Track Champions

The track & field Region Meet – destined to be an all-day event to begin with – was delayed for four hours on Friday (April 24) by a rainstorm in Orlando.

When the event finally got underway at 12:30pm with the 4x800 relay, apparent disaster struck for Jesuit: Dominic Santos ’16, running the third leg, had the baton inadvertently kicked out of his hand by the runner in front of him.

Luck and pluck took over from there. In those frantic moments, Santos somehow gathered the baton without losing too much ground, and he managed to hand it off in third place. Anchor-leg runner Jason Caldwell ’15 took it from there, surging into the lead for the win.

The relay title – Rhett Broz ’17 and Myles Hahn ’16 ran the first two legs – set the tone for the day. When the meet finally ended deep into the night, Jesuit had edged Immokalee 95-90 for the Tigers’ second straight Region title under head coach Andy Wood ’92.

Jesuit advanced 13 athletes to the State Meet, including Region champion pole vaulter Sammi Abboud '15, who cleared a personal-best 14-feet. Jack Hughes ’15 also advanced in the pole vault.

Other Tigers advancing to state were: Jacob Newton ’16 (2nd, 400 meters), Travell Harris ’17 (4th place in the 100 and 200), Guy Revelle ’15 (shot put), Peter Osimen ’15 (shot put), and Dante Newberg ’15 (4th, 110 hurdles), along with 4x800 alternates Brett Gajewski ’16 and Griffin Rain ’16.

The Class 2A State Meet is Friday (May 1) in Jacksonville at the University of North Florida.