Middleton, Fla. – The Villages High School track and field teams each finished in the upper half of their respective team standings at the season-opening meet Thursday in Middleton.

The Buffalo boys finished second overall (out of eight teams) and the VHS girls took fourth (out of nine teams) at H.G. Morse Stadium, each starting off their respective campaigns with solid performances.

The boys finished runner-up with a total of 118.5 team points, trailing Vanguard (142) for first but ahead of Tavares (72.5) for the second overall position. The girls took fourth with 78 team points and followed Vanguard (124), Montverde Academy (109) and Tavares (92) to finish just outside the top three spots.

A trio of VHS athletes took first place in their respective events, as Brett Widmann was first in boys shot put with a distance of 43 feet and 10-1/2 inches (13.37m) and Kaitlin Oliver finished first in girls shot put at 29 feet, 2-3/4 inches (8.91m). Oliver also finished second in the girls discus throw.

The Buffalo also enjoyed a podium sweep of the boys javelin event, as Caiden Rose's throw of 142 feet (43.29m) led a field that included Neven Mahan in second and Cole Logan in third.

On the track, The Villages tallied a total of seven runner-up finishes to help boost their respective team scores.

David Probola took second in the boys 1600-meter run, while Noah Bennett was runner-up in the 110-meter hurdles and Kevonte Corbin placed second in the 100-meter dash. Probola also ran a blistering anchor leg to propel the VHS boys 4x400 relay team to a second-place finish.

Violet Dougherty was second in the girls 100-meter hurdles event and Amy Tomassian was runner-up in the 400, with the Buffalo girls 4x400 relay squad also taking second in their final run.

To view the full event results, click HERE.

The two teams will return to their home track for their next event, scheduled for 4 p.m. Feb. 27 at H.G. Morse Stadium in Middleton.


Cody Hills can be reached for questions or comment via email at cody.hills@tvcs.org.