Highlights - A Windy FLYRA Middle School State Championships

FLYRA MS State Photo Galleries by Bernie Von Dauber

FLYRA Middle School State Track and Field Championship 2026

The 2026 FLYRA Middle School State Championships delivered exactly what Florida middle school track has come to expect each year - elite performances, dramatic finishes, future stars announcing themselves, and a record book that took a serious beating. By the end of Saturday's windy competition, nine new meet records had fallen as athletes from across the state took advantage of the newly resurfaced track at IMG in Bradenton into one of the fastest youth meets in the country this season.

Photo Credit: Bernie Von Dauber

No athlete had a bigger weekend than No Excuses RC standout Peter Curet. The 8th-grader swept the boys' middle school distance events. Curet opened his meet Friday night with a thrilling victory in the 3000m, clocking 9:14.72 to edge Hillsborough Harriers' Collin Langston by less than two tenths of a second. WIND Runners' Noah Lefko also dipped under 9:20 in one of the most anticipated and exciting races of the meet.

Curet returned in the 1500m, doubling back with another victory, this time running 4:20.03 to narrowly nip Pedro Rodriguez of Doral Academy Charter Middle School at the finish, with Rodriguez crossing 4:20.22. Curet was one of three middle school athletes to leave the meet as double winners.

The sprints belonged to Oakleaf Junior High's 7th-grader, Bobbie Gibbs, and Assassins Elite 7th-grader Aniyah Walker.

Gibbs exploded to a meet record 21.44 (+2.4)* in the boys' 200m, breaking the long-standing mark of Miami Gardens' Tyrese Cooper. Earlier in the meet, he captured the 100m title in 10.77 (+3.5)*. His sprint double established him as one of the fastest middle school boys in the nation this year. *All-Conditions.

Walker matched the feat on the girls' side. The Assassins Elite sprinter powered to wins in both the 100m and 200m, running 11.61 (+4.1)* and a meet record 23.64 (+4.1)*. In the 100m, Walker held off Mariah Moment and Carter Grigg in a loaded final, while her 200m performance erased Vanessa Waite's previous meet standard. *All conditions.

Friday evening distance races produced some of the most memorable moments of the championships. In the girls' 3000m, No Excuses RC's 7th-grader Brianna Motycka earned the state title in 10:04.51 ahead of Emerald Coast Middle School's 8th-grader Nina Emhoff and teammate 6th-grader Colette Heffernan.

Emhoff nearly came back for a distance double of her own on Saturday, finishing second in the 1500m by just three hundredths of a second behind 8th-grader Olivia Davis of Delaura Middle School, 4:46.22 to 4:46.25.

The hurdles events also rewrote the record books.

Rocky Bayou Christian School's Selah Gayle captured the girls' 100m hurdles title and broke the previous meet record with a 14.90 (+3.2)* performance. Gayle later added another championship in the 200m hurdles. On the boys' side, Westchase Cheetahs Track Club Jazier Murphy ran 13.56 (+2.8)* to establish a new meet record in the 100m hurdles. * All-conditions.

VAST Track Club's Musah Matthews came heartbreakingly close to another record in the boys' 200m hurdles, running 25.03 (+2.8)*, just off the standing meet mark of 25.00. *All Conditions.

Maximum Effort Throwing Academy's Kai Brooks matched the meet record by J'Nia Simpson in the girls' shot put with a massive 14.82m throw. JACL vaulter Millie Montague cleared 3.45m to set a new girls' pole vault meet record, while Space Coast Striders jumper Ji'Aire Stephens uncorked a huge 13.82m leap to break the boys' triple jump meet record by over a foot.

One of the most impressive youth performances of the weekend came in the elementary girls' 1500m, where fourth graders swept the top three U.S. times for the Class of 2034. Red Sea Running Club's Aliana Alvarez won in 5:03.63 ahead of Boca Warriors Track Club's Katerina Skutnik and Stride STARS athlete Lois Johnson.

In the team standings, Space Coast Striders captured the boys' title with 55 points, led by their strength in the sprints and field events. Oakleaf Junior High School finished runner-up with 47 points, while WIND Runners placed third with 31.

On the girls' side, Emerald Coast Middle School edged No Excuses RC for the team championship, 57.5 to 53. Ransom Everglades School rounded out the top three with 38 points.