- Oak Hall girls track team won their 14th FHSAA Class 1A-Region 2 title, beating favorite Holy Trinity 126-117 on Friday at Wildwood Middle High School.
- Several Oak Hall athletes advanced to the state championships with top finishes in events like the 800m, hurdles, and relays, highlighting strong individual performances.
- The Oak Hall boys team finished second in the regional meet, with key runners like Elijah West and Andrew Eisner placing in sprints and distance events.
This past Friday at Wildwood Middle High School, the Oak Hall School girls track and field team upset favorite Holy Trinity (Melbourne), 126-117, to win the FHSAA Class 1A-Region 2 championship.
It was the Lady Eagles’ 14th regional title.
“What an unbelievable day for our girls track and field team,” said OHS track and field coach Edwin McTureous, who is stepping down at the end of the season. “This group battled from start to finish…in a meet with over 40 teams competing, it truly came down to the final events, and our girls delivered when it mattered most. Total team effort. Total grit. Total belief.”
The top two in each event automatically advance to state and there were several.
Senior Estella Collante, an All Area selection last year, finished first in the 800-meter run (2 minutes,18.69 seconds) and second in the 1600 (5:03.55), sophomore Samantha Baines, who was also a 2025 All Area selection, finished second in both the 100 hurdles (15.07) and the long jump (16 feet,10.5 inches), freshman Davika Medley took home gold in the long jump (16’10.75”), freshman Adele Zarrinpar finished first in the triple jump (34’0”, and junior Kate Drummond was second in the triple jump (34’0”).
Plus, the 4×400 relay team (Baines, Collante, Medley, and freshman Cora Gastelbondo) took home gold with a time of 4:07.35, and the 4×800 relay team (Collante, seventh grader Reese Allen, junior Lola Murfee, and sophomore Alexis Thur de Koos) finished first (9:55.10).
Other top eight finishes included Zarrinpar (fourth in 100, eighth in 200, seventh in long jump), Medley (sixth in 400), freshman Cora Gastelbondo (seventh in 400), Thur de Koos (seventh in 800m, Murfee (fourth in 1600, fifth in 3200), Allen (seventh in 3200), senior Sophie Baines (seventh in 100 hurdles), Samantha Baines (sixth in 400 hurdles), Drummond (third in high jump, fourth in long jump) and the 4×100 relay (Sophie Baines, Drummond, senior Madison Blackford and junior Paige Sherrod) finished seventh.
Oak Hall will compete at the FHSAA Class 1A track and field state championships on Wednesday at Visit Jax Track at Hodges Stadium on the campus of the University of North Florida (UNF) in Jacksonville.
“While we don’t have the depth to contend for a team title this year, our focus is entirely on bringing home as many individual medals as possible,” McTureous said. “After the incredible feat of winning County, District, and a Region Championship, these girls have proven they belong on the big stage. We’re looking to cap off this unbelievable season by putting as many athletes on that podium as we can.”
It was also a huge day for the boys’ team, which finished as regional runners-up, 104-69, to Holy Trinity.
“The team battled from start to finish in a deep field, scoring across sprints, distance, relays, and field events to secure the runner-up finish,” McTureous said.
Top performances included second-place finishes by junior Elijah West in the 100 (11.05) and 400 (50.74), along with a third-place finish in the 200 (22.62).
Senior Andrew Eisner finished second in the 800 (2:01.60) and third in the 1600 (4:30.89), while senior Matthew Silva finished third (2:02.91) and fourth (4:42.70), respectively.
In the 3200, freshman Henri Pelletier placed third (10:07.17), freshman Dylan Kirk was sixth (10:16.57), and eighth-grader Jacob Motamarry took eighth (10:39.59).
The 4×400 relay team of West, Eisner, Silva and senior Benjamin Gallogly finished fourth (3:28.81), while the 4×800 relay team of Eisner, Gallogly, Silva, and eighth-grader Alexander Braithwaite finished fifth (8:30.11).
“A complete team effort and a strong championship day for the program, with more postseason opportunities still to come as at-large selections will be announced later,” McTureous said following the regional meet.
McTureous said he was “incredibly proud” of what the boys accomplished this year, winning a district title and finishing as regional runners-up.
“We know we aren’t in the mix for a top team spot at state, but that doesn’t change our mission,” he said. “We’re going there to hunt for medals. Our goal is to see our guys execute at their best and bring home some hardware to reward the hard work they’ve put in all season.”