Track and field: Dunbar boys and girls pull off commanding wins at LCAC meet

One of Guy Thomas’ enduring legacies was on display at Dunbar High School on Saturday.

The renowned head track and field coach of the Tigers died last summer from COVID-19 complications, but his team, now under the leadership of Joe Addison, thrived at the LCAC track meet as both the boys and girls’ teams won decisively.

“After the year they had last year – losing a coach – I’m proud of them,” Addison said. “They came together.”

Addison, a Fort Myers graduate and former head coach at Island Coast, was hired to succeed Thomas in October.

“Guy had a foundation,” Addison said. “I came in and didn’t do too much. I put my own little stamp on it, but, at the end of the day, he built the foundation, and it feels good to continue the excellence.”

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The Tigers were dominant across the board, highlighted by the girls 100-meter race where Dunbar swept the podium with senior Jasmine Jimenez coming out on top. Jimenez also took second in the long jump despite not having competed in that event all season, according to Addison.

The Dunbar boys and girls built strong enough leads that they didn't need to compete in the day's final event, the 4x400 relay.

Dunbar sophomore Kayla Hopkins competed in four events, coming in second in the 100 meters and first in the 200 and 400-meter races.

“This was the first time the girls won (a meet) all season,” Hopkins said. “I think we did what we had to do. Everybody ran their race perfectly.”

Dunbar senior Bobby Dennis was a double winner too, taking first in the 110 hurdles and the triple jump, while coming in second in the 300 hurdles.

Lehigh sophomore Gianna Del Pizzo was the fastest girl with her name in Lee County, coming in first in the 800 meters followed by Fort Myers’ Giana D’Altrui and Estero’s Gianna Robinson.

Del Pizzo also was the winner in the 1600-meter race.

“It sets me up pretty good for districts and regionals because there’s going to be a lot of competition there,” she said.

Another Lehigh sophomore, Sanaa Geter, continued her success after winning a silver medal in the long jump at states as a freshman last year, winning LCAC titles in the long jump and 100 hurdles.

Island Coast had a strong day in the field events with junior Avery Brincat winning the girls' javelin and senior Keon Anderson earning first place in the boys' shot put and discus.

Anderson won district and regional titles in shot put last year and came in fifth at states. His coach Chris Burnett said the goal is to get first or second at the state meet this year.

“For him, the good thing is we haven’t peaked and he’s not injured, so I think we’re on the right track,” Burnett said.

One of the top Lee County distance runners, Estero’s Kolton Pickard, did not compete on Saturday, resting to ensure full health in the postseason.

Fort Myers’ Colsen Palmer took advantage, winning the 3200-meter race, while Ida Baker's Jacob Fritz came in first in the 800 and 1600-meter races.

In the 800, Fritz lost his right shoe just as he started to run the second 400 meters of his race, but he was undeterred, staying ahead of the pack for the victory with a time of 2:00.67.

“I’m glad I still finished strong and got a 2-flat at the end of the day, but, with my shoe, I probably could have ran faster,” he said.

Fritz explained it wasn’t the first time he lost a shoe competing in an event this season.

“Maybe might try to double knot it now,” he said.

Lee County Athletic Conference Championships

at Dunbar High School

Boys

Team scores

1. Dunbar 142.5, 2. Fort Myers 99, 3. Lehigh 78.5

Individual results

100: 1. Dandre Morrison, Ida Baker, 10.75; 2. Richard Young, Lehigh, 10.81; 3. Tawaski Abrams, Dunbar, 10.83; 200: 1. Tawaski Abrams, Dunbar, 22.41; 2. Isaiah Vertus, Lehigh, 22.90; 3. Jerrian Whitfield, Dunbar, 23.35; 400: 1. Kaleb Roth, Estero, 50.35; 2. Kendelson Jerome, Lehigh, 50.81; 3. Joshua Dorestin, Dunbar, 51.13; 800: 1. Jacob Fritz, Ida Baker, 2:00.67; 2. Ryan Livingston, Dunbar, 2:01.39; 3. Evan Meyer, Lehigh, 2:02.67; 1600: 1. Jacob Fritz, Ida Baker, 4:27.44; 2. Joseph Koraya, Fort Myers, 4:27.47; 3. Colsen Palmer, Fort Myers, 4:29.24; 3200: 1. Colsen Palmer, Fort Myers, 9:54.24; 2. Declan Ziomek, Ida Baker, 9:54.26; 3. Ivan Marin-Padilla, Dunbar, 10:06.41; 110h: 1. Bobby Dennis, Dunbar, 15.38, 2. Glenn Green, Island Coast, 15.47; 3. Jabari Brown, Dunbar, 15.48; 300h: 1. Wes Egalite, Fort Myers, 40.19; 2. Bobby Dennis, Dunbar, 40.76; 3. Kyeran Garcia, Dunbar, 41.37; 4x100: 1. Dunbar, 42.49; 2. South Fort Myers, 42.77; 3. Ida Baker, 43.96; 4x400: 1. Lehigh, 3:33.59; 2. Riverdale, 3:35.55; 3. South Fort Myers, 3:40.73; 4x800: 1. Fort Myers, 8:10.19; 2. Dunbar, 8:19.99; 3. Ida Baker, 8:21.59

