests were set Friday evening.
Notable performances are below:
Field Event Highlights
* Alex Anyaegbunam – Long jumped 19' 3" in his first meet. Will be a contender in the district meet!
* Teddy Dewitt – 8th place in the shot put with a throw of 37' 4"
* Brandon LaMotte – 3rd place in the high jump at 5' 10"
* Jair Minors – Long jumped 19' 2" in his first meet. Will be a contender at the district meet!
* Ibrahim Mohammed – Personal record in the long jump with a jump of 17' 7"
* Luja (Luke) Zhang – Personal record in the discus with a throw of 73' 5"
* Daniela Amaya – Personal record in the discus with a throw of 64' 8"
* Tiffany DeWitt – Personal record and 4th place in the shot put with a throw of 29' 2.75"
* Clementine Guinet – Personal record set in the discus with a throw of 50' 8"
* Corinne Missi – Personal record and 3rd place in the shot put with a throw of 30' 3"
Sprinting Highlights
* Mauriq Hill – 5th place in the 400m at 55.06 seconds
* Quintonio Lema – 8th place in the 200m dash with a time of 24.12
* Mickey Mi – Personal record in the 200m with a time of 29.69
* Jair Minors – 5th place in the 100m (winning time was 11.36) with a time of 11.4
* Ibrahim Mohammed – set a personal record in the 400m with a time of 58.28
* Sydney Hardat – Personal record in the 200m with a time of 37.3
Distance Highlights
* 4x800m Relay - The girls 4x800m team debuted this week and took 6th place, running 11:10. Runners in this meet's relay team were Susan Rifai, Maya Rifai, Ciara Hopkins, and Meghan Emling.
* 1600m Run - In the girls race, Ciara Hopkins took second, running a season-best time of 5:32, just nine seconds behind her own school record of 5:23. Susan Rifai took two seconds off her personal-record time, finishing in 6:10. In the boys 1600m, Conner Bergin ran a personal-record time of 5:01, just three seconds behind the school record of 4:58 set by Nic Tautiva in 2008. Emilio Giler also ran a personal-record time, finishing two seconds behind Bergin in 5:03. Harry Vaughn made his track debut, running 5:45.
* 800m Run - Meghan Emling ran a personal-record time of 2:44. In the boys race, Zhijie "Jeff" Zhang took eleven seconds off his personal best time, finishing in 2:36.
* 3200m Run - Tanner Dotson and Addison Adkins both shaved just under a second off their times from last week, setting personal records and finishing within two hundredths of a second of each other in 13:26. In the boys race, Oumar Diakhite made his track debut, running 11:41.
Posted by Sue Tortora on 03-04-2012
The 2012 Eagle Track and Field Team competed in the first meet of the season Thursday, February 16, the Royal Open held at The First Academy of Orlando. Top teams such as Jones High School, Trinity Prep, Admiral Farragut, and Bishop Moore along with 8 other teams competed at the meet. The Eagles girls and boys teams each placed 7th, ahead of a usually strong Father Lopez team.
This year, the Eagles are 41 strong with 7 seniors, 8 juniors, 5 sophomores, 7 freshmen, and 14 middle-school students. Seventeen are returning team members, and most of the team is young and showing promise for a bright future.
Field Highlights
* Shot Put: Teddy DeWitt threw a 37’ 6” shot, placing him 4th and giving him a new personal record. Newcomer Corinne Missi threw 30’ 2”, giving her 3rd place. Daniela Amaya tied her personal best throw of 24’ 5”. Newcomer Luke Zhang throws 27’ 8” after only a few practices.
* Discus: Teddy DeWitt threw 97’ 3” to place 6th and improved his best from last season by 13’. Daniela Amaya threw a new personal best distance of 64’ 2” to secure 7th place. A newcomer to throwing, Clementine Guinet threw 50’. Luke Zhang threw 71’ 2” in his first attempt at throwing the discus.
* Long Jump: Newcomer Clayte (Brandon) LaMotte, with only 2 days of long jump practice, jumped 18’ 2” to take 6th. Carlyn Rosario jumped 12’ 11” and shows promise for a solid season.
Sprint Highlights
* 400m: Tyler Gehr ran 55.5 in the 400m, a two-second personal record from last season. Hans Hanley had a solid time in the 400m, a new event for him.
* 200m: Mickey Mi set a personal record in the 200m.
* 100m: Regan Daley, who is not new to track and field but new to the team, ran the 100m after only one day of practice and finished only a couple of seconds behind the lead runner from Jones High School. With time and practice, she should have a great season.
* Many more solid performances were seen from middle school runners Abby Cook, Sydney Hardat, Chloe Peeples, Madi Salinas, and Chase Zagame.
Distance Highlights
* 1600m: In the girls race, Ciara Hopkins ran 5:35, taking 3rd. Maya Rifai (6:09) and Susan Rifai (6:12) both ran personal-record times. Tanner Dotson debuted at 6:17. Emilio Giler led the boys team with a 5:09 debut. Zhijie (Jeff) Zhang made his track debut with a 5:58 finish, and Brian Donnelly debuted at 6:29.
* 800m: Susan Rifai ran a personal-best time of 2:46, taking 8th place. Addison Adkins debuted at 2:51, with Janki Patel at 3:04 and Iman Ismail at 4:32. For the boys, Emilio Giler took 8th with a 2:19 finish. Brian Donnelly finished in 2:38, with Zhijie (Jeff) Zhang at 2:47.
* 3200m: The girls went 1-4-5-6 in the 3200m race. Ciara Hopkins dominated the field with a time of 12:20, a thirty-second lead over the second-place finisher. Maya Rifai ran a 45-second personal record to finish 4th in 13:14, with Addison Adkins and Tanner Dotson right behind her, finishing together in 5th and 6th at 13:26.
