Armenteros helped STA’s boys end drought while Sutton put Chaminade on the map
St. Thomas Aquinas’ Alex Armenteros watched his boys’ track and field team scratch and claw its way to a state title in a stacked Class 3A, capped by a dominant performance in the 1,600-meter relay.
Chaminade-Madonna’s Damian Sutton watched his burgeoning girls team finish as state runner-up in Class 1A for the top team finish among Broward County girls’ teams.
For that, the two are the Miami Herald’s Broward Track and Field Coaches of the Year.
Armenteros’ Raiders, who moved down from 4A to 3A this season, narrowly edged out defending state champion Dillard for the 3A title this year, putting up 62 points to the Panthers’ 61. It was the Raiders’ seventh team state title, the most out of any Broward County school, and first since 2014.
St. Thomas Aquinas junior King Mack was instrumental in the Raiders’ surge, winning the state title in the 400meter dash — an event in which the Raiders had three point producers with British Wilkerson finishing fifth and Raynell Chambers finishing sixth — and anchoring their championship-clinching 1,600meter relay to wrap up the meet while also finishing fourth in the 100-meter dash. St. Thomas Aquinas winning the relay coupled with Dillard’s fourth-place finish gave the Raiders the decisive one-point margin.
Claude Campbell (third in long jump, second in 110 hurdles), Khalil Hunter (third in shot put) and Anthony Herrera (seventh in 800 meter run) also earned points for St. Thomas Aquinas.
Sutton’s small-butmighty girls’ team, meanwhile, logged 43 points to push its way into second place in Class 1A. The Lions’ quartet of Kashia
Hoo, Tyra Cox, Haley Blades and Leanna Rose won the 1,600-meter relay to close the meet. Cox also finished third in both the 200- and 400-meter dashes, while Hoo had a sixth-place finish in the 800-meter run. and Rose finished seventh in the 400-meter dash.
Kahalia Hoo added a runner-up finish in the
300 hurdles and finished eighth in the 100 hurdles. Chaminade’s other two relays also had podium finishes, with the 400meter
relay finishing sixth and the 3,200-meter relay coming in seventh.