After not producing a state track champion for 32 years, Vero Beach has produced one in each of the last two years.
Each of the team’s two victories occurred in the same event as the school successfully repeated as champion in the 3,200-meter run.
Elsewhere, many of the Treasure Coast’s finest sprinters, runners, throwers and leapers fine-tuned their skills throughout the past months to earn the chance to compete in the season’s final meet in Jacksonville, with several taking up medals.
See which boys track and field athletes were the best of the best as TCPalm continues its celebration of the spring’s top athletes.
Athlete of the Year
Andrew Youssef, Vero Beach
Year: Senior
Youssef was victorious at the 3,200-meter run at the Class 4A FHSAA state championships. He was first to cross the finish line by turning in a personal-record time of 9 minutes, 1.99 seconds, beating both Largo’s Isaiah Howdeshell and Spanish River’s Preston Sangely each by 0.05 seconds in a photo finish. Youssef, who was named TCPalm’s Cross Country Runner of the Year in the fall, also won the event at districts and regionals.
All-Area Team
Donnie Bryant, Sebastian River
Year: Sophomore
Two years as a varsity track-and-field athlete, Bryant has been named to the All-Area team after each season. The sophomore has established himself as a top-notch thrower, as he earned a fourth-place finish in the shot put and an 11th-place finish in the discus at the 3A state meet. Prior to that, Bryant took home first in both events at districts while finishing first in the shot put and second in the discus throw at regionals.
Isaiah Cummings, Vero Beach
Year: Junior
Cummings was one of three Vero competitors to earn a top-five finish at the 4A state championships. The junior excelled at the triple jump, as his mark of 46 feet, 3 1/2 inches was good enough for a fifth-place finish at state. He also earned second at regionals and was a champion at districts in that event. Cummings was also a state qualifier in the long jump, where he also won a district title.
Dominic DiMarco, St. Lucie West Centennial
Year: Junior
DiMarco makes the leap from Honorable Mention to the All-Area team thanks to his performance as the Eagles’ top mid-distance runner. The junior stood near the top of the podium at the 4A state meet thanks to a third-place finish in the 800. He also led Centennial’s 3,200 relay team to a seventh-place result. DiMarco claimed first in those events at regionals, as well playing a part in a first-place effort in the 1,600 relay. The junior won two district titles.
Emmanuel Dorelus Jr., St. Lucie West Centennial
Year: Senior
Prior to heading off to Cornell for a collegiate football career, Dorelus Jr’s final act as an Eagles prep athlete was on the track. The senior earned three first-place medals at districts. He continued at regionals with a pair of fourths in the 100 and 200 while playing a role in a second-place finish at the 400 relay. He concluded the season at the 4A state meet, where he placed 15th in the 200 and was part of a ninth-place finish at the 400 relay.
Arthur Jackson, John Carroll Catholic
Year: Senior
Jackson, a three-sport star for the Rams, saved his best for last. The senior set a personal-record time of 49.6 seconds en route to a fifth-place finish at the 400 during a 1A state championships. He was also a state qualifier in the 1,600 relay. He earned a pair of third-place finishes at the 400 and 1,600 relay.
Marc Johns Jr., St. Lucie West Centennial
Year: Junior
The third and final Eagles runner on the All-Area Team was another key cog in the team’s relay success. During the 4A state meet, Johns Jr. joined Dimarco, Nathan Lynch and Christopher Hernandez-Oakes to a seventh-place finish at the 3,200 relay. He helped Centennial to region titles in the 1,600 and 3,200 relays and to a district title in the 1,600 relay. Individually, the junior was a state qualifier at the 400, taking 16th.
Jaydien Pittman, John Carroll Catholic
Year: Junior
Coming off a devastating knee injury, the speedy junior returned in style by standing on the podium at the final meet of the season. Pittman placed eighth in the 100 after winning district and regional titles in the event. At regionals, he set a personal-record mark of 10.57 seconds. The junior was also a state qualifier as part of the Rams’ 400 relay, which took home 10th.
Corbin Phillips, Vero Beach
Year: Senior
Making back-to-back appearances to the All-Area team, Vero’s top thrower made two podium trips during the 4A state meet. The senior’s best showing came in the shot put, taking third with a throw of 51-3 1/2. He followed that with an eighth-place finish in the district throw, where put up a PR of 145-8. Phillips was a regional runner-up in each event.
Sean Tatum, John Carroll Catholic
Year: Junior
The University of Miami football commit showcased his strength in the field. At the 1A state meet, Tatum placed ninth in the shot put thanks to a personal-record mark of 47-3. He took home fourth in the event in both districts and regionals.
Honorable Mention
Micah Coleman, John Carroll Catholic senior
Maximus Dill, Somerset College Prep junior
Raythez Flowers, Fort Pierce Central junior
Andrew Harper, St. Lucie West Centennial junior
Christopher Hernandez-Oakes, St. Lucie West Centennial sophomore
Nathan Lynch, St. Lucie West Centennial junior
Adrian McLean, Martin County senior
Maurice Mewborn, Sebastian River senior
Mackenley Michel, St. Lucie West Centennial junior
Andrew Pisani, John Carroll Catholic sophomore
Donovan Richardson, John Carroll Catholic sophomore
Daniel Sheehan, Pine freshman
Jackson Summerall, John Carroll Catholic senior
Jordan Tolbert, St. Lucie West Centennial senior
Romeo Vargas, Vero Beach senior
Coach of the Year
Carl Elliott, St. Lucie West Centennial
Behind the second-year head coach, the Eagles finished tied for 25th in the Class 2A state meet after producing state qualifiers in six different events. On the way to state, Centennial earned runner-up honors at the District 8-4A and Region 2-4A meets.
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: TCPalm Spring All-Area: Boys Track and Field’s best on the Treasure Coast
Reporting by Patrick Bernadeau, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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By Patrick Bernadeau, Treasure Coast Newspapers | USA TODAY Network
