Hagerty senior Pantojas’ move from Puerto Rico sparks Sunshine state speed
Seminole, Evans look to continue relay success
Miguel Pantojas was a pretty big deal as a youngster running track in Puerto Rico. But after racking up a number of national age group victories, many by big margins, he thirsted for more competition.
He found it when his family moved to Oviedo when he was 13.
Pantojas, a Hagerty senior and University of Florida commit, has steadily improved as a halfmile specialist and wants to cap his high school career by winning a state championship for the first time.
He owns Florida’s fastest 800-meter run time of the year at 1 minute, 50.34 seconds (No. 9 nationally) and is the heavy favorite to win in Saturday’s FHSAA Class 4A track and field state championship meet at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.
“Being here in Florida has definitely benefited me,” Pantojas said after running his state-leading time in the 4A District 3 meet in April. “It was a big difference. I’ve had to improve myself. Now I want to win the state title.”
Apopka senior Noah Musselwhite gave Pantojas a push by running 1:52.86 in the district meet and he figures to again be one of the contenders on Saturday.
Pantojas ran 1:50.09 to place second in last year’s state meet. Musselwhite set the Apopka school record (1:52.33) while placing fourth.
“I want to go all out and possibly get the state record,” Pantojas said.
The state and area all-time best of 1:47.79 was set in 2013 by Colonial great Andres Arroyo, who went on to represent Puerto Rico in the Olympics.
Rheinhardt Harrison of Ponte Vedra Beach Nease, now a college freshman at Oregon, set the FHSAA state meet record of 1:48.62 last year.
Pantojas ran his personal-best 1:49.90, second best in area history, in June at the Brooks PR Invitational in Seattle.
This year, counting indoor races, he’s clocked times of 1:50.34, 1:50.58, 1:50.92, 1:51.09 and 1:51.90. His slowest time was a 1:56.54 jog to victory in the Seminole Athletic Conference meet.
Hagerty’s veteran coach, Jay Getty, said Pantojas never questioned the training plan.
“He’s super confident, which is a great trait to have in any competition,” Getty said.
Track time: The FHSAA finals tip off today with the Class 1A championships, followed by 2A on Thursday and 3A on Friday at UNF.
Competition each day is set to start at 1 p.m. with field events. The 4×800 relays go off at 4 p.m. and race finals start at 6.
Montverde Academy boys, even without its top-tier boarding school athletes participating, is the best bet in the area to contend for a team title.
The relays project to be highlights for Orlando area schools.
Seminole, winner of the 4A boys 4×100 the past two years, is poised to repeat that feat and could tack on a 4×400 championship as well. The Seminoles are the No. 1 Class 4A qualifier in both based on times of 40.89 and 3:14.27 in regional races at UNF two weeks ago.
The ‘Noles are taking aim at the school records of 40.57 and 3:12.89 they set in the 2022 state meet. Their season best 4×100 is 40.72.
Edgewater set a school record with a 41.22 time in its district meet. But the Eagles are in deep waters in 3A, which has the state leaders: Miami Northwestern (40.54) and Plantation American Heritage (40.55).
Foundation Academy is the 1A team to beat in the 4×100 after running 41.63 in the region round.
Evans won the 4A girls 4×400 and 4×800 relays in each of the past two years and is once again in the running.
Patrecia Daniley-Porter, who coached the Trojans the past four years, is now at Olympia and her Titans captured district and regional team titles.
The Master’s Academy is the top qualifier (9:38.48) in the girls 4×800. Eagles junior standout Ava Wyant will run two relays and the 800 and 1,600.
Orlando area state event leaders, along with Pantojas, are Lake Mary senior Markel Jones in the boys 110 hurdles (13.95 wind-legal), Lake Minneola sophomore Kai Evans in the boys 400 hurdles (52.94) and Montverde Academy junior Alex Georgiev in the boys pole vault (16-4 ¾).