Wellington High School’s track and field team concluded its spring season at the Florida High School Athletic Association’s Class 4A state track and field finals, which were held on May 18 at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. Five student-athletes from WHS qualified to compete at this year’s FHSAA Class 4A finals — senior Mark Fyffe, junior Janae Roberts, sophomore Kirsten Maarsingh, junior Cameron Shelby and junior Danielle Baig.
Fyffe finished third in the long jump with a personal best jump of 7.19 meters (23 feet, 7 inches). In the triple jump, Roberts finished in ninth place with a leap of 11.26 meters (36 feet, 9 inches). Maarsingh was 10th in both the 1,600-meter run (5:10) and the 3,200-meter run (11:14). Shelby ran the 1,600-meter run, where she finished in 12th place with a time of 5:12, while Baig was 12th in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 11:17.
For Maarsingh, who is also a member of the cross-country team at WHS, the experience of competing at states was memorable.
“It was very exciting,” said Maarsingh, who advanced to the state tournament for the first time. “Overall, it was a great experience, but it was very different to race with so many extremely fast girls.”
For Roberts and Baig, it was their second trip to the FHSAA Class 4A state meet.
Prior to the Class 4A state finals, there were strong performances at the local district and regional championships.
In the FHSAA’s Class 4A District 11 meet on April 29 at William T. Dwyer High School in Palm Beach Gardens, the Wolverines had many district-winning performances. Janae Roberts won the girls long jump (5.12 meters or 16 feet, 9.5 inches) and the girls triple jump (10.9 meters or 35 feet, 9 inches). Cameron Shelby had two wins in the girls 800-meter run (2:26) and 1,600-meter run (5:06). William Connors had two first-place finishes in the boys 1,600-meter run (4:32.69) and the 3,200-meter run (9:58.89).
Also at districts, Tyree Pearson won the shot put (13.57 meters or 44 feet, 6.25 inches), Kelvin Smith finished first in the boys 800-meter run (2:00.48), Devonte Hanson won the boys triple jump (13.04 meters or 42 feet, 9.5 inches) and Kirsten Maarsingh was the top finisher in the girls 3,200-meter run (11:16). In the 800-meter relay, both the boys team (Kelvin Smith, Aubyn Gopie, William Connors and Dylan Spence) and the girls team (Taylor Carbocci, Kirsten Maarsingh, Hannah Pahl and Marleigh Suniga) won district titles. The winning time for the boys was 8:24.01, while the winning time for the girls was 10:31.55.
After their strong showing, the WHS boys and girls teams were both runners-up in the Class 4A, District 11 track meet.
Athletes from 36 high schools participated in the Class 4A regional championships at Martin County High School on May 7-8. Mark Fyffe won the regional championship in the long jump with a leap of 7.19 meters (23 feet, 7 inches). Second-place finishes were achieved by Cameron Shelby in the 1,600-meter run and Kirsten Maarsingh in the 3,200-meter run.
At the Palm Beach County Championships, which were held April 9 at Cardinal Newman High School, WHS had two first-place performances. Kirsten Maarsingh won the 1,600-meter run in 5:10, while Kelvin Smith, Aubyn Gopie, William Connors and Dylan Spence teamed up to win the 800-meter relay in 8:26. Runner-up finishes were turned in by Janae Roberts in the triple jump, Kirsten Maarsingh in 3,200-meter run, and Cameron Shelby in the 800-meter run and the 1,600-meter run. Third-place finishes were achieved by Mark Fyffe in the long jump and Devonte Hanson in the triple jump. The WHS girls team ranked third overall at this year’s county championships.
During this season, a few WHS school records were also set. At the Wolverines Invitational, both the boys and girls relay teams broke the school record for the 4,000-meter medley relay. For the girls, Cameron Shelby, Sophia Ramirez, Kirsten Maarsingh and Danielle Baig lowered the record that had stood since 2006 with a new record time of 13:08. For the boys, Kelvin Smith, Mark Fyffe, Aubyn Gopie and William Connors broke the record that had stood since 2019 with a winning time of 11:04.76. The school record in the boys 400-meter hurdles was broken twice this season, first by Tristan Pierre-Louis (58.85) at the Wolverines Invitational, and later in the season by Davon’tey Oliver at the county championships. Oliver’s new school-record time in the boys 400-meter hurdles is 58.82.
Oscar Robinson, the head coach of the boys track and field team at WHS, was proud of his athletes and their commitment to excellence.
“Our core group of second-year athletes in the program — hurdler/jumpers Devonte Hanson, Davon‘tey Oliver, Tristan Pierre-Louis and Prince Paul; distance runners William Connors and Aubyn Gopie; plus thrower Tyree Pearson — stabilized the team with consistency, hard work and leadership, improving by leaps and bounds in performances,” Robinson said. “Newcomers Darryl Wroy, Michael Guido and Kelvin Smith were great additions with significant contributions.”
Kara Weber, the head coach of the girls track and field team at WHS, was also pleased with the improvement shown by her athletes throughout the season.
“I was very impressed by how the girls have grown and improved,” Weber said. “This year, they were more competitive. They showed a drive to improve and displayed great perseverance.”
One of Wellington’s top track and field athletes was senior Mark Fyffe, who was limited by an injury to his hamstring, but he finally got healthy toward the end of the season, winning the Class 4A, Region 3 long jump and qualifying for the state meet, where he finished in third place.
“Overall, the team overachieved and had an outstanding season, finishing top-three in 11 regular season meets. They were second in Class 4A, District 11; fifth at the Palm Beach County Championship; and sixth at Class 4A, Region 3,” Robinson said. “As a small team, we are often overlooked, and I am proud of what they were able to accomplish together. I’m happy to be a part of their continued growth and development, and I’m excited to see what we can achieve in 2025.”
Wellington’s assistant track and field coaches were Stephen Hayford-Jackson, Micanor Regis, Christie Wilks, Kent Burno and Duniel Viera.
