Northwestern girls, STA boys add to storied legacies
Not even the addition of three-time defending state champion Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas into the mix could halt the state’s longest ever championship streak in track and field.
Miami Northwestern’s girls reigned supreme over one of the most loaded meets in recent memory, adding another trophy to its track dynasty Friday night in Gainesville after they won the Class 3A state meet with 94 points.
The Bulls won their state-record 13th consecutive state championship and state-best 18th overall after topping longtime rival Miami Southridge by 18 points. Aquinas, which had won the past three state titles in Class 4A, finished fourth with 50 points.
Aquinas did, however, finish on top on the boys’ side in dramatic fashion.
Thanks to its winning 1,600-meter relay, the Raiders edged defending state champion Fort Lauderdale Dillard 62-61 in the points standings. Aquinas, a six-time state champion, won its first state title on the boys’ side since 2014.
Individually though, no one dominated the meet like Southridge’s Alyssa Jones, who won four state championships, winning the long jump, high jump, 100 and 200 meters.
Here’s a look at the highlights from a meet that had South Florida athletes win a combined 21 events and endure an over threehour weather delay.
HISTORIC PERFORMANCE
Jones became the sixth girls’ athlete all time to win four state titles at the state meet and the second from South Florida, joining Miami Jackson great Robin Reynolds, who accomplished the feat twice.
Jones, who is committed to Stanford University, finishes her career with eight state championships, which gives her the second most by a Miami-Dade female athlete behind only Reynolds’ state record of 14 titles. Jones’ total might have been in the doubledigit range had she not lost the chance to compete at state in 2020 when the postseason was canceled due to COVID-19.
Jones started the meet by winning the long jump with a mark of 6.39 meters – her best jump of the season and the top-ranked jump in the state this season according to FLRunners.com.
Jones followed by winning the high jump at 1.77 meters. It wasn’t even her best jump as Jones had jumped 1.82 meters earlier this season.
Then, Jones won the 100 meters in 11.70 seconds and later the 200 meters in 23.49 seconds.
HOW THE BULLS WON
Northwestern’s talent and numbers were again too great.
Aaliyah Butler and Paris Baker led the charge for the Bulls, along with Shakynah Tresvant scoring key points.
Butler and Baker were each part of Northwestern’s winning 1,600 relay, which ran a time of 3:45.54 to beat Southridge and Aquinas, whose runners had the state’s fastest time in the event coming into the meet.
Butler won the 400 in 53.42 seconds, topping her state-best time in the event while Baker won the 300 hurdles in 42.75 seconds.
In addition to Jones’ dominance, Southridge also captured the 400meter relay title by running a time of 46.11 seconds.
Dillard’s girls, who finished sixth as a team, won the 3,200-meter relay in 9:03.27, shattering its own top mark statwide this season. Aquinas’ lone state champion was Cha’iel Johnson, who won the 800 meters in 2:08.35.
DOUBLE WINNERS
While Dillard came up short for the team title, Chris Johnson had a strong meet to lead the Panthers as he won the 100 meters in 10.45 seconds and the 200 in 20.78. Armondo Blount became Dillard’s first ever state shot put champion after a throw of 16.48 meters. Damario Allen also triumphed in the pole vault (4.60 meters).
Pembroke Pines Charter’s Kyvon Tatham was the other multiple event winner after bringing home the high jump (7.27) and triple jump (14.94) titles.
St. Thomas’ boys were led by King Mack, who was part of the 1,600 relay, which clinched the title after running a state-best time of 3:12.80. Mack also won the 400 meters in 46.68 seconds.
RESULTS