High Jump: 1. Santino Arroyo, North Fort Myers, 1.87m; 2. Kaiden Crossdale, Ida Baker, 1.87m; 3. Rodger Paul, Fort Myers, 1.72m; 3. Wesner Dorcey, Fort Myers, 1.72m; Pole Vault: 1. Brennen Boucher, North Fort Myers, 3.73m; 2. Jonathan Grant, Riverdale, 3.58m; 3. Draven Hirsch, Estero, 3.58m; Long Jump: 1. Hans Felien, Ida Baker, 6.63m; 2. Jason Duclona, Estero, 6.45m; 3. Brandin Barrett, Lehigh, 6.43m; Triple Jump: 1. Bobby Dennis, Dunbar, 13.32m; 2. Anthony Baxter, Riverdale, 13.28m, 3. Avant Upshaw, Lehigh, 12.63m; Shot Put: 1. Keon Anderson, Island Coast, 15.19m; 2. Joshua Dixon, South Fort Myers, 14.02m; 3. Charles Michel, Fort Myers, 12.63m; Discus: 1. Keon Anderson, Island Coast, 39.84m; 2. Joshua Dixon, South Fort Myers, 39.70m; 3. Nathaniel Miller, North Fort Myers, 39.56m; Javelin: 1. Jonathan De Haan, Riverdale, 47.42m; 2. Ofil Ramos, Island Coast, 42.01m; 3. Evan Vrable, Estero, 38.91m

Girls

Team scores

1. Dunbar 145.5, 2. Fort Myers 139, 3. Lehigh 86

Individual results

100: 1. Jasmine Jimenez, Dunbar, 12.07; 2. Kayla Hopkins, Dunbar, 12.12; 3. Gabriella Soloman, Dunbar, 12.34; 200: 1. Kayla Hopkins, Dunbar, 25.21; 2. Jasmine Jimenez, Dunbar, 25.49; 3. Ba'Lisha Coleman, Lehigh, 26.06; 400: 1. Kayla Hopkins, Dunbar, 59.53; 2. Jasmine Jimenez, Dunbar, 59.89; 3. Giana D'Altrui, Fort Myers, 1:00.26; 800: 1. Gianna Del Pizzo, Lehigh, 2:24.91; 2. Giana D'Altrui, Fort Myers, 2:25.29; 3. Gianna Robinson, Estero, 2:29.40; 1600: 1. Gianna Del Pizzo, Lehigh, 5:24.55; 2. Olivia Olney, Fort Myers, 5:39.31; 3. Natalee Jones, Cape Coral, 5:44.27; 3200: 1. Masha Dorofeev, Fort Myers, 12:10.83; 2. Isabella Sibbrell, Cape Coral, 12:27.88; 3. Lily Harris, Fort Myers, 12:30.12; 100h: 1. Sanaa Geter, Lehigh, 14.40; 2. Kie'niyah James, Dunbar, 16.10; 3. Cydnie Fabien, Dunbar, 16.30; 300h: 1. Brooke Pocklington, Fort Myers, 51.11; 2. Noel Davis, North Fort Myers, 51.47; 3. Cydnie Fabien, Dunbar, 52.79; 4x100: 1. Lehigh, 49.55; 2. North Fort Myers, 50.92; 2. South Fort Myers, 50.92; 4x400: 1. Lehigh, 4:14.57; 2. North Fort Myers, 4:21.48; 3. Estero, 4:25.82; 4x800: 1. Fort Myers, 10:03.26; 2. Cape Coral, 10:04.58, 3. North Fort Myers, 11:14.04

High Jump: 1. V'Davrielle Johnson, South Fort Myers, 1.58m, 2. Darien Brown, North Fort Myers, 1.42m; 3. Noel Davis, North Fort Myers, 1.37m; Pole Vault: 1. Raegan Miller, Fort Myers, 3.30m; 2. Anika Homolka, North Fort Myers, 3.00m; 3. Brooke Pocklington, Fort Myers, 3.00m; Long Jump: 1. Sanaa Geter, Lehigh, 5.64m; 2. Jasmine Jimenez, Dunbar, 4.91m; 3. Chloe Johnson, Mariner, 4.76m; Triple Jump: 1. Grace Stahr, Cypress Lake, 10.18m; 2. Mya Burroughs, Riverdale, 9.82m; 3. Sabre'e Watson, Dunbar, 9.72m; Shot Put: 1. Ezarya Dale, Dunbar, 11.24m; 2. Linecha Hippolyte, South Fort Myers, 9.31m; 3. Erica Bernard, Dunbar, 9.14m; Discus: 1. Julia Lemmon, Fort Myers, 39.80m; 2. Ezarya Dale, Dunbar, 29.65m; 3. Alacia Durant, Island Coast, 28.99m; Javelin: 1. Avery Brincat, Island Coast, 31.36m; 2. Emma McWilliam, Island Coast, 29.94m; 3. Shayna Gobey, Ida Baker, 28.23m

Follow News-Press Sports Reporter Dustin Levy on Twitter: @DustinBLevy. For additional coverage of sports across Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Track and field: Dunbar boys and girls sweep at LCAC meet