As the 2023 track season nears its end, Oviedo’s track athletes are far from slowing down. In these last few weeks of head coach Joe Hazera’s first season at Oviedo, runners, jumpers, and throwers alike are preparing to place their best in the postseason. 

This year’s district championship meet was at Flagler Palm Coast High School. 33 of Oviedo’s athletes competed to qualify for the regional meet on May 5th at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. 

Outstanding performances included Hannah Adamson placing 3rd in the 800 meter run, Courtney Calhoun placing 2nd in the 2 mile run, Tristen Washington placing 2nd in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes, and Archer Crowe placing 3rd in boys high jump with a height of 1.82 meters (5’11.5 feet). The girls 4×800 meter relay team became district champions and the boys 4×100 meter relay team became district runner-ups. 

10 of the competing district athletes earned their spot on the regionals roster. 

One of those athletes is junior Alyssa Wahl, who has been running track and training since her sophomore year. Her performance in the 100 meter hurdles secured her spot at regionals with an outstanding time of 16.65 seconds.

“It feels like such a great opportunity to represent Oviedo at regionals,” said Wahl. “It means that all my preseason work paid off and that I get to test my abilities against even stronger competitors from around the state.”

The girls 4×800 meter relay team that won district champions went on to be runner-ups at regionals, earning them a ticket to states. The team at districts consisted of juniors Maya Cabal, Hannah Adamson, Hannah Atwell, and Lilly Jacobus. At regionals, sophomore Courtney Calhoun was substituted for Cabal. 

Not only did Hannah Adamson contribute to the 4×800 meter relay victories at regionals, but she ran a personal record of 2:16.65 minutes and placed 3rd in the individual 800 meter run. This record was huge for Adamson because it seats her just three seconds off of the school record set by olympic runner Jenny Simpson. 

“Seeing the clock with a time I never thought I could get makes all of the hard work worth it,” said Adamson. “Seeing how happy my family and teammates are for me keeps me wanting to do better for them.”

Outstanding athletes at both the district and regional meets include star runner sophomore Tristen Washington, who placed 2nd at districts in the 100 meter dash with a dominant time of 10.57 seconds. He also placed 3rd in the 200 meter dash with a personal record of 21.32 seconds at regionals and contributed to the boys 4×100 meter relay team’s qualification for states. 

This marks the 10th time that Washington has broken a school record in the 2023 season alone, nine of those times beating his own record. As an underclassman, Washington’s remarkable performances have impressed many around the state. 

“It feels very good to represent Oviedo at regionals and states because I didn’t make it this far last year,” said Washington. “I had to put in a lot of repetitive work on the track and really focus on my form this season.”

As Oviedo continues to gain more momentum at each meet, it’s safe to say that the Lions are far from slowing down. They’re not going to give up now when they’ve worked so hard to make it this far.

“To me, this [achievement] truly solidifies that this is what I’m meant to do,” said Adamson. “It’s always been my goal to not just participate in track but excel, and making it this far means this hard season has been worth it.”