JACKSONVILLE - Fleming Island senior distance runner Roman Mollicone, an 800-meter specialist, put the final touches of his track career with two gold medals at the FHSAA Class 3A track and field championships on Friday, May 17 at the University of North Florida.

In Class 4A, Oakleaf senior triple jumper Takoda Brown won his event and also finished sixth in the long jump.
Mollicone, who has steadily lowered the school record for the 800 meters previously held at one minute, 54.53 seconds by Cameron Davis, the 800-meter state champion in 2011, fended off Pembroke Pines Charter's Alejandro De Bastos late challenge to his surge in the final 200 meters to win in 1:50.52. De Bastos finished just behind Mollicone in 1:50.77.
"Roman had his day," said Fleming Island coach Chris Otero. "He has been taking down the school record all season, first the one held by Cameron Davis, then his own as he has gone faster each week from his 1:56 at the start of the season, a few 1:54s, a 1:53 last week at regions, a 1:51 in the 4 x 800, and now this one. Heck of a way to finish a career."
Mollicone opened in 54.09 and held a spectacular 56.43 to finish with De Bastos staying close with a leading 54.03 opener, but fading slightly to 56.75 in lap two. Miami Northwestern's Devin Jones opened fastest at 53.18 but faded badly in the second lap to take fourth behind Ponte Vedra's Tanner Andrade Brinsko.
Otero's reference to the 1:51 in the 4 x 800 was Mollicone's anchor leg of the wicked fast 1:43 gold medal split of the Golden Eagles' 4 x 800-meter relay squad that eviscerated their region time of 1:51 from last week. The 1:43 was the ninth fastest time in the United States this season.
Fleming Island finished sixth behind Ponte Vedra's 43 points in team points with 41 while American Heritage ousted Miami Northwestern 76-68 for the team title.
For the girls, Miami Dillard knocked out a 19-title win streak by Miami Northwestern, 76-73.50 to win the girls' team title with Fleming Island 11th with 18 points.
Fleming Island's girls were powered by a gold medal performance in high jump from Gabrielle Flores, and a second in triple jump from Mikayla Shavers.
Shavers, with her second silver medal finish in two years, hit at 39'-5" (12.01 meters) on her final jump to lose by just .75 inches to Anya Carey of Somerset, who hit her winning jump on her third jump, then went 39'-3.25" on here final jump to open the door for Shavers. Shavers jumped 12.15 meters to win the district title two weeks prior.
Ridgeview's two triple jumpers; Ann-Gellica Taravine and Avi Miller finished 10th and 12th, respectively.
In the long jump, Shavers fouled on her three attempts while Orange Park's Lexi Pacheco finished 16th.
In the girls' 1600, Fleming Island sophomore Brooke Reynolds finished 10th with a new school record of 5:12.55.
Ironically, distance coach Dave Allen, after the 4 x 800 won the region title at 7:51, was optimistic of more to come.
"They have 5-6 more seconds to knock off the time," said Allen, after regions. "We were expected something in the 1:40s for sure."
In that 4 x 800, the first running event of the day at the state meet, Fleming Island's quartet of seniors Graham Myers, John Keester IV, Michael Derousse and Mollicone obliterated the field with Myers posting his fastest 800 of 1:54.63 on the opening leg with an incredible second lap that gave Keester, on the second leg, nearly a 25-meter lead on the chase pack of Belen Jesuit, Leon and Choctawhatchee. Keester blasted the field for more gap with a 54.94 second opening leg before finishing in 1:01.94; a personal best 1:56 to finish, to give DeRousse a seemingly unsurmountable lead for the third leg.
"We wanted to shock the field on our first laps and Graham and John both did that," said Otero. "We knew we had to back up Belen Jesuit and the others to make them think they couldn't catch us right from the first leg."
DeRousse, keeping with the first lap strategy, torched his opening leg with a 54.60 again to open more gap between the chasers, but DeRousse may have paid the price on his second lap.
"We gave him enough to hang on to let Roman do his thing," said Otero. "Roman just ripped his leg."
Mollicone, though way ahead after DeRousse's leg, fired off the best first lap of the quartet with a 53.12, then held for a 58.12-second lap for the gold medal.
"No one is running down the Italian Stallion," said Fleming Island distance coach Dave Allen. "Mike's job was to stay close enough to give Roman a shot and he held off the competition and gave Roman the stick in first place."
For the chasers, Belen Jesuit, the defending 3A champion, was second nearly five seconds back in 7:48.18 with Ponte Vedra holding on for third at 7:49.02.
"Two teams from the same regions making the podium is pretty phenomenal," said Otero. "They made us a little better because we knew they were going to try and chase us."
Myer's opening leg of 55.86 was the second-fastest opener of the day with Boyd Anderson right behind Myers at 55.85. Myers was behind for most of the first lap but took his surge out from about 100 yards out from the lap to go mark and shredded the field on his second lap.
Myers would return to take third in the 3200 with Keester ninth behind defending champion Patrick Koon of Leon who won in 8:56.l92 over Joshua Ruiz of Belen Jesuit in 9:13.85. Myers slowed near the finish line unaware of Ruiz's finishing sprint that edged him out of second.
With the boys' distance team stealing the glory of the Fleming Island track scene, the boys 4 x 100 team, with a school record just a week prior, finished fourth in one of the fastest events of the day as American Heritage set a new Florida and National record of 39.39 for the win with Fleming Island joining three squads all under 41 seconds; Miami Northwestern at 40.51, Choctawhatchee at 40.57 and Fleming Island at 40.99.
In pole vault, senior Gideon Gillaspy finished fifth in a school record of 13'-9.25" with Ponte Vedra's Nicholas Desanto winning at 14'-9". The top four finishers all surpassed 14 feet.
In a surprise of sorts in the high jump, Ridgeview High's T'Vario Willis finished sixth with a 6'-3.5" leap, way under his 6'-7.5" leap twice during the season while Fleming Island's Jarius Rodgers, also at 6'-3.5" tied with Willis.
Rodgers finished 11th in the 110 hurdles with Orange Park's Nethan Verger eighth with a 14.86 split. Winner Kai Evans won in 13.81.
From Middleburg, Madison Underwood was fourth in the discus with a 132'-0" toss under winner Lauren Kirby of Somerset's 156'-0. toss.
Also for the Broncos, javelin thrower Anthony Pasquale held an early lead after his first flight throws with a 152'-8", but the second flight went big air with winner Josial Allen of Rockledge at 201'-11" and Ponte Vedra's Vincent Jackson second at 194'-0". Pasquale eventually finished 14th.
For Orange Park, shotputter Mychaela Parker finished seventh with a 38'-1.25" put.
Orange Park's girls 4 x 400 team finished 16th in 4:08.59. Kayleana Henry finished 18th in the 400 with a 59.98 split.
Also in Class 4A, Devin Collins was eighth in the long jump, Josber Stimphil was 11th in the 400 in 49.73 and, for the girls, Keira Smalls was seventh in the 100 hurdles, the 4 x 100 was 15th and Madison Linscomb was 10th in javelin.