Complete meet results are online at
fl.milesplit.com/meets/105471-royal-open.
Posted by Sue Tortora, Troy Urquhart on 02-17-2012
On Saturday, November 12, the Cross Country team competed in the FHSAA 1A Region 2 Meet, marking the first time in recent history that the Eagles have advanced a team beyond district competition.
Ranked 10th entering the meet, the girls team was led by Freshman Ciara Hopkins, who ran 21:39 to take 23rd place. Maya Rifai and Tanner Dotson finished almost side-by-side in 22:18, a personal-record time for both runners. Addison Adkins finished in 23:17, with Susan Rifai just behind her in 23:33. Katie Young ran a personal best of 24:18, and Parinda Dechathipat brought the Eagles home with a time of 24:27. Overall, the girls took 9th in the team scoring with an average time of 22:37.
The boys team was led by Sophomore Conner Bergin, who battled an injury the entire race, finishing in 19:31. Just behind Bergin, Tyler Gehr ran a personal-best time of 19:37, breaking the 20-minute mark for the first time. Young Bum Yoo finished in 20:04, shaving five seconds off his personal record. Sang-Bin Park ran 21:31, and Brandon Pownall was just 13 seconds off his personal-record time with a finish of 24:00. In the sixth and seventh positions for the team, Brian Donnelly and Kaize Deng were neck-and-neck in a finishing sprint down the last 100 meters, with Donnelly (25:30) edging out Deng at the finish (25:31). The team entered the Region Meet ranked 12th and finished 11th in team scoring with an average time of 20:56.
Asked about the season, Coach Troy Urquhart said, "I'm pleased with the progress we've made with both teams this year, and I'm encouraged by the promise we have for the future. We have a great base established for the upcoming outdoor track season, and we'll graduate only one runner this year from our girls team, so we're looking forward to starting next year with a hardworking group of talented runners."
Posted by Troy Urquhart on 11-16-2011
On Saturday, November 5, cross country teams from District 7 traveled to the challenging hills of Mount Dora for the first meet of this year's post-season competition.
In the girls race, Montverde entered the District Meet knowing that Circle Christian and The First Academy were likely to take first and second, and that the Eagles would have to battle district host Mount Dora Bible for the third place position--and for a place at the Region 2 Meet.
After finishing just two points ahead of MDB at last week's Lake-Sumter County Championship, Coach Troy Urquhart expected a tight race: "Mount Dora Bible is a tough team with a lot of talent. We knew going in on Saturday that we would need great performances from all of our girls if we expected to advance to the Region."
Freshman Ciara Hopkins, currently ranked 20th in the state, took 4th, finishing in 21:02. Senior Captain Susan Rifai took 12th (23:10), with the rest of the team finishing in rapid succession: Tanner Dotson in 14th (23:27), Maya Rifai in 15th (23:38), Addison Adkins in 16th (23:48), Parinda Dechathipat in 17th (24:07), and Katie Young in 24th (25:24).
Although MDB had runners in 3rd, 9th, and 11th, Montverde was able to get all seven of its runners in before MDB's fifth runner crossed the line, and the team finished in third--seven points ahead of MDB and seven points behind The First Academy--and secured a spot at next week's Region Meet.
In the boys race, it was clearly a battle for fourth, which also carried with it a trip to the Region Meet. Sophomore Conner Bergin took 9th, finishing in 18:52. Seniors Young Bum Yoo and Tyler Gehr stayed together for the entire race, with Yoo finishing 21st (20:20) and Gehr finishing 22nd (20:21). Sang-Bin Park finished in 35th (23:04); Brandon Pownall in 42nd (23:58); Brian Donnelly in 46th (26:12); and Kaize Deng, battling an injury, finished 49th (30:42).
The boys team finished with 127 points, securing fourth by a margin of 24 and also earning a position at next week's Region Meet.
This is the first time in recent history that the Academy has advanced a team to the Region Meet.
The Eagles will travel to Trinity Prep on Saturday, November 12, for the FHSAA 1A Region 2 Meet.
Posted by Troy Urquhart on 11-06-2011
A stiff breeze, chilly rain, and one of the most challenging courses in the state made for a great cross country race at the Lake-Sumter County Championships, hosted by Mount Dora Bible on Saturday, October 29. Three Montverde runners made the All-County teams, and the Girls team brought home the second place trophy for Lake and Sumter Counties.
Freshman Ciara Hopkins, who was ranked #20 in the most recent FACA 1A state polls, led the girls team with a 5th place finish (21:27), earning a place on the First Team for All-County. Hopkins was followed by sixth grader Addison Adkins, who made several big moves in this race to finish 14th (23:47) with a spot on the All-County Second Team. Seventh grader Tanner Dotson took 15th (23:57), followed by senior captain Susan Rifai in 16th (24:01). Eighth grader Maya Rifai rounded out the scoring with 21st (24:54), followed by a strong finishing kick from her classmate Parinda Dechathipat in 25th (25:47) and sophomore Janki Patel in 50th (31:20).
In team scoring, the girls took 2nd place, finishing with 66 points, 2 points ahead of district rivals Mount Dora Bible and 18 points behind East Ridge High School.
In the boys race, sophomore Conner Bergin won a spot on the All-County First Team with a 6th place finish (18:59). Following Bergin were senior Tyler Gehr in 33rd (20:46), senior Young Bum Yoo in 34th (20:50), junior Sang-Bin Park in 48th (22:23), junior Brandon Pownall in 63rd (24:41), and sophomore Kaize Deng in 64th (27:48).
The team's next competition will be Saturday, November 5, at the FHSAA 1A District 7 Meet hosted by Mount Dora Bible.
Posted by Troy Urquhart on 10-30-2011
