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Florida Notebook: Fast 3,200s, Zyaire Nurridin Double Highlight FSU RelaysPublished by
Zyaire Nurridin Stays Hot With 21.20/46.19 Double In Tallahassee By Todd Grasley of DyeStat A US#1, six-state leading performances, and arguably the greatest boys 3,200-meter race in Florida history highlighted the 2022 FSU Relays. The meet kicked off on Friday night at Mike Long Track with the boys and girls 3,200. Trinity Prep senior and UPenn commit Nick Carpenter guided a group of five athletes under nine minutes and won in a state-leading time of 8:57.92. Sophomore Patrick Koon of Leon was second, Ethan Lipham of Berkeley Prep was third, Brayden Seymour of Hagerty was fourth and FSU commitment Michael Toppi of Viera rounded out the sub-nine perfomers. Seymour, who finished fourth in Friday's 3,200m won the 1,600m in a state leading 4:15.52.
On the girls side, it was a battle between two of the best distance runners in state history, and two Carolines: Caroline Wells, the 3,200-meter state record holder and Stanford signee against Caroline Lehman, the two-mile state record holder heading to Notre Dame. Wells dominated the whole way with a blazing fast time of 10:10.81, just shy of her best. Lehman was second in 10:18.16 with 2A cross country state champion Jillian Candelino of Bolles in third place with a time of 10:29.19, followed by Arkansas commit Mary Ellen Eudaly, and her eighth grade teammate Eli Black.
In the sprints, it was the Zyaire Nuriddin show. The junior from Monteverde has been tearing up the track since his move to Florida. He dropped a nation-leading 46.19-second 400 and followed that up with a US#9 21.20 in the 200. Both were outdoor personal bests.
Nurridin won the 400 meters title at adidas Indoor Track Nationals on March 19 (photo above) in 46.96 at Virginia Beach.
While Nurridin was getting the job done on the guys side, his female teammates were flying as well. Junior Micayah Holland, a transfer from Virginia, is one of the top sprinters in the country. She won the 100 in a US#3 time of 11.49, a race in which four girls went under 12 seconds. In the 200, it was the same story, with another win and US#6 23.89. Rickards junior Nya Blocker was second in both races.
Holland's teammate, sophomore Alivia Williams, won the 400 in 56.44, while hurdler Michelle Smith won easily in the 300-meter race in 42.40, just shy of her personal best and current US#3 mark of 41.86s.
Montverde also won the girls 4x100 and 4x400 relays. South Walton won the 4x800.
Montverde coach Gerald Phiri has built the track program into not only a state contender but a national power.
A week after winning the 110-meter hurdles at the Bob Hayes Invitational, Penn State commitment Cyrus Ways of Nease added the 300-meter hurdles state leading time to his resume, beating the field with US#4 37.36.
In the boys 100, it was Charlie Sexton of Auburn AL taking the win in 10.54. Sexton was also a major part of his team's 4x100 relay team that crossed the line first in 41.89.
The Rickards 4x400 meter relay team which consisted of 110-meter hurdle champion Ivan Donaldson edged out Hoover 3:22.47 to 3:22.72 in an epic battle to end the day.
Rheinhardt Harrison of Nease ran a state-leading 1:50.12 to win the 800 meters as nine boys ran under 1:58.
In the field events, freshman Chelsi Williams claimed gold in the long jump (18-9.75) and triple jump (39-1.75) as well as second in the 100-meter hurdles.
Mandarin senior Damoni Kelly won both throws events claiming the girls discus crown with a throw of 131-6 and the shot put (45-2.75).
On the boys side, seniors Sam Murray and Mikuan Sanders of Harrison Central MS made the trip to Tallahassee and went 1-2 in the high jump with marks of 6-8 and 6-4, respectively.
Noah Harman and Mitchell Ratley, a pair of seniors, showed Niceville's dominance in the throws by winning the shot put and discus. New Smyrna Beach senior Cole Crkvenac launched the javelin 186-5, which puts him in a tie for the 12th best in the nation this year.
Next up for the top athletes in the Sunshine State will be the Florida Relays this weekend in Gainesville. |
