On May 10th, the girls’ and boys’ track and field teams travelled to Jax Hodgers Stadium in Jacksonville,
Florida for the Class 1-A FHSAA State Championships.

By the end of the meet, the girls had secured their first State Championship in school history, while the boys, the three-time reigning State champions, finished as runner-up. The girls scored 61 points and won by 16 points. Junior Sofia Balesteri, who won the 800m race.

“I was so happy. I have been working so hard to lower my time throughout the entire season, and I got my lowest time in the biggest race of the season. I am so happy to win as a team too and make history at Benjamin,” Balesteri exclaimed.

Junior Akari Marshall participated in the 100-meter race and came in second. She couldn’t be prouder of
the team.

“We fought so hard in every race. I was so excited when we learned that we won, because all of our hard work led up to this point, and it clearly showed,” Lewis said.

The boys had a successful season, but they eventually lost the state championship to Holy Trinity. The
Tigers scored 59 points, and the Bucs scored 53 points. The lone state championship race winner was senior Mike Winfield, who won the 400m race.

“Words can’t describe how excited I am. I worked so hard at this, and even though we fell short, I am so proud of all the boys,” Winfield noted.

Junior Julian Luiz came second in his 400m hurdle race.

“I started off the race well. I had a good lead in the beggining I could see out of my perepherial vision, and
then I saw the other guy catching up and eventually head to head with me. I barely lost, but I am so proud of myself for working so hard and I am so proud of the boys for how much we fought till the end,” Luiz exclaimed.

The Pharcyde joins the entire School community in applauding the efforts and accomplishments of all our track and field athletes.