Crawling, spinning and falling: Mainland's Yisrael and Flagler Palm Coast's Cronk and 4x100 girls relay runners among standouts at Five Star Conference track meet

The Bucs won the boys championship; FPC's boys and girls teams placed second.

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Mainland won the boys championship at the Five Star Conference track and field championships on April 5, while the host team, Flagler Palm Coast, finished second in both the boys and girls team standings.

“Any time we come to Five Star, it’s a challenge for us, because a majority of the schools are in a bigger classification that us,” Mainland coach Terry Anthony said. “So we gauge ourselves against ourselves.”

Following are highlights from the meet:

YISRAEL DOUBLES UP ON HURDLES

After winning the 400-meter hurdles, Mainland senior Emmanuel Yisrael collapsed onto the grass and crawled halfway across the infield toward his backpack, which he then used as a pillow.

“This race (the 400 hurdles) is excruciating,” he said while still lying on his back.

Yisrael had won the 110 hurdles earlier with a personal record of 14.67 seconds, almost a full second ahead of his teammate, Marquis MaCants, who placed second in 15.57.

But this was the first time Yisrael had run the 400 hurdles all season. He finished in 59.20 seconds. FPC’s Corinthian Watson was second in 1:02.26.

“I don’t really practice the 400 hurdles a lot,” Yisrael said. “I was chasing 58 (seconds), but my main goal with the 400 is to get a time, so I can show college coaches both of my times (for the two events).”

Normally, Yisrael focuses on his own lane, but he said he was motivated in the 110 race when McCants beat him to the first hurdle.

That pushed me, because I know he’s been trying really hard to catch me. It caught me by complete surprise.”
— EMMANUEL YISRAEL

“That pushed me, because I know he’s been trying really hard to catch me,” Yisrael said. “It caught me by complete surprise. When I felt that pressure, it started clicking.”

His 14.67 is tied for the sixth fastest time in Class 3A, and it is just just .14 of a second behind the third fastest.

McCants had a big day of his own. He won both the long jump (20 feet, 10 inches) and the triple jump (43 feet, 10 inches). His 110 hurdles time was a PR. Two days later at the Spruce Creek Last Chance Meet on April 6, McCants posted a PR in his triple jump with a winning leap of 44 feet, 1.25 inches.

FPC’s Watson placed second in triple jump at the Five Star (41 feet, 8 inches), while FPC’s Cody Newton placed second in the long jump with a PR leap of 20 feet, 9 inches.

GAME-CHANGER FOR CRONK

Flagler Palm Coast junior Colby Cronk used the spin technique for the first time in throwing the shot put. The result, he said, was a game-changer. 

Cronk threw a personal-best 17.56 meters (57 feet, 7.5 inches) to win the event by nearly eight feet.

“I was pretty happy with it,” said Cronk whose previous best was 16.54 meters, using the glide technique at FPC’s East Coast Classic on Feb. 23. He broke his own school record by almost four and a half feet. 

“I had been splitting reps between the glide and the spin (in practice),” he said. “The spin is more of a technique thing. You don’t have to power it. It’s pretty nice. My goal was to try to hit 17 (meters).”

The junior has the top mark in the state among Class 4A shot putters by more than four feet, and he is second overall among all state shot putters.

“I want to win the (Class 4A state championship),” he said. “but I’m going to try to get No. 1 in the state.”

Cronk was not as happy with his performance in discus, where he finished third behind Mainland’s Demond Noelien, who threw a PR 48.92 meters (160 feet, 6 inches). Cronk fouled three times after throwing 48.14 (157 feet, 11 inches). He threw 52 meters but stepped over the circle. He has the fourth-best throw in Class 4A at 49.20 meters.

“I really want 50,” he said.

FACE PLANT AND A WIN

Jada Dotson’s lip was hurting after the girls 4x100 race, but the FPC senior was still smiling as her relay team won its second race of the season.

Dotson fell face first on the track as she was handing the baton to anchor runner Summer Barnes. Barnes never paused and finished the race with a winning time of 49.20 seconds, crossing the finish line by more than two seconds ahead of second-place Pine Ridge.

