Benjamin track and field had a day at the regional meet, with the boys squad taking first place and the girls team battling Palmer Trinity but ultimately placing second in a nail-biting finish.
Head coach Barrett Saunders watched as his teams gave an encore performance after winning the Palm Beach County Championships last month, knowing that that meet, if anything, served to set the bar yet another notch higher as his team prepared for states.
That time has arrived, and as his teams prepare for a busy day in Jacksonville, they do so with high expectations after a season filled with success.
"It's definitely fun to have two teams who have a real shot to go up there and win a state championship," Saunders said. "The boys obviously have the weight of expectation trying to defend and go for a third straight, but we take a really solid team up there."
Photos:Palm Beach County Track Championships 2024
The boys will face an Indian Rocks program that has had a very strong year, among others, whereas on the girls side, multiple Buccaneers student-athletes performed above their seeding at regionals, setting up an intriguing championship meet.
"The girls on the other hand, this is new territory for them going in and actually having a shot at winning that title," Saunders said. "I think the girls meet is wide open. There are probably seven or eight teams that could win. It's going to be whoever steps up on that day."
With the boys looking to continue Benjamin's dynasty with a three-peat, Jackson Hamilton headlines a throwing team that has been a staple of the program all season.
The jumps and throwing team for both the buys and the girls have seemingly gotten better and better, evidenced by consistency from the boys and perhaps some unexpected surprises from the girls in the postseason.
"I think the whole jumps crew in general for the girls really had a strong [performance]. Max Dalton went in and won the girls long jump when she was seeded third coming in and then we had Lily White, who qualified for the long and triple jump, which would be potentially huge points going to states."
The Bucs will leave it all on the line this week with Class 1A championship action set to take place on Wednesday, May 15.
Top Palm Beach County boys athletes to watch at states
- Joe Licata, Jupiter Christian – the sophomore placed first in the 400-meter event at regionals with a 48.93 time
- Michael Winfield, Benjamin – the junior finished second in the 400-meter event at regionals with a 50.30 time and helped Benjamin win the 4x400 relay event
- Joshua Jules, Atlantic Christian – the senior placed first in the 800-meter event at regionals with a2:00.79 time
- Jacob Cosby-Mosley, Benjamin – the senior finished second in the 110-meter hurdles event with a 15:03 time and second in the triple jump
- Julian Luiz, Benjamin – the sophomore finished second in the 110-meter hurdles, first in the 400-meter hurdles, first in the long jump, and helped Benjamin win the 4x400 relay event at regionals
- Samuel Enamorado, Atlantic Christian – the freshman finished first in the high-jump at regionals with a 1.95 meter mark
- Robert Letsche, Benjamin – the senior finished first in the pole vault event at regionals with a 4.50 meter mark
- Jackson Hamilton, Benjamin – the senior finished first in the shot-put event at regionals 51’ 4.5” mark and then finished first in the discus event
- Bradley Cooper, Atlantic Christian – the senior finished first place in the javelin throw at regionals with a 48.93 meter mark.
- King Bridgette, Somerset Canyons – the senior finished first in the 200-meter event at regionals with a 21.87 time
- Dallas Desouza, Cardinal Newman – the senior finished first in the 400-meter event at regionals with a 48.42 time, helping his team win in the 4x400 and 4x800 relays as well
- Williams Owens, Jupiter – senior won the 200-meter event at regionals with a 21.22 time
- Preston Sangely, Spanish River – the sophomore finished third at regionals in the 1600-meter run.
- Daniel Reyes, Spanish River – the junior helped his team come out on top in the 4x800 relay and performed well in individual races at regionals
- Corrado DeSantis, Dwyer – the senior helped his team come out on top in the 4x400 relay and performed well in individual races at regionals
- Mac Hunt, Spanish River – the sophomore won first at regionals in the pole vault with a 4.05 meter mark
- Mark Fyffe, Wellington – the senior won the long jump at regionals with a 6.77 meter mark
Top Palm Beach County girls athletes to watch at states
- Akari Marshall, Oxbridge Academy – the sophomore finished first place in the 100-meter event at regionals with an 11.86 time before also finishing first in the 200-meter event
- Jordan Johnson, Pahokee – the freshman finished first in the 400-meter event at regionals with a 57.12 time, also helping Pahokee to a win in the 4x400 relay
- Sofia Balistreri, Benjamin – the sophomore finished first in the 800-meter event at regionals with a 2:20.97 time
- Maxine Dalton, Benjamin – the sophomore placed first in the long jump at regionals with a 5.32 meter mark as well as second place in the triple jump
- Octavia Massena, Oxbridge Academy – the senior won the triple jump with an 11.35 meter mark
- Kori Haggard, Benjamin – the senior placed first in the discus at regionals with a 33.26 meter mark before also finishing first in the javelin throw
- Jailyn Milord, FAU High – the junior placed first in the 200-meter at regionals with a 24.47 time before finishing first in the 400-meter as well
- Brielle George, King’s Academy – the junior won the girls high jump at regionals with a 1.52 meter mark
- Thalia Waters, Atlantic – senior won the 100-meter hurdles at regionals with a 13.10 time before also winning the long jump
- Dakota Johnson, Dr. Joaquin Garcia – the junior won the javelin toss at regionals with a 34.84 meter mark
- Taylor Nicole Overton – the freshman won the 200-meter events at regionals with a 24.16 time, while also winning the 400-meter and finishing second in the 100-meter event
- Laney Williams, Spanish River – the senior helped her team win the 4x800 relay at regionals
- Aryanna Paulena, John I. Leonard – the senior won the high jump at regionals with a 1.57 meter mark
- Aaliyah Lacey, Dwyer – the junior won the discus at regionals with a 33.83 meter mark
- Skye Zwirner, Royal Palm Beach – the junior won the javelin toss with a 33.18 meter mark
FHSAA track and field schedule and spectator information
The 2024 Florida High School Athletic Association track and field championships will take place at the Jax Track and Hodges Stadium, hosted by the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.
The Class 1A and Unified Track and Field State Championships will take place on May 15. Following this will be the Class 2A Championships on May 16, with 3A Championships on May 17 and 4A and para-athletes competing on May 18.
Tickets can be purchased via UNF Athletics Ticketing here. Tickets are $14.00 per day when purchased in advance, or $17.00 when purchased the day-of. Parking ($3.00) is included in the price of each ticket.
The NFHS Network Home will be streaming the events here.
Half mile timing and event results
Spectators can track the FHSAA Track and Field Championship at Half Mile Timing, which will be updated in real-time as events take place.
Alex Peterman is a high school sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at apeterman@gannett.com.
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