Dr. Phillips boys track takes Class 4A state title

Seven athletes from the Dr. Phillips boys track-and-field team made the journey north to the campus of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.

Everything had been building toward their performance on May 2 in the FHSAA Class 4A Finals — and the Panthers peaked at just the right time.

The boys from Dr. Phillips returned to West Orange County as state champions after beating second-place Lyman High School by 10 points, 56-46.

 “They all stepped up to the plate, as we knew they could — we had tapered them for that specific day for them to run their best times, and they all did,” second-year head coach Jorge Fleitas said. “We were just ready for that day, and we prepared for that day since when we started in January.”

The title marked the first in the track program’s history at Dr. Phillips, as well as the first boys state championship in any sport for the Panthers since 1999 (men’s golf).

“To win DP’s first-ever state title in track, it feels good,” senior Jamari Smith said. “To actually be in the history books as the first-ever to do it — it felt amazing.”

The Panthers’ championship performance saw the athletes who made the trip etch their name in the school’s record book more than once, as a number of program and personal records were broken. 

Dr. Phillips’ 4x800 meter relay team of Mike Macon, C.J. Bradshaw, Smith and Emare Hogan set a school record with their gold-medal time of 7:48.72 — one of the best times in the nation this spring. 

Junior Alvin Bryant Jr. broke his own school record with a 10.50 finish in the 100 meters that earned him a silver medal to pair with his individual gold he won in the 200 meters, another school record with a time of 21.04.

The times make Bryant Jr. the fastest sprinter in the school’s history.

“It felt wonderful, knowing that I broke the record once again after doing it the week before,” Bryant Jr. said. “I was coached very well.”

Smith set a personal record in the 400 meters, his signature event, with a silver medal-winning time of 46.90 — the second-fastest time in program history. The Panthers’ 4x400 meter relay team of Bryant Jr., Macon, Smith and Vernon Walker set another program record with a 3:14.23, good for third place at state.

Perhaps in the grittiest performance of the day, senior Vernon Walker, known as “Taz,” overcame stumbling out of the blocks in the 110-meter hurdles to win bronze and later would draw the crowd to its feet after hitting a hurdle early in the 300-meter hurdle finals, recovering to turn on the jets to earn a silver medal and effectively clinch the state title for Dr. Phillips at that point in the competition.

“I did what I had to do to help my team win,” Walker said. “Individually, I didn’t have the best day, but I still came out on top with the ring, and that’s all that really matters.”

Carl Schwartz also accompanied the team as an alternate.

Several of the track teams stars were also key playmakers for the Panthers’ football team, which had state title aspiration of its own before coming up short in the regional final — something that may have helped the psyche of those athletes.

“It proves that anything can happen — one mistake, and your state title could be gone,” Hogan said. “We just used that edge from football and brought it to track.”

It was the first state title in track for Fleitas, who won multiple titles in cross-country while coaching in South Florida. Fleitas and his wife, Angie, who coaches the girls team — which placed 15th at state — moved to take over the Dr. Phillips program before last season and together have led the both squads to new heights.

“It’s just a blessing to be a part of it and to do it with my wife; that’s the even bigger part, with our son being only 1 year old,” Fleitas said. “Tying everything in altogether, it just made it a lot more enjoyable.”

Contact Steven Ryzewski at [email protected].