Cardinal takes flight: Kalia Bing's long jump leads Northeast Florida in Class 1A track

One foul. Two fouls. Pretty soon, down to her last attempt, Kalia Bing was wondering if her first state meet as a high school athlete might be about to end in disappointment.

"It really put me in a bad mood," she said.

One more jump was all it took to flip that frown upside down.

On her final attempt, the Bishop Snyder long jumper soared to a freshman-year triumph to highlight Northeast Florida's opening day at Wednesday's Florida High School Athletic Association Class 1A track and field championships at the University of North Florida.

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After two fouls and a shorter-than-usual mark of 17 feet, 6 inches, Bing made her last attempt count with a leap of 18 feet, 8 1/2 inches to win the girls long jump. Initial confusion followed the jump, which was announced in the stadium but not tabulated at first by the live scoring system, apparently because of a technical glitch following early-afternoon thunderstorms.

But there was no doubt when Bing stood atop the winner's podium, joining Alana Lecointe's shot put in 2019 and Semaj McGhee's sweep of the jumps in 2018 as Bishop Snyder's girls track titles in the FHSAA record books.

"It feels really good, because I had a lot of adversity before I won," she said.

Last week, Bing set Florida's best freshman distance for the year in the girls long jump, flying 19 feet, 6 3/4 inches.

While Bing was the only Jacksonville winner on a stormy day where lightning delayed the start of Wednesday's proceedings for two hours and 11 minutes, she wasn't the only one celebrating on the blue track of Hodges Stadium.

Providence junior football quarterback Mason Williams, a virtual newcomer to the discus who said he only took up the sport this spring, marked his rapid improvement with a throw of 153 feet, 7 inches. That was good for second place behind Palm Beach Gardens Benjamin's Jackson Hamilton, who also won the shot put.

With his personal record, Williams showed a gain of 54 feet and 10 inches compared to his discus debut two months ago, when he placed 39th at the Bolles Bulldog Classic on March 1.

"I knew I was going to do well, but I didn't think I'd get second," he said. "So it's kind of a surprise to me."

Providence's Ellis Halton also took third in the boys 800-meter run at 1:56.35.

On a showcase for Florida's small-school stars, McKenzie Travis of Fort Lauderdale Evangelical Christian stole the show with a girls sprint sweep in the 100 (11.65), 200 (24.05) and 400 (55.06), while Madeleine Gear of Foundation Christian compiled a girls distance double for the 800 (2:11.51) and 1,600 (4:52.84), Henry Stark of Palmer Trinity won both the boys 1,600 (4:16.76) and 3,200 (9:18.02) and Christopher Bronaugh of Winter Garden Foundation Academy captured the boys 100 (10.51) and 200 (21.19).

Shorecrest Prep senior Sonoma Kasica, a United States youth national team goalkeeper headed to Notre Dame for soccer, also kept up her four-year streak in the girls javelin in style. Immediately after Merritt Island Christian's Evelyn VanZwieten had jumped ahead with a throw of 141 feet, 10 inches, Kasica launched the competition's final throw for a facility-record 147 feet, 3 inches.

"The entire season, I didn't really have anyone that was above 40 [meters]," Kasica said. "So having someone that pushed me to want to throw better and farther, it was like the best."

Benjamin dominated the boys standings with 89 1/2 points ahead of Indian Rocks Christian and Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna, while St. Petersburg Admiral Farragut overtook Palmer Trinity and Tallahassee Maclay by winning the final girls event, the 4x400 relay.

Competition continues at Hodges Stadium through the weekend, with Class 3A teams on Friday and Class 4A on Saturday.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Cardinal takes flight: Kalia Bing's long jump leads Northeast Florida in Class 1A track