Pace boys weightlifting, Pensacola's Khylen Eccles claim state gold

Thursday saw plenty of postseason action for area teams. Gulf Breeze softball advanced to the Regio 1-5A semifinals, while Pace boys weightlifting brought home two more state titles and Pensacola junior Khylen Eccles did the same at state track and field.

Below is a complete recap of the day's action.

Softball

Region 1-5A quarterfinals

No. 4 Gulf Breeze 7, No. 5 Ponte Vedra 4

The Dolphins (16-11) jumped out to a 5-0 lead after three innings before holding off the Sharks (17-9) late.

Ponte Vedra scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth and another in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 5-4 before Summer hit a two-run single to right in the top of the seventh.

Smith went 2-for-4 with four RBIs, while Sally Alberson went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Gulf Breeze pitchers Jessica Jagar and Ally Keown combined to limited Ponte Vedra to one hit. Jagar walked five and struck out six in six innings pitched.

Gulf Breeze will play at No. 1 Niceville in the Region 1-5A semifinals on May 12. The Dolphins beat the Eagles 1-0 on Feb. 17 before losing to Niceville 4-0 in the District 1-5A championship on April 30.

No. 2 Chiles 7, No. 7 Milton 2

Milton (16-11) led 2-1 after five innings before Chiles (19-3) scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh.

Benny Powell's RBI single in the bottom of the first put the Timberwolves on the board, then the Panthers took the lead in the top of the third on an Ashlynn Sutton RBI double and an Emma Messer RBI single. Mia Hemenway led off the bottom of the sixth with a game-tying home run, setting the stage for a big inning.

Chiles will host No. 6 Middleburg in the Region 1-5A semifinal on May 12.

Track and Field

FHSAA 2A State Championship (Hodges Stadium at UNF, Jacksonville)

Pensacola junior Khylen Eccles is the area's first track and field state champion this week, winning the gold in the long jump (22 feet, 9 inches) and high jump (7-0.25). Eccles also finished sixth in the triple jump (44-10.75).

West Florida was the highest placing area team in both the boys and girls meet. The Jaguars boys finished tied for fourth with 26 points and the Jaguars girls finished tied for 31st with five points.

Raines rolled to its first boys state title and fourth in program history with 83 points, well clear of co-runner ups Calvary Christian and Palatka, who finished with 34 points. Bolles and Montverde Academy shared the girls title as both scored 84 points. It's Bolles seventh state title and first since 2023, while Montverde won its second state title in the last three years.

Below are the complete results for area competitors. The top eight finishers won medals and landed on the podium.

Girls

100 meter hurdles: Synia Hughley, jr., Pensacola (7th, 15.34)

400 meter hurdles: Knaviah Badilishamwalimu (8th, 1:06.14); Synia Hughley, jr., Pensacola (18th, 1:15.32)

4x100 relay: Pensacola Catholic (Manning, Broughton, Jackson, Lacour, 5th, 48.68)

High jump: Savannah Broughton, so., Pensacola Catholic (13th, 4-11.75)

Shot put: Amani Bartholomew, jr., West Florida (6th, 37-4.5)

Discus: Amani Bartholomew, jr., West Florida (12th, 106-1)

Javelin: Amani Bartholomew, jr., West Florida (8th, 114-8); Aubree Baldwin, fr., Pensacola Catholic (11th, 111-8)

Boys

100 meters: Dane Elliott, jr., West Florida (6th, 10.82)

200 meters: Dane Elliott, jr., West Florida (5th, 21.37)

1600 meters: Donovan Carmichael, so., West Florida (4th, 4:26.75); Frederick Gunther, fr., Pensacola Catholic (10th, 4:28.80)

3200 meters: Donovan Carmichael, so., West Florida (15th, 10:10.45)

4x100 relay: West Florida (Simpson, Williams, Rolle, Elliott, 4th, 41.38)

4x400 relay: West Florida (Simpson, Williams, Rolle, Elliott, 3rd, 3:17.22)

High jump: Khylen Eccles, jr., Pensacola (1st, 7-0.25)

Pole vault: Cameron Kelley, so., West Florida (6th, 13-9.25); Dakari Burnette, fr., West Florida (17th, 11-9.75)

Long jump: Khylen Eccles, jr., Pensacola (1st, 22-9); Jonathan Showers, sr., Pensacola Catholic (6th, 21-0.75)

Triple jump: Khylen Eccles, jr., Pensacola (6th, 44-10.75); Myles Davis, sr., Pensacola Catholic (13th, 41-8.75)

Boys Weightlifting

FHSAA 3A State Championship (RP Funding Center, Lakeland)

Pace swept the Olympic and traditional state titles for the third straight year. Read more on the Patriots accomplishments here.

