JACKSONVILLE - Oakleaf High track coach Shay Mensie had one objective in mind after watching the Oakleaf girls 4 x 100 relay team take the top time in the preliminary rounds with a 46.61 split.

Also taking gold at the Bob Hayes was Fleming Island senior triple jumper Mikayla Shavers, also the Class 3A defending champion with two silvers in her pocket as well, who won by nearly a foot with a 40-foot, 11.5-inch leap. Shavers recently passed the 41-foot mark as her best so far in the season. Shavers was also fourth in the long jump.

"We wanted to get Rayna Lawson a Bob Hayes medal before she left for college," said Mensie, who was with head coach Sherronda Harris on the University of North Florida track as a host of national level tracksters were competing at the Bob Hayes High School Invite on Saturday. "She told us she wanted one before she graduated."

Lawson, headed to the University of Las Vegas Nevada next fall for her track accolades, took the second hand off from lead off Timia McMillan with a slight lead, then exploded down the backstretch with Wekiva and West Port both in hot pursuit.

"In both races, the prelims and the final, Lawson's second leg was the difference maker in the finish with Aniya Bussey and Jasmine Silkert finishing the final two legs up front."

In the prelim race, Oakleaf got the top time of five heats with a 46.63 second split with Wekiva at 46.85 as the only other school under 47 seconds.
In the final, McMillan blasted the stagger on her opening leg to give Lawson a stride or two on Wekiva with Bussey and Silkert doing more damage, and Oakleaf winning with an even faster 46.41.

"Two things happened between the prelims and final," Mensie said. "We worked hard on perfecting our handoffs and the other three girls made a pact to save their legs for the final for Rayna. All three girls were contenders in other races; Silkert and McMillan both won their 100 heats, but they wanted to get Rayna the medal more than win their own events."

McMillan and Silkert both smoked their prelim rounds of the 100 with first place finishes, 12.11 and 12.07 respectively, before the pair finished eighth and ninth in the 100 final, 12.25 and 11.89.
"When we won the prelim with the best time, I figured all we had to do is keep the baton moving and we would be okay," Lawson said. "My teammates dedicating the relay race to me winning reminded me of when I was a freshman among a bunch of senior athletes. It made the win more special and we went faster."

Bussey, the third leg of the relay before Silkert, also finished 10th in long jump with Lawson fourth in 200.

Other top finishes came from Fleming Island pole vaulter Hannah Forte with a fourth place 10'-6" vault and Fleming Island distance runner Brooke Reynolds with a 2:18.84 800 split for fifth place in a race with five of the top six runners all just under 2:19 with winner Antionna Ford of Miami Northwestern able to surge in the last 10 yards to win in 2:17.41.

Also in the 800, Oakleaf's Kennedi Proctor was 11th in 2:25.10.

In more field events, Fleming Island discus thrower David Fuentes was fourth at 139'-4", Oakleaf long jumper Landon Nichols was ninth at 21'-.75", Oakleaf javelin thrower Evan Brown was 10th at 139'-5", Oakleaf pole vaulter Jacob Emlano was fourth at 12'-11.5" with Fleming Island's Theodore Jackson sixth at 11'-11.75" and Oakleaf triple jumpers Khamari Harewood was sixth at 42'-10.25" with teammate Jace Jackson seventh at 42'-9.75".

In more running event top finishes, Oakleaf's 4 x 100 was fifth at 41.98, Oakleaf's Kashe Johnson won his 200 prelim in 22.31 with the final eight finalists all under 22.16; winner at 20.90 and Oakleaf's Clayton Buettner was 10th in the 3200 in 10:35.46 with teammate Alejandro Rueda 10th at 10:39.83.