The Sunshine State shined at both the Brooks PR Invitational and Adidas Boost Boston Games. Here is how athletes performed.
Brooks PR
Charles Hicks Maintains FL No. 1 Rank, Splits 8:55.53
Stanford signee, Charles Hicks, maintained his top Floridian distance rank withhis 8:55.53 2 Mile performance this weekend at Brooks PR.
Hicks ran an 8:49.62 3200m at Arcadia earlier this year and his 8:55.53 2 Mile converts over to an 8:52.69 3200m -- just missing his PR by a few seconds.
A strong conclusion for the Bolles graduate as he gears up for his collegiate season in the coming months.
Emelia Chatfield Finishes Top 3 in Girls 100mH
St. Thomas Aquinas junior, Emelia Chatfield, continued her dominance in the hurdles this weekend -- going up against some of the best hurdlers in the nation.
Chatfield finished third in a time of 13.99. Her PR of 13.56 that she ran at the Pepsi Florida Relays earlier this season has earned Chatfield a top 10 nationally ranked spot all season in the event. With one more year left for the FHSAA 4A 300mH state champion, we are bound to see another record breaking season come 2020.
Valerie Lastra Secures Top 8 Finish In Elite Girls Mile
Valerie Lastra has had a strong racing season and her eighth place, 4:47.34 mile finish was nothing short of outstanding.
The Mater Academy junior was up against a very tough field with the winner in the race running a 4:41.34 and last place going 4:57 -- talk about depth.
Lastra held her own and finished just two seconds shy of her 4:45.95 mile PR that she ran at the Music City Distance Carnival.
Jatana Folston Breaks 55 Seconds, Finishes 4th in 400m Dash
USC signee, Jatana Folston, raced her way to a fourth place finish in a time of 54.91 in the girls 400m dash.
The Cocoa graduate has had a very strong season finishing state runner-up in both the 2A 800m and 400m this season.
Ziyah Holman of Georgetown Day School won the event in a time of 52.62 with a battle down to the line for second through fourth place.
Folston will gear up to compete for USC in the 2020 track season as a middle distance specialist.
Yared, Clark Work Together To Finish Strong in the 2 Mile
Pine Crest junior, Tsion Yared, and FSU signee, Rebecca Clark, had strong sub-eleven minute showings in the girls two mile.
Yared finished in a time of 10:50.67 with Clark right behind in 10:56.90 -- in an extremely quick two mile race.
Ericka Vanderlende of Rockford and Katelynne Hart battled down to the finish, running 9:53 and 9:56 to go one and two in the race.
Yared will now look to prepare for her final high school cross country season while Clark will gear up to race for FSU come fall.
Adidas Boost Boston Games
Parker Valby Continues Breakout Season, Clocks 4:55.10 in Dream Mile
Parker Valby was the lone sunshine state girl represented at the Adidas Boost Boston Games.
The East Lake junior finished strong in an eighth place finish in a time of 4:55.61 for the road mile. At the end of May, Valby raced her way to a 4:51.64 mile at the Music City Distance Carnival.
After a record breaking state championship win in the 3200m in a time of 10:10 and a runner-up finish in the 1600m at the state meet, Valby has progressed nicely these past few weeks after a long season.
The junior is scheduled to compete at the USATF U20 Championships this coming weekend in Miramar in the both the 3000m and 5000m.
Arian Smith, Seneca Milledge Finish 3rd and 5th in Dream 100m
Florida sprinters, Arian Smith and Seneca Milledge, represented the sunshine state well in the Adidas Dream 100m race. Mulberry junior, Arian Smith, finished third in a wind legal 10.79 with Dunbar graduate, Seneca Milledge, right behind in 10.87.
Both Smith and Milledge went head to head in the FHSAA 2A 100m for the state title. Milledge took the win in a 10.55 with Smith taking second in 10.64.
Throughout the season both athletes have proved to be two of the best sprinters in the state. Smith is scheduled to compete at the USATF U20 Championships this coming weekend in the 200m -- an event that the FHSAA 2A 200m state champion is very familiar with.