Five short months ago, it appeared as though the Gateway Conference and distance running in the 17 Duval County Public Schools would be no more. The budget crisis that led the district to cancel funding for these teams was averted through the combined efforts of community, schools, coaches and athletes. On Wednesday, the fruits of this effort were evident as the Gateway Conference Championship meet was held at Florida State College in Jacksonville, on the old State Championship course. In the race, Mandarin High School continued its dominance in the Conference by sweeping the Boys and Girls Varsity and JV races.
The afternoon opened with the Mustang Boys sweeping the JV championship. For the 3rd straight year, the boys scored 15 points in beating runner-up Stanton Prep. Led by JV Champion, Ty Preston, the Mustangs placed 1st through 7th in sweeping the event. In the Girls race, Stanton Prep sophomore, Emily Davis, won the JV championship with a time of 23:51. The Mandarin Girls, led by freshman, Sarah Miller, took the next three spots, and won a very close JV race by 3 points.
In the Varsity Boys Championship, the Mandarin Boys won for the 5th straight year, taking 7 of the top ten places and scoring a 21-56 victory again over Stanton Prep. Senior, Tyler Mowery, was the individual champion, with a time of 16:54. The Mustang Girls were also victorious, by a five point margin over the Stanton girls. Mandarin was led by senior Mary Kate Ponder, who led her team to its fourth straight Conference Championship with a time of 19:35.