State Track and Field: Tyler Hughes takes gold in the high jump, becomes Central's champion in 13 years

JACKSONVILLE 𑁋 When Tyler Hughes transferred over to Fort Pierce Central for his sophomore season, track and field was the furthest thing from his mind.

He became a Cobra with the hopes of joining the football team. But after accidentally being placed in a class taught by track and field head coach Neiamya Wilder, Hughes was convinced into giving the sport a shot. It turns out that mistake was the best thing to happen in his prep athletic career.

Hughes came to Central for football, but he’ll leave Central as a track and field state champion.

The senior became the Cobras’ first state titlist since 2011 after claiming victory in the high jump during the Class 4A State Championships on Saturday at Hodges Stadium on the campus of the University of North Florida. Before Hughes, the last Central state champion was Damarius Gray, who was victorious in the 800-meter run 13 years prior.

High jump was one of the first events to take place Saturday, but due to a lightning delay, Hughes wasn’t immediately crowned as champion. As the weather cleared, he finally had his chance to bask in glory atop the podium.

“It didn’t entirely feel real at first, especially since it took so long to get the medal,” he said. “It didn’t feel like I actually did it, but it was exciting actually getting the medal.”

Nailing the jump on his first attempt, Hughes won the event with a mark of 6 feet, 7 1/2 inches, a full two inches ahead of runner up Adryan Schuetz of Riverview. The Cobras senior needed three tries to clear 6-5 1/2, but he was the only leaper out of four to successfully complete a jump at 6-7 1/2, which tied his personal record.

“I knew it was tough competition, I just performed better that day than everybody else did,” Hughes said. “Everybody up there is capable of doing what I did, I just did it that day.”

The senior’s triumph was an improvement of his fifth-place finish in the same event at states last season. That was the only time in any meet over the past two years in which Hughes hasn’t stood at the top of the podium for the high jump.

Generally speaking, Hughes says he doesn’t go into any meet thinking about whether he’ll win or lose. But given his track record, he had every reason to be confident.

“I don’t like to lose,” he said.

By virtue of Hughes’ win, Fort Pierce Central placed tied for 22nd with 10 points. One point ahead of the Cobras was Treasure Coast, who tied with Jupiter for 20th. Titans junior Tyon Reed collected points in the 110- and 400-meter hurdles, finishing third and fourth, respectively.

He turned in times of 14.27 seconds in the 110 hurdles and 53.61 in the 400 hurdles.

Meanwhile, Vero Beach put up the area’s best overall showing as they finished in a four-way tie for 10th with 18 points. Four different Indians earned top-five finishes, led by Derrick Williams in the 100 (10.92) and Kenan Willard in the 1,600 (4:17.5). Elsewhere, Michael Carter and Anthwone Montgomery each claimed fifth in field events, as Carter put up a mark of 44-10 1/2 in the triple jump while Montgomery had a personal record of 53-4 1/2 in the shot put.

Columbus and Niceville were atop the leaderboard with 70 points apiece.

Vero Beach also had the area’s top performers in the girls competition, with the team tying with Largo for 13th overall with 15 points.

In her first season with the Indians, Nyla Christian earned podium finishes in two events. The sophomore was third in the 100 hurdles (13.86) and sixth in the long jump (18-8). Additionally, Viviandra Phinizee had an outstanding effort in the 400 hurdles, taking home third (1:02.31).

Finally, Fort Pierce Central was one of eight teams deadlocked for 38th with four points. Alana Veal was responsible for the Cobras scoring as the senior capped her prep career with a fifth-place finish in the triple jump (37-4).

Dominant with four wins in the mid-distance and long-distance runs, Creekside cruised to the state title after totaling 84.5 points. The Knights were 32.5 points ahead of runner-up Miami Southridge.

Classes 1A-3A

South Fork and Sebastian River each had girls pick up all-state honors during the Friday’s Class 3A meet.

Led by Addison Boyer and Emerson Brinn, the Bulldogs come home tied for 22nd with 11 points. Boyer, a Florida State commit, finished third in the 3,200 with a time of 10:57.41. Brinn competed in the race that’s half of that distance, as she was fourth in the 1,600 (5:05.9).

As for the Sharks, Joniah Holson scored all of the team’s seven points en route to a tie for 29th. The sophomore was third in the shot put (41-7 1/2) and eight in the discus throw (121-8).

During Wednesday’s 1A meet, Jaden Mackey helped John Carroll get on the board and finish in a four-way tie for 43rd with four points. The senior placed sixth in the 200 (22.17).