Andrew Morrison became the first state champion in track and field from Polk in 2026 running the second-fastest time of his career.
The Victory Christian junior ran 14.01 to win the 110-meter hurdles on Wednesday at the 2026 FHSAA Class 1A Track and Field Championships at the University of North Florida.
Morrison, who also finished eighth in the 200, led the Storm to a fifith-place finish in the boys team competition. Victory finished with 35 points and edged Geneva School by three points. The Storm won points in five events.
Morrison, who finished seventh in the event at state, won the 110 hurdles by .08 seconds over Holy Trinity’s Camryn Roy. Teammate Luke Lazenby ran 15.66 to finish seventh in the event.
AJ Cunningham’s third-place finish was the next-highest individual finisher for the Storm. He ran 56.38 in the 400 hurdles, and Lazenby, a junior, ran 57.32 to finish fifth.
Also for Victory Christian, Jerrell Paul finished fifth in the triple jump in 45-01.5. Jayce Peterson finished just ahead of Morrison in the 200 in seventh place.
Victory ran in one relay and finished third in the 4×100 with a school-record time of 41.75.
Lakeland Christian finished tied for 15th. The Vikings’ best finish was fourth behind Victory in the 4×100 with a school record 42.34.
AJ Trudell finished fifth in the 100 in 11.12, and Marcus Bankston took fifth in the long jump (21-6.34). Freshman Jayden Wall was eighth in the triple ump. (44-11).
McLaughlin junior Trevon Searight took second in the 100. He ran 10.95.
1A Girls: Wilkinson finishes 2nd in 3,200, 4th in 1,600, with a PR, school record
Lakeland Christian sophomore Emma Wilkinson finished second at state for the first time in her career.
Wilkinson ran 11:08 to finish state runner-up in the 3,200. She was ranked third in the state in 1A going into the meet. Last year, she finished third when she ran 11.08.57. She is the county record holder in the 3,200.
In the 1,600, Wilkinson, who finished sixth the past two years at state cross country, ran 5:08.54 to finish fourth in the event for the second year in a row. Her time, however, was nearly five seconds faster and she broke Mallory White’s school record of 5:08.54. She is now fourth all-time in the county.
Also for LCS, junior Mia Hermina finished seventh in the discus with a mark of 108-04.
All Saints freshman Alahna Hawkins ran 58.91 and finished sixth in the 400. Although she finished 12th in the 800, Charlotte Roy set the school record with a time of 2:23.79. which is the fastest time in the county in the event this year.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Victory Christian’s Morrison wins state title; LCS’s Wilkinson takes 2nd
Reporting by Roy Fuoco, Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
