- March 26, 2025
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In the late 1990s, early in Narayana Hines’ teaching career, Ormond Beach Middle School held a field day that included a teachers vs. students 4x100 relay race. At the time, the students didn’t know that the former Narayana Hall had been a college track star just a few years prior. But, “boy did they find out,” she says now.
Hines will be inducted into the West Virginia Wesleyan Athletics Hall of Fame on April 26. She was the premier jumper in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 1992 to 1995 and also excelled in sprint events. She won the conference triple jump title all four years, setting the school record in the process. She also won the long jump title twice.
In 1993, she became Wesleyan’s first female athlete to qualify for the NAIA national track and field championships. She went on to compete at nationals three years years in a row in triple jump. She placed 10th twice, coming within inches of becoming an All-American, according to the Buckhannon, West Virginia, Record Delta newspaper and the Wesleyan athletics website.
Before her first trip to nationals, she told the student newspaper that she had reservations about making the trip to British Columbia, Canada, because she was afraid of flying. Now, she says, it’s her husband, Anthony Hines, who is afraid to fly. But he will be joining her on the flight to Buckhannon, West Virginia, next month for her Hall of Fame induction.
After graduation, Hines became a teacher. She taught social studies, history, geography and civics at OBMS for 21 years and then became an ESE support facilitator at the former Osceola Elementary School, where she worked for three years. She said she transferred to Osceola because it was nearby Seabreeze High School, where her daughter, Amraiah was a student at the time.
For the past three years, Hines has been a behavior interventionist at Buddy Taylor Middle School in Flagler County.
Before she began her Hall of Fame career at Wesleyan, Hines was a track star at Seabreeze, competing in five events — the 100, 200, 4x100, triple jump and long jump. A typical high school meet for Hines meant competing 15 times, she said, because in those days they had prelims, semifinals and finals in each event.
But her track career almost ended with her final high school meet in 1991. She nearly enlisted in the Air Force, she said, but her grandmother wouldn’t hear of it.
“My grandmother kept pushing me to go to college, and I ended up getting a scholarship,” Hines said.
Academics became her priority. She went on to earn her master’s degree in Exceptional Student Education at Bethune-Cookman University. Her daughter, Amaraiah, earned her Cambridge AICE degree at Seabreeze where she was also a swimmer and first string bass in the school’s orchestra, Hines said. Amaraiah earned a nursing degree at Florida State last year and is now an ICU nurse at Halifax Medical Center.
Hines’ Buddy Taylor Middle School students won’t have to learn the hard way about her athletic accomplishments. She said she’ll talk about them before she leaves for her Hall of Fame induction.
"They'll be shocked," she said.
But the accomplishment she’s most proud of, she said, is touching the lives of thousands of students over the years, many she remains in contact with who have families of their own now.
Reflecting on her career, she said, “It’s a life pretty well-worth lived. I am blessed.”
Inter-United Soccer of Palm Coast has had a big couple of months. Micah Reynolds, a 2012 player (U13 age group), has been selected to the Olympic Development Program National Select Team and will compete in the Easter International Cup on April 16-19 in Orlando. He is the only player from Florida on the National Team roster. Micah first had been selected to the Florida ODP team and then the South Regional ODP team before making the cut for the national team.
The Inter-United 2009 girls team and 2012 girls team both won the Region B Commissioner's Cup titles on March 23 and will compete in the Florida Youth Soccer Association Commissioner's Cup state finals April 5-6. The 2009 team (U16 age group) won the Region B title for the second year in a row.
Finally, the Inter-United Men's United Premier Soccer League team kicked off their inaugural season with a 3-1 victory over Space Coast on March 22.
Daytona State College's flag football team opened its inaugural season on Feb. 28 with a win, 27-0 over Pasco-Hernando State College. Fans nearly filled the 800-seat stadium for the team's historic first game which was also televised live by WDSC-TV, Channel 15. Mainland grad Ava Colubiale threw a touchdown pass and ran and threw for extra points.
The Falcons were 4-3 with a 3-0 home record entering its home game against Florida Gateway College on Mach 26.
The Florida Team Pickleball League is gearing up for its regional playoffs. Teams from Volusia, Flagler and St. Johns counties will battle at the Southern Recreation Center in Palm Coast on April 11-13 for spots in the state championships April 25-27 at Pictona at Holly Hill.
The league has 207 teams and about 2,500 players across four regions in the state. The Northeast Region has 77 teams and 775 players in skill levels from 2.5 to 4.0 in age groups from 14 to 65+. They competed in a 12-week season heading into the playoffs.
Flagler Palm Coast's baseball team celebrated seniors Adam Kleinfelder, Brenin Striplin, Logan Shudy and Ryan Penton on Senior Night on March 24. The Bulldogs lost the game 9-3 to University to fall to 7-12. They had won two of three tournament games during spring break including an exciting 14-13 eight-inning win against Seminole on March 20.
Seabreeze also lost its first game back from break on March 24. Lake Brantley scored three runs in the bottom seventh to defeat the Sandcrabs 4-3. Seabreeze (9-8) will visit Matanzas on Friday, March 28.
Email Brent Woronoff at brent@observerlocalnews.com
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