Carlos Benitez (Belen), Miami, Havana was ninth in the freshman boys 400m with a 51.85 (FL Indoor FR No. 6), and ran a 50.76 400m leg in the Belen boys National Record 4000m DMR. On the right above with Belen anchor Marcelo Mantecon.
Florida's rising middle school and freshman stars showed up in a big way on the national stage this past weekend, with noticeable performances at both New Balance Nationals Indoor and Nike Indoor Nationals. With multiple top-10 all-time marks and state-leading performances, some of Florida's future track & field stars have shone bright on the national stage.
Mid-Distance-Distance
Freshman and middle school boys and girls made their presence known in the distance races across both meets.
Avery Rand (Spanish River) clocked a strong 4:27.27 at NB Nationals, finishing 9th and later backed it up with a 2:02.54 (800m)-good for FL No. 5 indoor. At Nike, David Jaramillo (Belen) dropped a 4:26.84 for a FL No 1 freshman indoor 7th-place finish.
On the girls' side, Freshmen Lailani Levy (Spanish River) and Marisa Mantecon (Our Lady of Lourdes Academy) were impressive, with both girls running sub-5:05 performances. Levy was ninth with a 5:03.10 at NBNI, which put her at No. 2 in the indoor freshman girls rankings. Mantecon went 5:01.25 in her second-place finish at NIN, a Florida freshman girls No. 1. Sofie Stam (Bolles) went sub-5:10 at NBNI with a top 20, 5:06.85 finish.
At NBNI, Noah Lefko (WIND Runners) ran 4:42.63, now FL MS No. 3 all-time indoor, Pedro Rodriguez (Doral Academy) was just behind Lefko in 4:45.06. A FL MS No. 9 all-time. Dylan Mirro (Veterans Park Academy for the Arts) WIND Runners added a 4:55.80 effort.
Lailani Levy (Spanish River) doubled back from her Mile to run a 2:18.08, claiming the FL No. 1 freshman indoor ranking.
Sprints
The Florida middle school and freshman distance runners were not the only athletes who represented Florida on the national scene over the weekend. The Florida middle school and freshman sprinters also put on an impressive display.
Aniyah Walker (IMG Elite) dominated the middle school 60m in 7.58 to win the national championship at NBNI. Joining her was Tamia Nixon (Admiral Farragut Academy), who placed fourth in 7.78. Destiny Robinson (IMG Elite) ran an FL indoor FR No. 2 with a 7.64 in the prelim and a 7.69 fifth-place finish in the finals. Ransom MS's Madison McCrary finished seventh at NIN in the 60m with a 7.92. She ran 7.90 in the prelims.
Carlos Benitez (Belen), Miami, Havana was ninth in the freshman boys 400m with a 51.85 (FL Indoor FR No. 6), and ran a 50.76 400m leg in the Belen boys National Record 4000m DMR.
In the Field Events at NIN, Antwon Scott (813 Elite) took home sixth place in the Shot Put with a throw of 11.91m (39-1.00). He owns the FL MS Indoor No. 2 ranking in the Shot Put with a 12.01 mark.
Carlos Benitez (Belen), Miami, Havana was ninth in the freshman boys 400m with a 51.85 (FL Indoor FR No. 6), and ran a 50.76 400m leg in the Belen boys National Record 4000m DMR. On the right above with Belen anchor Marcelo Mantecon.
Florida's rising middle school and freshman stars showed up in a big way on the national stage this past weekend, with noticeable performances at both New Balance Nationals Indoor and Nike Indoor Nationals. With multiple top-10 all-time marks and state-leading performances, some of Florida's future track & field stars have shone bright on the national stage.
Mid-Distance-Distance