Top 10 Athletes To Watch At FHSAA 1A Region 3

WATCH LIVE ON MILESPLIT!

Jacob Panzarella (First Baptist) - The defending 1A state champion at 100 and 200 meters, the USF commit Panzarella is also looking to see if he can add the 400 to his resumé this season after winning all 3 events at the district level to move onto regionals. Panzarella has only lost one race this season regardless of the distance with season bests of 10.56 in the 100, 21.06 in the 200, and 48.19 in the 400. Regionals will be a good test to see if he is ready to chase the triple crown in the sprints at the state meet next week in Gainesville. 

Mary Ellen Eudaly (Cambridge Christian) - The defending 1A state champion at 1600 meters, Eudaly is only fractions of a second off breaking the Florida all-time 1600 meter record at the FHSAA 1A District 9 meet with a 4:44.76 performance. Will she make another crack at it in the regional meet or save it for the state meet? Caitlin Collier of Bolles at 4:44.51 has the fastest recorded 1600 meter time in state history from her 2018 regional meet. The Auburn recruit will be competing also in the 800 and likely the 4x800 possibly at the regional meet and certainly at the state meet.

Mateo Luna (Indian Rocks Christian) - Mateo Luna owns the fastest times in the region for the 800 (1:54), 1600 (4:16), and 3200 (9:16), but the Indian Rocks senior will be going all in for the next two rounds with his state title contending 4x800 meter relay squad as well as the 1600 and 800 meter run. He was content at the district meet to sit back and let Tristan McWillam from Out of Door Academy go runaway with wins in both races, but will be interesting if decides to take the regional race more seriously with not only McWillam again but another sub 4:20 miler and 1:55 800 meter runner in Braxton Legg of Cambridge Christian. 

Caroline Lehman (Cambridge Christian) - The reigning 1A state champ at 3200 meters as well as two-time state cross country champion in Notre Dame signee Lehman will be entered in the 1600 and 3200 as well as possibly running in the 4x800. She was the pacesetter at the district meet en route to the incredible collective effort by the Cambridge girls to see 4 team members break 5 minutes in the same race for 1600 meters along with teammates Eudaly, Eliana Black, and Madeleine Gear. Lehman's personal best time of 4:45.86 ranks US #10 currently and also moves her further up the Florida all-time list. Lehman already owns state records for the two mile both outdoors (10:14.86) and indoors (10:18.84). 

Joshua Gulapa (St. John Neumann) - The senior from St. John Neumann stands a good chance at sweeping the boys hurdles at the 1A Region 3 meet as the region's fastest performer in both the 110 (14.89 season best) and 300 (40.66) season bests. While competing primarily locally in Southwest Florida, Gulapa has yet to lose a race this season in the 110 meter hurdles and no worse than second place in the 300 meter hurdles. Gulapa was a district champion in 4 events including the hurdles, the high jump, and the long jump. 

Mckenzie Travis (Evangelical Christian) - Previously at Fort Myers High School as a freshman and a regional champion in the 200 and regional runner-up in the 100 last year at the 3A level, Travis could be an even more dominant force this championship season now at the 1A level at her new school in Evangelical Christian School. Travis has dropped her times all the way down to 11.88 in the 100 and 24.55 to be a favorite and top qualifier in both races at the 1A Region 3 meet as well as a potential state title contender next week in Gainesville. She also won a district title and qualified for the 400-meter dash, but will be interesting to see if she drops or pulls out of that event at regionals or state meet with a 58.61 season-best. 

Braxton Legg (Cambridge Christian) - After qualifying for the state meet last year in the 800 with a 2 flat season-best, Braxton Legg has taken his running to the next level as a junior following a 5th place finish to close his cross country season in the FHSAA 1A state race in November. His track season has seen him break 4:20 for 1600 meters with a 4:18 lifetime-best run at the Florida Relays and most recently threw down a 1:55 PR in the 800 at the FHSAA 1A District 9 meet. Legg also ran 9:28 for 3200 at the FSU Relays, but will be focusing on the 1600 and 800 individually at the regional meet against some great competition in Mateo Luna and Tristan McWillam both having times in similar range for some great clashes. 

Erica Roberts (Northside Christian) - The reigning 1A state champion in the 200 meter dash while state runner-up in both the 100 and 400 meter dash, Erica Roberts will be tripling up it again in the state series as long as she successfully moves along in all 3 again at the regional meet. Roberts ran a season best and region leading time of 58.18 in the 400 meter dash at her district meet recently, while has yet to lose a race this season in the 200 meter dash with a 25.17 season best. Roberts has yet to best any of her PR's from her junior season in the sprints, but will have plenty of competition to push her at regionals including sophomore McKenzie Travis as the fastest seed ahead of her in both the 100 and 200. 

Eliana Black (Cambridge Christian) - The state's fastest all-time for an 8th grader at the 1600 and 3200 meter distance, Eliana Black is coming off another sub 5 minute performance in the 1600 as well as winning the 800 meter run at her district meet. Black's potential and focus in the 800 is an intriguging one as she has run 2:14 this season, which ranks among the fastest in the 1A classification. She will likely have to concede first place in the 1600 meter run to her senior Cambridge Christian teammates Eudaly and Lehman, but the 800 might be an event that she has her sits on her first FHSAA high school state title after winning several FLYRA middle school state titles already.

Leah Martin-Gonzales (St. John Neumann) - Whoever is coaching the hurdles at St. John Neumann is doing a fine job producing not only the top boys hurdler in the region in Joshua Gulapa, but top girls hurdler as well in Leah Martin-Gonzales. She leads the region as the fastest performer in both the 100 meter hurdles at 14.89 and the 300 meter hurdles at 45.36. Both performances came at the district meet, so she is peaking at the right time for the championship season push. Martin-Gonzales is a defending 1A state champion in not only the 100-meter hurdles, but the long jump as well. 

1A Region 3 Boys Leaderboard

1A Region 3 Girls Leaderboard