Ridaught: Buchholz in the spotlight heading into Florida Relays

Buchholz senior Riley Smith, a University of Florida signee, won an individual Class 4A cross country state title. Now he has sights on winning a track state title too
Buchholz senior Riley Smith, a University of Florida signee, won an individual Class 4A cross country state title. Now he has sights on winning a track state title too
Photo courtesy of Riley Smith

The Buchholz boys track team has caught fire as of late.

And people are taking notice on a national level.

It began three weeks ago when the Bobcats had five guys competing at the Nike Indoor Track and Field national championships in New York City.

They won a Nike national title in the 4 x mile, finished second place in the distance medley relay, and senior Riley Smith, a University of Florida signee who won a cross country state title in the fall, got a national championship in the mile.

Buchholz set state all-time records in the relays.

Nike did not actually score the meet or crown a national champion, but the Bobcats were No. 1 in a computer-generated list of scoring with 28 points, more than any other team in the nation.

“Their accomplishments over the last two weeks including yesterday, have been the most significant team accomplishments and individual accomplishments by distance runners in Alachua County history, and arguably Florida history,” Buchholz distance runner Patrick Douma told me last Saturday. “Yesterday (FSU Relays), Riley rewrote the record book in Florida running in the 3200-meter run with a nation-leading 8-minute, 39.71-second mark, breaking the old state record by five seconds.”

This was in addition to Evan Fleming breaking the school record in the 800 in earning the Pavlik Orthodontics Athlete of the Week. The senior broke a Buchholz record that had stood since 1976.

Next up, Buchholz is in front of its home crowd on Friday and Saturday at the Florida Relays on the University of Florida campus. They will compete in multiple races on Friday and then again in a relay on Saturday morning.

Last year at the Florida Relays
 the Buchholz boys 4×800-meter relay team entered the race with the fourth-fastest seed time. However, the team of then juniors Joshua Adolphson, Smith, and Fleming, along with then sophomore Gino Palazollo, overcame the odds to capture first with a time of 7 minutes, 53.14 seconds.

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Last May at the FHSAA state track and field championships, Buchholz captured the Class 4A boys 3200-meter relay with a time of 7 minutes, 48.92 seconds. Smith added a third-place finish in the 1600 (4:13.00) as the Bobcats boys took eighth place with 21 points.

One month later, Buchholz finished eighth in the 4×800 relay at the Nike Outdoor Nationals Track and Field Championships at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field in Eugene.

On the girls’ side, Mike Maren, who led the Buchholz girls cross country team to its third straight state title this past fall, is in charge of the girls distance runners.

“We are working hard to get ready for our district, region, and state meets starting at the end of April,” he said. “Our goal is to get better each week and be peaking when postseason starts. The girls are always excited for the Florida Relays because it is such a great event, on a great track, and it is at home.”

Maren said the goal for Florida Relays is to get better, “as it is with every meet, and to go out there and compete and enjoy the atmosphere.”

He said they are most excited about running the 4×800 relay which junior Eleanor Whisler, senior Lucy Voss, junior Ashley Hamilton and junior Kaitlyn Goslinga will be running.

“I am proud of all of these girls and what they have accomplished over their time at Buchholz,” Maren said. “They are a special group of young ladies and they have enriched my life and have always made Buchholz proud. These kids work so hard and have so many other responsibilities and one of the things I am most proud of is that almost all of the girls have a GPA of 4.0 or higher.”

In addition to the high school competition at the Florida Relays, the Gators Track & Field program hosts the first of three home meets in 2024 this weekend.

Area high school participants
 – Florida Relays at the University of Florida

Friday, March 29


Girls 800-meter run
Ashley Hamilton JR Buchholz

Girls 1600-meter run
Lucy Voss SR Buchholz
Eleanor Whisler JR Buchholz

Girls 3200-meter run
Annika Caedington SO Buchholz
Maggie Whisler SR Buchholz

Girls 100-meter hurdles
Arielle Livingston SR Eastside

Boys 100-meter dash
Kennith Martin SR Eastside

Boys 400-meter dash
Kennith Martin SR Eastside

Boys 800-meter run
J Riley Smith SR Buchholz
Jackson Wyatt 11 Eastside

Boys 1600-meter run
Evan Fleming SR Buchholz
Declan Odwyer SR Eastside Jackson Wyatt 11 Eastside

Boys 3200-meter run
Declan Odwyer SR Eastside
Gino Palazzolo JR Buchholz

Boys 110-meter hurdles
Isaiah Gaither JR P. K. Yonge

Boys 4×100-meter relay
Eastside
1) Kennith Martin SR 2) Jamo Williams SR
3) Jerrod Miller SR 4) Ta Joun Waldon SR

Boys 4×400-meter relay
Eastside
1) Kennith Martin SR 2) Jamo Williams SR
3) Jerrod Miller SR 4) Ta Joun Waldon SR

Girls High Jump
Destiny McBroom SR Santa Fe
Girls Discus Throw
Hannah Hoffman 11 Eastside

Boys High Jump
Izaiah Lewis-Thompson SO Williston
Heath Vincent JR Gainesville

Boys Pole Vault
Terek Logan SR Santa Fe

Boys Long Jump
Elijah Kellum SR Bradford
Jerrod Miller SR Eastside
Ta Joun Waldon SR Eastside

Saturday, March 30


Girls 4×800-meter relay
Buchholz
1) Eleanor Whisler JR 2) Lucy Voss SR
3) Ashley Hamilton JR 4) Kaitlyn Goslinga JR

Eastside
1) Sofi White SR 2) Ingrid Astrom SO
3) Beatriz Engels JR 4) Khushi Patel SR

Boys 4×800-meter relay
Buchholz
1) Riley Smith SR 2) Evan Fleming SR
3) Gino Palazzolo JR 4) Calum Watson JR

Eastside
1) Jackson Wyatt 11 2) Garyn Richardson 9
3) Zachary Schoon 12 4) Noah Starker 12


Boys Triple Jump
Elijah Kellum SR Bradford
Ta Joun Waldon SR Eastside

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