I felt her fall, but I just had to keep running.”
— SUMMER BARNES

“I felt her fall, but I just had to keep running,” Barnes said.

Dotson said she just lost her balance on the handoff.

“I was trying to reach, and it was pulling me forward,” she said. “But we got the handoff, that’s the most important part. I knew Summer wasn’t going to look back.”

It was a big day for the Bulldogs’ 4x100 runners. Olivia Gaines, who ran the second leg, also won the long jump with a school-record 17 feet, 9 inches.

“My steps were a little rocky at the beginning, but coach (Alex) Giorgianni told me how to adjust my steps on the runway and helped me to a PR.”

Aun’Yale Howard, who ran the first leg in the 4x100, also won the triple jump with a leap of 35 feet, 8 inches, a personal record by more than three feet. Gaines placed second behind Howard at 35 feet, 4 inches. Seabreeze’s Emma Uneda was third at 35 feet, 3.25 inches.

“Something clicked,” Howard said. “I PR’d by almost a whole meter. I’m excited.”

Barnes, meanwhile, won the 200 meters with a time of 26.23 seconds and finished second in the 100 meters (12.39 seconds), one spot ahead of Gaines (12.68).

Barnes also earned another second-place finish, running anchor on the 4x400 relay. The Bulldogs ran a personal-record 4:18.02 with Jayden Wright running the first leg, followed by Cassidy De Young, Arianna Slaughter and Barnes.

Barnes’ parents said she has loved to run since she was little.

“She was running 5Ks when she was 5 or 6 (years old),” her father Sherman Barnes said.

PR FOR MAINLAND SPRINTER

Mainland senior E'Zaiah Shine won the boys 100 meters with a personal-record time of 11.07 seconds.

He also helped the Bucs’ 4x100 relay team (with Jontrell Edwards, Corey Hill and D.J. Murray) and the 4x400 relay (with Khalil Wilmore, Kajuan Curry and Drayden Wood) win their races. And Shine placed third in the 200 meters with a time of 22.03 seconds.

“I wanted to PR in the 100,” he said. “I want to get faster every time I go out.”

The 4x400, which the Bucs ran in 3:34.60, was the last race of the day, just two events after the 200 meters.

The 4x4 is obviously tough after the 200. I don’t know how I do it, but I do it.”
— EZAIAH SHINE

“The 4x4 is obviously tough after the 200,” Shine said. “I don’t know how I do it, but I do it.”

OTHER TOP PERFORMERS

Also winning events were FPC sophomore Ayden Peterson in the 800 (2:01.53), Mainland senior Zion Noralus with a PR in the high jump (6 feet, 3.5 inches) and FPC junior Maya Tyson in girls shot put (36 feet, 1.5 inches) and discus with a PR of 110 feet, 5 inches.

Mainland’s boys 4x800 relay of Curry, Wilmore, Jack Mathis and Seth Rose placed second in 8:20.07. For FPC, Tanner Cauley-Bennett placed second in pole vault (PR, 12 feet, 5.5 inches), Kamron Davis was second in the 400 (PR, 50.89), Elijah Thero was second in javelin (168 feet, 8 inches) and Zoey Gotera was second in girls javelin (PR, 94 feet, 9 inches).  

Seabreeze sophomore Hunter Shuler placed second in the 3,200 with a time of 10:29.66 and third in the 1,600 with a 4:41.74.

A year ago at Five Star, he set personal records in both events (4:38.08 in the 1,600 and 10:03.26 in the 3,200). 

“Cross country was such a big disappointment. I was sick the whole time,” Shuler said. “Track has definitely been a big step up, but I’ve kind of been a little stuck lately. I need to be sub-10 (in the 3,200) before districts. I need to get my 1,600 time under 4:30, because I want to go to states this year.”

Two days later, Shuler won both events at the Spruce Creek meet, running 4:39.91 in the 1,600 and 10:33.44 in the 3,200.

 

author

Brent Woronoff

Brent Woronoff is the associate editor of the Palm Coast and Ormond Beach Observers. He has been in the business more than 41 years, nearly 30 with the Daytona Beach News-Journal. He is a former assistant sports editor at the News-Journal and former sports editor at the St. Augustine Record.

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