For the second year in a row, the spring’s top long-distance runner in Class 4A hails from Vero Beach High School.
Andrew Youssef added his name to the school’s history books by winning the 3,200-meter run at the FHSAA state championships on Saturday, May 9 from the Visit Jax Track at Hodges Stadium on the campus of the University of North Florida.
Youssef claimed the title after Vero Beach graduate and current Stenton University runner Kenan Willard stood on top of the podium in the same event in 2025.
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“If anything, that’s kind of the best part, honestly,” Youssef said. “Kenan was telling me the whole year how he really wanted me to get the gold and carry on the streak. It feels great to be able to do it for my school, to go back-to-back for Vero. I have so much pride, it’s such an honor to be able to do that. It means the world to me.”
Youssef, who is signed to run collegiatelly next season at Nova Southeastern, is the 17th different male athlete at Vero Beach to win an individual state title.
The senior’s time was nearly 13 seconds faster than Willard’s mark in the same event, as he crossed the finish line with a personal-record time of 9 minutes, 1.99 seconds.
His margin of victory was much closer though, as he beat both Largo’s Isaiah Howdeshell and Spanish River’s Preston Sangely each by 0.05 seconds in a photo finish.
Youssef couldn’t believe he won, even well after the race was over.
“I still think it’s crazy to even have that title (of state champion) to my name,” he said. “I’m still thanking God every step of the way, that he has brought me to this moment. It’s just unbelievable.”
Youssef said he felt good while sitting third at the midway point of the race as the leaders crossed the mile mark in 4:32.
The Vero senior made a move to the front with 1,200 meters remaining before being passed 400 meters later. He surged ahead again with 500 meters to go, took one final look over his shoulder with less than 100 meters left before holding off Howedeshell and Sangely at the stripe.
“I just gave it everything I had. You can see it from the photo finish, I couldn’t tell (if I won),” he said. “I was laying on the ground afterwards, I had to wait to look at the screen to make sure that I actually won because I wasn’t sure. It was such a close finish that I had to make sure from the officials, that they weren’t going to change it.”
Sweeping districts and regionals, Youssef entered states as the top seed in the 3,200, but he did not approach Saturday with overconfidence.
“I had a chance to win and I wasn’t going to set any limitations on myself, but I was in no way saying like, ‘Oh, this is going to be an easy win and I’m just going to cruise.’ I knew it was going to be a dog fight,” he said. “It was a really tough fight to come out on top.
“I have so much respect for those guys. They’re incredible competitors and they pushed me so hard.”
The victory highlighted Vero Beach’s day, with the school taking ninth overall with 21 points.
Senior Corbin Phillips added to the tally with a third in the shot put and an eighth in the discus while junior Isaiah Cummings brought home fifth in the triple jump.
Elsewhere in 4A, St. Lucie West Centennial placed in a tie for 25th with eight points.
Dominic Dimarco had a hand in every point for the Eagles. The senior took third in 800 and teamed with Nathan Lynch, Marc Johns and Christopher Hernandez-Oakes to a seventh in the 3,200-meter relay.
Smaller classifications competed earlier in the week.
Sebastian River senior Donnie Bryant placed fourth in the shot put to help the Sharks finish tied for 31st overall in 3A on Friday. Two days earlier, John Carroll Catholic’s Jaydien Pittman and Arthur Jackson each earned points to help the Rams finish tied for 30th in 1A. Pittman was eighth in the 100 while Jackson was fifth in the 400.
Boys state results
Class 4A
Team scores: 1. Flanagan 77.5; 9. Vero Beach 21; T25. St. Lucie West Centennial 8
200: 15. Emmanuel Dorelus Jr., SLWC, 21.81
400: 16. Marc Johns, SLWC, 49.65
800: 3. Dominic Dimarco, SLWC, 1:53.51; 18. Nathan Lynch, SLWC, 2:05.57
3,200: 1. Andrew Youssef, VB, 9:01.99
400R: 11. St. Lucie West Centennial (Jordan Tolbert, Dorelus Jr., Andrew Harper, Mackenley Michel). 41.71
3,200R: 7. St. Lucie West Centennial (Lynch, Dimarco, Johns, Christopher Hernandez-Oakes), 7:54.47
TJ: 5. Isaiah Cummings, VB, 46-3 1/2; 15. Adrian McLean, Martin County, 43-4 1/4
SP: 3. Corbin Phillips, VB, 51-3 1/2; 16. Romeo Vargas, VB, 46-9
D: 8. Phillips, VB, 145-8
Class 3A
Team scores: 1. Niceville 88; T31. Sebastian River 5
SP: 4. Donnie Bryant, SR, 55-10 1/4
D: 11. Bryant, SR, 146-6
Class 2A
Team scores: 1. Raines 83
400H: 15. Maximus Dill, Somerset College Prep, 1:01.29
Class 1A
Team scores: 1. Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy 68; T30. John Carroll Catholic 5
100: 8. Jaydien Pittman, JCC, 11.18
200: 13. Daniel Sheehan, Pine, 22.61
400: 5. Arthur Jackson, JCC, 49.6
400R: 10. John Carroll Catholic (Pittman, Micah Coleman, Jackson Summerall, Donovan Richardson), 43.05SP: 9. Sean Tatum, JCC, 47-3; 15. Andrew Pisani, JCC, 45-7
Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for Treasure Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at 772-985-9692, on X at @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Andrew Youssef makes it a Vero Beach state repeat in the 3,200 meters
Reporting by Patrick Bernadeau, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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