On-Site Coverage
Osceola County and the Orange Belt Conference brought five schools to compete against the best of the Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Lakeland areas. Things got started very nicely for Liberty when junior Joshua Wilson jumped 23-04 on his second jump to put the pressure on everyone. He advanced to finals and passed his remaining jumps to walk away as regional champ, and into Jacksonville as one of the favorites to win.
The Liberty 4x800 team was also poised to make a splash. They came out third with a personal best and advanced to Jacksonville as well. Also advancing from Liberty were senior Kadijah Brown, her brother Marion, and the 4x100 team who put on a show with a 41.88 time. Kadijah qualified in all three jumping events by taking second in the long and triple She placed fourth in the high jump by clearing 5-04, but had the least amount of strikes. In total Liberty is taking ten athletes to next weekend’s state meet.
The Osceola Kowboys brought the heat in the girls 100 meter hurdles. Sitting very nice with the top three qualifiers from prelims, Deara Thomas (100 meter hurdles winner), Charlie Muzeka & Valerie Norgaisse didn’t disappoint and will advance to states. Valerie also qualified in the 300m hurdles with her win in that event. Akiel Hamilton will move on in the triple jump to give the Kowboys four athletes overall.
St Cloud had yet another huge effort by senior Travon Williams who swept the hurdle events. He narrowly missed the finals for the long jump, but he was the anchor leg on the 4x100 team that was just off of the afore mentioned Liberty squad. Ian McKenzie won the shot put, but came up short in the discus.
Celebration had a nice day early as Jhonny Victor cleared 6-08 after a scare at 6-06. He surprised the crowd and judges when he asked the bar to move to 7-0 and he was oh so close to clearing it on his third attempt. David Akins again hit 15-0 on the pole vault to win the region, and he like his teammate, just missed the next height when he missed 15-06. Both go to the championships with top three marks in their respective events.
Harmony was not to be outdone though. Christina Moodie and Kendall Pollack will make the Longhorns proud again when they competes in the 400 meters and discus respectively next weekend. Moodiejust missed in the 200 meters, taking fifth.
Osceola County schools combined to win nine of the 34 contested events. A team title will be unlikely for any team, but there is always a chance something amazing could happen. On the individual side however, there is a great chance one of the nine regional winners can become the first to win a title since OHS’s Tynia Gaither won the 100 and 200 meters for the girls back in 2011 at the 4A meet. Tyler Osorio won titles in the 100 and 400 meters for Celebration also in 2011 but at 3A meet.
According to the current leaderboard on the3A Boys virtual meet, Liberty’s 4x100 team is a mere .49 seconds away from the state’s best time. Josh Wilson (part of that 4x100 team) is in the hunt with his consistent 22ft plus long jumps. Celebration can pull off a double with Victor and Akins in the high jump and pole vault.
As for the girls, Liberty’s Kadijah Brown will be the best shot in the triple. Don’t expect Osceola to go without a fight though, they are filling three of the 16 lanes with Lady Kowboys.
No matter how the state meet pans out, it is guaranteed to produce some great marks!