Montverde sweeps region titles at Horizon High
One year after top-five finishes at the Class 2A track and field state meet in the boys and girls team standings, Montverde Academy looks like a brand new squad and is trying to claim the top prize.
Led by first-year head coach Gerald Phiri, the Eagles have stampeded through competition all season with performances that have placed Montverde as one of the top programs in the country, let alone Florida, for athletics.
That ascent continued at the Class 2A Region 2 championships at Horizon High School on Thursday as Montverde swept both team titles.
The Eagles outscored Cocoa 121-93 in the boys meet and won by a slim margin over the motivated Tigers in girls competition, 103-97.
Phiri, a two-time Olympic runner for his native Zambia, had been a part-time assistant coach for the team since 2018. After former head coach Lori Treweek moved on, he was elevated to head coach.
It was an opportunity that he did not expect, and what surprised him more was the influx of athletes who have transferred in and made the Eagles a state championship contender.
“I didn’t realize this many kids were interested in Montverde Academy, so it has been really good so far,” Phiri said. “The goal is to be able to teach the athletes the stuff I wish I knew when I was in high school before I went to college. Hopefully the athletes can go further than I did.”
That mindset has so far paid off in spades.
On Thursday, junior sprinter Micayah Holland won the girls 100-meter dash and ran the fastest wind-legal 2022 time in the United States with a time of 11.31 seconds, despite a ginger start.
“I’ve worked all year for this,” Holland said. “I put my right foot out in front of my left foot. I was so nervous, but I managed to put it all together. I just had to remember
that no matter what happens, just execute my race.”
Holland came to Montverde from Virginia, where she won four state championships — two indoor and two outdoor — in 2021. She made the move because she wanted more of a challenge and a chance to be coached by some of the best.
“There was really no competition and not much great coaching [in Virginia],” Holland said. “I moved for better weather and better coaching, and so far it has paid off. Coach Phiri has been on the Olympic level … and has more experience. He knows what he’s doing and he’s a great coach.”
Holland is not the only runner who has come from out of state to advance their career. Zyaire Nuriddin, a junior who has dominated the boys sprints this spring, transferred to Montverde from Delaware, where he was named track and field Athlete of the Year in 2021.
Nuriddin won the 400 in 46.62 seconds on Thursday. He placed second in the boys 100 behind teammate Micah Larry, who also won the 200.
Michelle Smith, who hails from the U.S. Virgin Islands, won both of her premier events. She has the state’s best 300 hurdles time of 41.86 and is fourth fastest in the 800 across all four classifications.
Javonya Valcourt, a senior who moved to Montverde from the Bahamas, won the girls 400. She owns a Florida-best 54.30 in that event.