SOUTHSIDE- On the grandest stage for Duval County Middle School track & field, the greatest athletes showcased record setting perfomances, the likes to which the area has not seen in quite some time.
In individual competitions, Oceanway’s Armani Coleman set new meet records in the girls 100 meters running a blazing 12.55 and in the 200 meters running a 25.62.
Dupont’s Brittney Jennings set a new meet record in the 100 meter hurdles with a whopping time of 15.54 seconds.
In the shot put, two athletes from the same school set new meet records as Damoni Kelly threw an 11.37 and Aliyah Robertson threw a 11.17 to beat the previous mark of 10.52 set by Caitlin McGee of Landmark Middle in 2015.
The girls 400 meters record was broken this year by two athletes as well by Terren Peterson of Mandarin who ran a 58.06 and Nishya Reed of Mayport who ran a 58.61, beating the Imani Ashman (59.58) record from last year.
Peterson also set a new meet record in the 200 meters running a 26.06.
In relays, J.E.B Stuart and Matthew Gilbert both set 4X200 meet records with a 1:36.58 and 1:36.97 respectively. Not to be outdone, James Weldon Johnson continued their tradition of record setting performances when their Girls 4X400 relay team set a new meet record of 4:17.35 besting their own mark of 4:17:46 a year ago.
It was truly a team effort in the 2017-2018 Duval County Middle School Track & Field Championships, as several teams combined excellent coaching, with superb athleticism to place high in the final standings.
In the end, the Matthew Gilbert boys overcame a disappointing dropped baton in the 4X100 relay to still pull out the overall team title for the Panthers. While the girls of Mandarin dethroned James Weldon Johnson as track champs in the city.
Times and results calculated by gunlaprunning.com and provided by DCPS Athletics. For a complete listing of results visit Gunlaprunning.com.
