Senior's state title a milestone for Foundation Academy

Crossing the finish line in the finals of the 100-meter dash, a look of bewilderment came across the face of Foundation Academy senior Kiande Phillips.

He wasn’t alone, either.

As Phillips completed the race, first-year head coach for the Foundation track team David Bohner was uncertain in his own right.

“When he crossed the finish line … I was like, ‘Did he just win that?’” Bohner said. “(Phillips is) kind of looking around like, ‘I think I just won.’”

It’s not to say that Phillips and his coach didn’t have faith in him, but prior to that day, the fastest time the two-sport star for the Lions had ever run was a 10.95. So, when he ran a 10.77 in the Class 1A 100-meter state final, it came as a bit of a shock.

“In my mind I was like, ‘Did this really just happen?’” Phillips said. “It was so close at the end, I wasn’t even 100% sure. … My coach yelled at me from the stands and put a No. 1 up and let me know that I got first, and all the emotions came rushing. It was an overwhelming feeling.”

That’s how Phillips, who will play college football for the Division III Hobart Statesmen in upstate New York this fall, became the first state champion — in any sport — for the private school in south Winter Garden.

“That’s just awesome,” Phillips said of the distinction. “The school has done so much for me — the coaches, the teachers have all helped me out.”

What could easily be called the race of his life capped a season where Phillips improved greatly under the tutelage of Bohner, who took over the team a few days into the spring season.

“He just, consistently throughout the season, just kept knocking little bits of time off,” Bohner said. “Probably the most amazing thing about it is we don’t even have a track.”

Indeed, Phillips and his teammates, who combined to put together a banner year for the program, practice on the grass field behind the school’s gymnasium. That mattered little, though, miles from Winter Garden Saturday in Jacksonville.

“He took off and ran an absolutely phenomenal race,” Bohner said. “He came out in third or fourth place coming out of the first 40 meters and then just turned into another gear.”

The outgoing senior, who has his high school graduation looming in the coming weeks, said he hopes he has helped to set a precedent for things to come with the school’s up-and-coming athletic programs that have already come within striking distance of a state title — most notably with the girls volleyball team finishing as state runner-up.

“I’m confident that Foundation will have, going forward, more people to bring back state championships,” Phillips said. “But it’s an absolute honor to be the first.”

Contact Steven Ryzewski at [email protected].