- Ryleigh Hermanson of Suwannee won the 1600 meters at the 2A state meet with a time of 5:01 after improving over 11 seconds from regionals.
- Oak Hall's Estella Collante placed third in both 800 and 1600 meters at the 1A state meet and led her relay team to fourth place.
- Suwannee's Kennedy Jennings finished seventh in the 400 meters at the 2A state meet with a personal best of 57.87 seconds.
Suwannee (Live Oak) and Eastside had multiple girls shine at the FHSAA Class 1A and 2A Track and Field Championships at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville in early May.
Those four athletes make up the 2026 Bosshardt Realty Girls Track and Field All Area team for small schools (1A-2A).
Suwannee finished 17th in the 2A girls standings with 12 points, led by senior Ryleigh Hermanson.
“Ryleigh’s progression this season is a true testament of her determination to make a return back to the state meet this season,” said Suwannee coach Twon Williams. “She qualified for the state championships her sophomore year but fell shy last season. This is my first season coaching Ryleigh and I’ve been doing so since the middle of September. In that time, we’ve been able to really take our time to really teach her how to race and train with me as her coach.”
After finishing fifth in the Region 1-2A meet in the 1600 with a time of 5 minutes, 12.31 seconds, Hermanson improved her time by more than 11 seconds at the state meet (5:01), which led her to first in the event.
“We spent a lot of the season developing her fitness to be able to truly compete in our region in the distance events,” Williams said. “Our region is the toughest as it relates to distance events. We knew we had a shot of qualifying in all three events with the work we’ve been doing this season. Every workout we did this season had that in mind.”
Joining Hermanson is her Suwannee teammate, senior sprinter Kennedy Jennings.
“Kennedy’s success this season is a true testament of her success this fall during cross country,” Williams said. “For the first time in Kennedy’s running career, she came into this track season with some sort of fall training under her belt. This year, I insisted that she join the cross country team, hoping that would give her a leg up this track season. This made her transition this season easier. She was able to enter the season with a fitness base, which made her ability to navigate through the workouts that much easier.”
Jennings finished second at the regional meet in the 400 meters with a time of 59.18 seconds, then improved that time at the state meet (57.87), which put her on the podium with a seventh-place finish.
“Her goal leading into the season was solely just to make it to state,” Williams said. “But I challenged her to think bigger than that. The hardest thing about coming in this late as a coach into a high school kids’ running career is getting them to buy in and trust your plan for them. We spent the entire season last year teaching her how to train. Kennedy finally realized her potential when she split sub-60 at the beginning of this season on a relay.”
Oak Hall track and field coach Edwin McTureous announced his retirement during the track season.
At his final 1A state championship meet as coach, senior distance runner Estella Collante starred for the Eagles, who finished 16th overall with 17 points.
Collante, who finished third in the 800 and 1600 meters with times of 2:14.36 and 5:07.11, respectively, also helped lead the Oak Hall 4X800 meter relay team to a fourth-place finish.
“Estella’s senior season was an absolute masterclass in determination and consistency,” McTureous said. “She has been a pillar of leadership for our team, always putting the group first and rising to the occasion whenever her teammates needed her. Her presence, work ethic, and positive attitude on this team will be deeply missed.”
Two Eastside athletes made the team after shining at the 2A state meet.
Senior Tyesha Smith finished eighth in the triple jump with a leap of 11.23 meters (36 feet, 10.25 inches). Another senior, distance runner Ingrid Astrom, finished eighth in the 1600 with a mark of 5:13.71.
Senior sprinter Amia Bethea represented Union County (Lake Butler) at the 2A state meet with a pair of top 10 finishes, earning her a spot on the All Area team for the second consecutive year.
She placed sixth in the 100 meters with a time of 11.97 seconds. She also finished seventh in the 200 meters (24.79).
Bethea, Smith, and Collante were on the 2025 All Area team.
The only area girls track and field athlete who is recognized on the big school team (3A-4A) is Gainesville High senior distance runner Keira Forbes.
“Keira has always been a passionate and furious competitor,” said GHS girls track coach Terrell Battle. “She was always looking for competition to bring out the best in her with that laser focus mentality and commitment she has. That was the reason for her back-to-back State Finals appearances.”
Forbes followed up her first-place finish in the 800 meters at the Region 1-3A meet by finishing fourth in the 3A state meet. She shaved just over a minute off her regional time at the state meet, finishing in 2:14.11.
2026 Bosshardt Realty Girls Track and Field All Area team
Small School Girls (1A-2A)
Estella Collante (SR) Oak Hall, Distance
Ryleigh Hermanson (SR) Suwannee, Distance
Kennedy Jennings (SR) Suwannee, Sprinter
Amia Bethea (SR) Union County, Sprinter
Tyesha Smith (SR) Eastside, Jumper
Ingrid Astrom (SR) Eastside, Distance
Big School Girls (3A-4A)
Keira Forbes (SR) GHS, Distance
Amia’s last name is spelled wrong in the naming of the 2026 team. Bethea is the correct spelling. Please correct in the tag also. Congratulations Amia Bethea on your top 8 finishes in the 100m and 200m. We are excited to see you running at Florida Atlantic University in the fall on track D1 scholarship 🙌🏼