Going the distance

Winter Park’s Kira Soderstrom put on a show at Saturday’s FHSAA state track and field championships, almost single-handedly lifting her team to a 15th-place showing out of 55 teams at Showalter Field.

Soderstrom went out with a bang for her final meet of her senior year, racing to a third-place finish in the 3200-meter run with a time of 11:16.56 and a seventh-place finish in the 1600-meter run with a time of 5:09.54.

The Wildcats’ long-distance workhorse had jumped out into the lead for most of the 1600 before some of the competition sprinted ahead in the final lap.

But the girls of the Winter Park 4x800 meter relay team stole the spotlight for 9:27.26 as they raced to a third-place finish. Twin seniors Emmy and Ali Brandehoff led and anchored that race, with teammates Charlotte Stephens and Ciera Williams helping in the middle legs.

Boys track

The boys team tied for 28th place out of 56 teams, with the 4x100 meter relay team racing to a fifth-place finish with a time of 41.61. D’shea Taylor took the baton for the start, handing off to Brandon Brown-Dukes, then Dominique Rouse and James Morgan for the final leg.

Finishing in a blistering 4:20.13, Winter Park’s William Anguish crossed the finish line of the 1600 meters in sixth place, earning valuable points for the Wildcats.