- April 19, 2024
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The Matanzas boys track-and-field team won first place in the District 5-2A meet Friday, April 15, for the third-straight year. The girls team finished third in the district.
The Matanzas track-and-field teams didn’t sweep the District 5-2A meet like last season, but coach James Wolfe is sending a combined 29 athletes to the Thursday, April 21, regional meet, at Lake Highland Prep, in Orlando.
The boys team won its third-straight district title Friday, April 18, edging out Nease by 13 points. The girls team had several individual winners, but came up shy to Oakleaf and Nease in a bid to repeat as district champs.
“This was a bit of a letdown for us,” Wolfe said of the girls result, “but we still feel positive about the performance.”
The girls team did have two individual district champs and a relay team win the district. Akeda Marcano won the 400-meter dash with a finals time of 1 minute, 2 seconds, scoring the team 10 points and winning by a full second. Hannah Loder, a state qualifier in the 1,600 meters last season, continued her distance success. Loder won the 1,600 meters, finishing in 5:27, nearly 16 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. She also won the 3,200 meters by 37 seconds, finishing with a time of 12:23. The girls 4x800-meter relay team, which finished first, features Loder, Stefania Bertone, Jessica Deegan and Victor Ecker. The team finished in 10:27, finishing about six seconds ahead of second-place Nease.
The 4x800 relay was an upset win for the Lady Pirates, according to Wolfe.
“This was a big win for us,” he said. “We were smart and patient, and it really paid off with a nice upset over Nease. Everyone ran big, and Hannah had a huge leg for us to get the lead back.”
Loder’s performance staked the Lady Pirates to an insurmountable lead and was the most impressive event of the day, in Wolfe’s eyes. Wolfe also said Loder’s distance races were nearly no contests.
“She is so fit right now, it is scary to think of what she is capable of at regional and state,” he added.
“We had a very good day for us, but we had to be perfect to beat Oakleaf, and Nease just nipped us toward the end,” Wolfe said of the girls team. “We do have a nice group of regional qualifiers who have aspirations of making it to state. If they stay focused and work hard, we’ll get there.”
The boys team qualified 17 athletes for regionals, led by individual winners Justin Watts and Darren Richardson.
Watts won the 400 meters with a 51.22-second race. He was followed by teammates Isaiah Haines and Steven Van Buren. The Pirates swept the race and scored 24 points.
Richardson won the high jump after launching 5 feet, 10 inches.
Overall, the Matanzas boys team scored points in all but one event.
“I think the reason we have been successful with this group is by placing an emphasis on team performance over individual accolade,” Wolfe said. “We have a lot of athletes who are willing to do whatever it takes to put the team in the best position to win, and they do so without complaint.
“It’s very refreshing to have such a selfless group. I had several guys come to me during the week asking to be put in an extra event in order to score more points for the team. In order to win consistently, it is important to have that ‘whatever it takes’ mentality.”
