South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Defending state champions
Pine Crest’s Tsion Yared has had an accomplished career for any high school runner, and the junior long-distance runner has plenty of time to add to an already impressive resume.
Yared, who was the Sun Sentinel’s Broward County girls runner of the year in the fall and firstteam All-County track pick last spring, will aim to repeat as the Class 2A 3,200-meter champion. But right behind her is her sister, Mahdere, who is a grade behind Tsion and who finished second to her at states last year.
“Of course, we have some friendly rivalry,” Mahdere said. “But we work together to make sure we both are pushing each other to our limits. We’re both really happy that we were able to do that because we’ve been always dreaming of that for a long time. And I’m really glad that we were able to finish that before I got injured, and hopefully we can continue that.”
Tsion set a Class 2A record in cross country in the fall by running the state course in 17 minutes and 26.63 seconds, and that helped earn her Gatorade’s national Cross Country Runner of the Year award.
“That was a humbling experience, and I think it gave me the confidence I needed to go into this track season,” Tsion said. “It’s like saying all my hard work had finally paid off, both in school and in running.”
Pine Crest will be missing the younger Yared for the time being, as she works to return from stress fractures in her foot that she suffered during cross country season.
“I’m just working really hard to just get back,” Mahdere said.
Madere said she’s hoping to return later in the season so she can qualify for the state meet.
“I would, for sure, love to be part of the four-by-eight and help our team get more points and everything,” Mahdere said. “It’s also fun being with the team during track season … but I’m also making sure that I’m ready for the long run. And so, unfortunately, if I come back too soon, it might cause more injury. So I’m going to make sure I’m really going back at the right time.”
Pine Crest finished fourth in Class 2A last year, with Tsion and Mahdere, who both run in the
4x800 relay, helping Pine Crest earn 40 of its 47 points.
Pine Crest coach Paul Baur attributes part of the Yareds’ success to an innate trait — their oxygen absorption levels when they run. But that’s only one part of what makes them two of the top longdistance runners in the state. The rest comes down to hard work.
“I always say it’s kind of like the V.I.P. card,” Baur said. “You can get into the club, but once you get in there, do you know how to dance?”
At St. Thomas Aquinas, the Raiders are looking to repeat as Class 4A champions, and they return a loaded roster with the ability to do that.
One of those returning athletes is Zatoria Thompson, the Sun Sentinel’s Class 4A-3A Broward County girls athlete of the year. Thompson won her second straight state title in the high jump and added another championship in the 100-meter dash.
“She hasn’t even come close to reaching the surface,” Aquinas coach Alex Armenteros told the Sun Sentinel last year. “Right now, she’s just trying to figure out how to handle all the different events, but once she figures that out, she’s definitely going to be a person to be dealt with.”
The Raiders also return AllCounty first-team picks Jermecia Brown, who won a state title in the
400-meter dash and finished second to Thompson in the
100-meter dash, and Eddiyah Pine Crest athletes Tsion Yared, right, and Mahdere Yared finished first and second, respectively, in the Class 2A 3,200-meter run at state last year.
Frye, who finished second at states in the long jump and won a title in the 100-meter hurdles.
Hallandale will also look to defend its Class 2A state title, but the Chargers lost several key athletes, including Sun Sentinel Class
2A-1A Broward County athlete of the year Sydney McGinley, who won gold in the 100- and
300-meter hurdles as well as the
4x400 relay. The Chargers also lose Takira Williams, who won a state title in the triple jump, and Ashonti Warner, who was runnerup to McGinley in the 300 hurdles.
Hallandale does return some top athletes, including state champion long jumper Destiny Castillo and high jumper Daishon Spann.
Hot on Hallandale’s heels is Class 2A state runner-up American Heritage. The Patriots, who finished 58 points behind the Chargers at states last year, also lost key athletes such as state champion Amani Heaven and Asia McMillon, but they return talented runners such as junior Danielle Bess and sophomore Myrka Cadet.
Northeast, which finished second in Class 3A last year, returns senior Jan’Taijah Ford, who ran the fastest 400 of any girl in Florida last year, and junior Briana Williams, who had the fastest 100 time.
