Stories from the podium: Benjamin gold medalists reflect on Bucs' track and field title

Benjamin kicked off the Florida High School Athletic Association track and field championship meet with a bang.

There said they couldn't do it. Three in a row? Surely not. But the Buccaneers boys shrugged off the nay-sayers, embraced the target on their backs, and delivered a third-straight state title.

"We had a great group this year," head coach Barrett Saunders said. "A great mixture of seniors and younger guys, and they pretty much all came out here and stepped it up and had the performances of their lives when it mattered most. That's the definition of a championship team."

The boys program crushed the competition, tallying 89.5 points to leave the other programs, including second-place Indian Rocks Christian (48) and third-place Chaminade-Madonna (37), in the dust.

Among those who had the biggest performances were a shopping four gold-medal finalists for the Benjamin boys.

Class 1A results: Benjamin boys three-peat, multiple girls squads crack top ten

Mike Winfield opens up Benjamin career with state title

Mike Winfield made the move from St. Andrew's the Benjamin this year, and the cross-county move has paid dividends very quickly for his track and field career.

Winfield won the 400-meter run on Wednesday, beating Jupiter Christian's Joe Licata, who had won regionals with a 48.93 time. Winfield posted a 48.48 time in the win, compared to Licata's 48.58 time.

"At first, I had to kind of make myself aware of the situation I was in," Winfield said. "I was in lane eight of nine, and obviously I had Joe behind me, which is actually what me and coach Saunders wanted for this race. It was definitely a little nerve-racking knowing he was behind me and could come at any second."

Winfield locked in on his intuition and strategy as much as he did his speed during Wednesday's run.

"I didn't want to get out too hard to the point where I'd be over-extending myself, but I also didn't want to sit behind too much because that's a long curve on that last curve. So, at about 200 meters in, I felt pretty good. I was in first place. I eased up coming off the curve so I could open my shot up on the straight."

At that point, he saw Licata ahead of him coming off the final curve, and at that point, it was all speed.

"He had a target on his back and I just went and chased him down," Winfield said.

Julian Luiz battles brother Josh in feel-good story for sophomore

Speed down the stretch was a common denominator for the Benjamin track athletes on Wednesday.

Not only did Winfield have to out-run Licata in the 400-meter, but Julian Luiz had to run down Arylless Acevedo of Moore Haven in the final stretch of his 400-meter hurdles event.

"It felt great," Luiz said. "I ran a pretty good race and I had to chase down the dude at the end as well."

The Luiz brothers have run together since they were young, and while Julian says his older brother Josh has always been a role model and also the faster of the two, he says his growth spurt in his sophomore season must have helped him close that gap.

"We've both run track since we were pretty young, and he's always been my motivator," Julian said. "I've always tried to beat him. But we're great friends, brothers, and we do everything together. It's amazing to compete with him."

Both qualified for the 400-meter hurdles event, but a fall might have been all that separated the two brothers in Jacksonville.

"I raced against my brother, which was great as always. He may have gotten me if he didn't fall, but that's just how it goes."

This was Julian's first year at states, and as just a sophomore, he'll be one of the Bucs' track stars carrying the torch moving forward.

Jackson Hamilton headlines talented throwing crew

FSU commit Jackson Hamilton has been a staple of Benjamin's three-peat, and Wednesday's performance was an appropriate finale for the senior thrower.

Hamilton took no prisoners with dominant performances in the shot put and discus throw events, placing first in both by wide margins.

He posted a 17.16-meter throw in the shot-put and a 51.29-meter throw in the discus.

"There definitely were eyes on us this year," Hamilton said. "No one wants a team to win three times in a row, but I feel like we competed under pressure and did well, so I'm happy with that."

Hamilton is no stranger to performing on the big stage, and while this might be considered his encore performance for his high-school career before moving on to compete as a Seminole, the senior says that this year was the best and biggest showing by the Bucs' throwing screw since he's been here -- and perhaps ever.

"This year, I think we had the most throwers ever come to states from Benjamin," he said. "So our throws crew was really great this year. Our guys have been working really hard in practice and the gym, so it was good."

For Hamilton, this year was the cheery on top of a high-school legacy that will be remembered for a long time.

"It was definitely a good way to end it off," Hamilton said. "A third state for us and back-back state championships for me. I'm excited for what comes for the future."

Robert Letsche ends high-school career on top

Robert Letsche wanted to end his high-school career with a new personal record at states.

He didn't quite hit that mark, but he'll settle for the gold medal, winning Wednesday Class 2A boys pole vault with a 4.35-meter mark.

"I definitely felt the most confident I've ever felt going into an event," Letsche said. "I was super calm. "With that, I didn't jump as well as I wanted to. It was a point under my personal record, so I was a little said because I wanted to end with a huge jump, show the work I've put into it, but I'm happy it ended the way it, did and I cannot complain."

Hard to complain with a first-place finish.

Going into the year, Letsche acknowledged that there were a lot of "haters" predicting the downfall of Benjamin. But when he and his friends sat down and did the math at the beginning of the year, he says they came to the conclusion that the Bucs could indeed run it back.

After all, he said, hard to beat a program with 35 state qualifiers.

"It feels awesome," Letsche said. "The team did the three-peat, which is really exciting. It's just a lot of good feelings, and I'm really happy I ended my senior year like this."

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Stories from the podium: Benjamin gold medalists reflect on Bucs' track and field title