Windermere Prep boys track and field wins first district title in coach’s final season

Coming into his eighth season as the Windermere Prep boys and girls track-and-field coach, Devin Bennett had plenty of reasons not to be optimistic about his teams’ chances at breaking through in a tough district and bringing home hardware for the first time in its history.

Bennett, who also served as the Lakers boys and girls cross-country coach this past fall, saw the injury bug decimate his distance-running teams’ 2024 season, and with a heap of athletes participating in both disciplines he coached, the worry that the Lakers’ cross-country outcomes would seep through to 2025 and negatively impact the track-and-field season was top of mind for Bennett. That is, until his track-and-field team came together for its preseason preparations.

“I noticed that the enthusiasm level and new talent coming out for track was the highest it had ever been in my time at Windermere Prep,” Bennett said. “As I assessed the situation, I quickly began to realize there was a real chance our team could make history by bringing home a district title this year.”

This new energy from the Lakers gave Bennett confidence that 2025 could be a special season — especially considering what the program looked like when he took over in 2018.

“When I began as the head track coach here at Windermere Prep in 2018, I inherited a small but determined group of athletes,” Bennett said. “Over the years, that group has grown into a large varsity team of 60 athletes. I have brought on a total of 12 assistant coaches over the years; some have come and gone, moving on to even greater things. I am grateful to have been part of the journey here and to have helped spark interest in the sport. However, it is truly the kids — their commitment and effort — that have put this program on the map.”

The commitment and effort put in by the members of Bennett’s 2025 track-and-field team has done more than just put the program on the map, it pushed the Lakers over the top and made history. 

At the 2025 Class 2A, District 6 boys track-and-field championship meet, the Lakers got off to a great start — thanks in large part to a heroic, four-event performance by senior Kingston Miranda. 

“It was definitely a special day for me and for the team,” Miranda said. “I felt I performed decently well. … But I felt like I came in expecting to do well in these events, but I still had to make sure I executed on that expectation on the day. Even though I felt I did enough on my earlier jump and throw attempts, I still almost threw my arm out and messed up my left ankle in my last attempts to make sure I did my job.”

Across his four events, Miranda singlehandedly secured 36 points for the Lakers — winning the triple jump, javelin and discus events, while finishing third in the long jump. Miranda set new personal bests in the discus, with a throw of 28.75 meters, and in the triple jump, with a jump of 5.59 meters.

“It was nice getting those early points, knowing I did my part,” he said. “After that, I got to watch everyone else go out there and do their jobs and doing what I could to hype everyone else up. It was really the rest of the team that held up at the end for us. It was so intense in the closing events, every point mattered — it seemed like in the final events that the scores weren’t updating and all of us watching were super nervous.”

Eighth-grader Cody Meyer also came up big in the field events with two second-place finishes — in the shot put and discus, and a fourth-place in the javelin — adding 21 points. Furthermore, the Lakers’ early result in the 3,200-meter run also helped establish their lead over district foes. Junior Pedro Castanha finished second in the long-distance running event, while sixth-grader Logan Lieberman claimed the eighth-place spot — the last points-scoring position — to add a combined nine points to WPS’s early tally. 

“As the meet began to come to a close and we reached the final four running events, we knew the margin was razor-thin,” Bennett said. “Our distance runners and sprinters understood the assignment, though, and gave their absolute best efforts to try and secure a very narrow victory.”

Windermere Prep’s lone state qualifier, junior Taha Abdi, led the runners with two individual second-place finishes in the 800- and 1,600-meter runs, and was part of a third second-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay with Castanha, Rafael Stresser Ribeir and Adrian Delgado. Not only did Abdi set the tone for the runners with his performance at districts, but also, the fact he was even able to compete this season — let alone set program records — was inspiring after missing a third of the season with a quad injury.

“I’ve been dealing with injuries my whole running career, and I was definitely bummed out at the beginning of the season when I got hurt after only one race,” Abdi said. “As soon as I stepped off the track, I could feel it in my quad. I thought it was nothing, and thought I would be ready to run the next race. But when I went to the doctor, I found I was going to be out for a month or two. It’s tough working through an injury, because it’s hard to get motivated considering you’re not with your teammates. People don’t see the work behind the scenes you put (in) when you’re injured. So, coming back and being able to provide for the team, reach some of my goals and even break a school record that I’ve been eyeing for a long time, really meant a lot. I honestly didn’t expect any of it, I just really wanted to get back out here with my team and compete, so when I got back it all felt like a bonus. I just kept telling myself to be glad that I’m able to run and that I didn’t have to chase PRs or qualifications. My mindset was just go out there with the intention of doing my best every day, and it paid off. … It’s a great feeling to see all the work put in wasn’t for nothing. All those hours in the gym, on a bike or on an elliptical machine they really led to something special that really came together at districts.”

Adbi’s performances, along with a pair of fourth-place finishes by freshman Riley Wetteland in the 110- and 400-meter hurdles and a silver medal for Delgado in the 400-meter dash helped the Lakers hold on to its early lead.

“Through the heat, humidity, discomfort and anxiety, I could see that these boys were determined to claim this victory and secure their place in Windermere Prep history.”

Thanks to the whole-team performance, Windermere Prep boys track-and-field made history and won the 2025 District 6 championship, narrowly edging out rivals Lake Highland Prep, 161-154.5. This district title represents something bigger than just the program’s breakthrough, though. It’s the perfect way to capture the bittersweet end of Bennett’s tenure at Windermere Prep as he will leave the school and program at the end of the year and takeover as coach at Foundation Academy.

“It was super important to us that we sent him off with this type of achievement because of the amount of work that he puts into us,” Abdi said. “The success we had this year is a product of the process he’s helped build here, so it feels good. … At the end of the day, thinking about this being coach’s last year here, we had the mentality at districts of let’s go ahead and do whatever we need to do to secure the points. Like for me, running in the 4x400 relay after doing two distance events right before. I knew that it was going to be difficult and could be risking an injury, but I wanted to do what I could to help us win, especially because of coach. A coach like him, who really shows us how much he cares about us just makes us want to care even more.”

Beyond the success Bennett had with the boys track-and-field team this season, the Lady Lakers also boasted some of the district’s top athletes and were able to send their longtime coach off with a little history of their own by setting five new program records. 

“He’s the best coach I’ve ever had,” junior Alyssa Johnson said. “I’ve done a few other sports, but I’ve never really found a sport I love as much as track and I think it’s partly because of coach Bennett. … I’ve never felt as confident in myself and felt that desire to improve as much as an athlete as I’ve had with him guiding me. He’s very understanding and every season I’ve had with him, I feel like I’ve improved more each time, I’m definitely going to miss him a lot.”