In Palm Beach County, Dwyer
will look to repeat as county champions after securing a 13-point victory at the county championship meet in April. The Panthers had a tough time at states, finishing tied for 26th with six points last year.
Dwyer returns distance runner Emma Cavendish, who won districts in both the 1600 and 3,200.
Another distance runner to watch is Spanish River’s Rylee Pustilnik, who was the Sun Sentinel’s Class 4A-3A Palm Beach County track athlete of the year after she finished fifth in the 3,200 and sixth in the 1,600 at states.
Athletes to watch
Class 4A-3A
Kiana Allen, Atlantic; Pia Beaulieu, Boca Raton; Jermecia Brown, St. Thomas Aquinas; Aaliyah Butler, Piper; Emma Cavendish, Dwyer; Emelia Chatfield, St. Thomas Aquinas; Keshailyn Cowles, Wellington; Giavonni Cunningham, Northeast; Thalia Dyer, St. Thomas Aquinas; Victoria Ellis, Coral Springs; Alyiah Eugene, South Broward; Jan’Taijah Ford, Northeast; Tatiani Francois, Dillard; Eddiyah Frye, St. Thomas Aquinas; Catherine Glenn, Wellington; Dashana Gray, Dillard; Adonjah Hutchinson, Dillard; Sophie Jordan, Stoneman Douglas; Ashley Josue, South
Plantation; Zahra Kelsey, St. Thomas Aquinas; Hannah Lowenstein, St. Thomas Aquinas; Shae Lynn, Spanish River; Natalia Madison, Dwyer; Tiara Pascal, Dillard; Amahnia Penn, Park Vista; Niah Pierre, Dwyer; Rylee Pustilnik, Spanish River; Kyndal Richardson, Piper; Kameron Scille, Wellington; Jacious Sears, Palm Beach Gardens; Anaiis Sheeres, St. Thomas Aquinas; Nikia Smith, St. Thomas Aquinas; Kaci Thomas, Coral Springs; Zatoria Thompson, St. Thomas Aquinas; Briana Williams, Northeast
Class 2A-1A
Jadae Barrett, Hallandale; Danielle Bess, American Heritage; Sydney Blackburn, Highlands Christian; Myrka Cadet, American Heritage; Sydnee Calder, Boca Raton Christian; Destiny Castillo, Hallandale; Emily Faulhaber, Pine Crest; Julia Francois, Archbishop McCarthy; Daniela Garcia, Benjamin; Ashantae Harvey, Hallandale; Eva Hasenhuttl-Bishop, Benjamin; Alexis Hobbs, King’s Academy; Emily Horgen, Benjamin; Hannah Kanjian, Oxbridge Academy; Mary Kelley, Saint John Paul II Academy; Richara McNeil, Hallandale; Sheri-Ann Norton, American Heritage; Anne Paul, Cardinal Gibbons; Morgan Rhett, American Heritage; Mia Rodriguez, King’s Academy; Skylar
Ronkin, University School; Cara Salsberry, Somerset Canyons; Amanda Schwartz, Pine Crest; Small, Benjamin; Latasha Smith, Suncoast; Daishon Spann, Hallandale; Jada Travis, Benjamin; Clyana Ward, Pahokee; Nicole Whitaker, St. Andrew’s; Br’nijah Williams, Pahokee; Kiah Williams, Hallandale; Mahdere Yared, Pine Crest; Tsion Yared, Pine Crest
Class 4A: St. Thomas Aquinas; Class 3A: Miami Northwestern; Class 2A: Hallandale; Class 1A: Gainesville Oak Hall
Key Dates
■ BCAA Championship Preliminaries: March 18-19 at Blanche Ely, Dillard, Hallandale and South Plantation
■ March 22: BCAA Championships at Dillard
■ April 3: Palm Beach County Championships at Seminole Ridge
■ District Meets: April 8-17
■ Regional Meets: April 26-27
■ State Championships: May 3-4 at University of North Florida.