North Bay Haven's Bartlow setting the pace in aim of state championship

Regional track and field competitions wrapped up last week and several Bay County athletes will compete in the FHSAA track and field state championships May 15-18 at the University of North Florida.

North Bay Haven girls finished seventh place which was the highest out of all Bay County teams. The Lady Bucaneers were led by long distance runner Margaret Bartlow who won two golds.

Girls cross country runner of the year'I fell in love with running' Bay County girls runner of the year: Margaret Bartlow

District track results24 Bay County athletes shine at district track and field meets to qualify for regionals

In eight meets this season, the junior has seven gold medals in the 1600-meter race, five golds and a silver medal in the 3200-meter race. Bartlow credits her desire to be better and her training regimen as keys to her dominance on the track.

"A lot of runners vastly underestimate the value of consistency in their training and the more time you take off the more fitness you lose," Bartlow said. "I was not a consistent runner in middle school, but I started training regularly, five to six times a week my freshman year, and just in a year you can see the difference when you work around vacations, the weather and other situations that could cause issues with training."

Bartlow reached new heights in the Class 2A Regionals when she earned gold and ran her personal best in the 1600m (5:04.08). She also took gold in the 3200m with a time of 10:45.68.

"I will be facing even faster athletes at state so I am hoping they will push me for an even faster time," she said. "I beat my time at county by less than a second so hopefully I can do a larger PR than .03 seconds at state."

Top Bay County region performers

Shakirah Edwards, Rutherford

Edwards won the Class 2A Region 1 girl's high jump with a high of 5'1.75".

Madison Taylor, Bozeman

Taylor is the Class 2A Region 1 champion in the girl's javelin throw (110'4").

Lilly Cobb, Arnold

Cobb is the Class 3A Region 1 javelin throw champion (120'11").

Gabrielle Killets, North Bay Haven

The sophomore won silver in the Class 2A Region 1 girl's javelin throw (104'6").

Peyton Gay, Bozeman

The senior took home silver in the Class 2 Region 1 boy's javelin throw (186'10").

Shaniyah Carlos, Mosley

Carlos won bronze in the Class 3A Region 1, 100m (12.50) and silver in the 200m race (25.51).

Wesley Tilghman, Mosley

The senior won bronze in the javelin throw with a distance of 166'11".

Banji Bamidele is a sports reporter for the Panama City News Herald. He can be reached at abamidele@gannett.com or through X, formerly known as Twitter, @AdebanjiBamide1.