Below are complete results for local weightlifters. The top six finishers in each event won medals and landed on the podium.

Olympic

119: Kaige McDonnell, Navarre (8th, 320 pounds, 135 snatch, 185 clean and jerk); Cole Downam, Navarre (11th, 305 pounds, 125 snatch, 180 clean)

129: Drew Groff, Pace (14th, 350 pounds, 150 snatch, 200 clean)

139: Kollin Daniels, Pace (1st, 490 pounds, 210 snatch, 280 clean); Ethan Campagna, Gulf Breeze (11th, 400 pounds, 180 snatch, 220 clean); Parker Rhodes, Pace (13th, 395 pounds, 180 snatch, 215 clean)

154: Ryan Harrigill, Pace (1st, 565 pounds, 245 snatch, 320 clean); Evan Rosa Gale, Navarre (4th, 505 pounds, 220 snatch, 285 clean); Gates Gigliotti, Gulf Breeze (5th, 505 pounds, 220 snatch, 285 clean); Sean Sutton, Milton (11th, 445 pounds, 180 snatch, 265 clean)

169: Evan Hoffman, Pace (3rd, 545 pounds, 235 snatch, 310 clean); Aiden Dao, Pace (6th, 515 pounds, 230 snatch, 285 clean); Aiden Liao, Gulf Breeze (8th, 505 pounds, 225 snatch, 280 clean); Curtis Sanders, Navarre (9th, 505 pounds, 215 snatch, 290 clean); Garrett Chaffee, Milton (13th, 445 pounds, 185 snatch, 260 clean)

183: Grady White, Pace (1st, 590 pounds, 250 snatch, 340 clean); Blaise Presnell, Pace (3rd, 550 pounds, 245 snatch, 305 clean); Jordan Weekley, Milton (13th, 480 pounds, 200 snatch, 280 clean)

199: Alex Gomez, Pace (2nd, 590 pounds, 265 snatch, 325 clean); Harrison Lieser, Pace (9th, 505 pounds, 215 snatch, 290 clean)

219: Jake Box, Pace (1st, 620 pounds, 275 snatch, 345 clean); Will Rodriquez, Tate (4th, 575 pounds, 250 snatch, 325 clean); Aiden Spratt, Milton (7th, 540 pounds, 220 snatch, 320 clean); Mikey Wildes, Pace (8th, 535 pounds, 225 snatch, 310 clean)

238: Roan Strom, Navarre (2nd, 660 pounds, 290 snatch, 370 clean); Mathew Lee, Navarre (8th, 510 pounds, 230 snatch, 280 clean); Carter Sanborn, Milton (15th, 470 pounds, 195 snatch, 275 clean)

Unlimited: Joshua Stillings, Milton (3rd, 575 pounds, 260 snatch, 315 clean); Zeaven Jones, Navarre (12th, 510 pounds, 225 snatch, 285 clean)

Traditional

119: Cole Downam, Navarre (8th, 375 pounds, 180 clean, 195 bench); Kaige McDonnell, Navarre (13th, 350 pounds, 185 clean, 165 bench)

129: Drew Groff, Pace (7th, 435 pounds, 200 snatch, 235 bench)

139: Kollin Daniels, Pace (1st, 555 pounds, 280 clean, 275 bench)

154: Ryan Harrigill, Pace (1st, 635 pounds, 320 clean, 315 bench); Sean Sutton, Milton (5th, 550 pounds, 260 snatch, 290 bench); Evan Rosa Gale, Navarre (9th, 515 pounds, 285 clean, 230 bench); Chase Stephens, Pace (15th, 460 pounds, 225 clean, 235 bench)

169: Evan Hoffman, Pace (3rd, 605 pounds, 310 clean, 295 bench); Garrett Chaffee, Milton (4th, 595 pounds, 260 clean, 335 bench); Curtis Sanders, Navarre (6th, 580 pounds, 290 clean, 290 bench); Dakota Granger, Pace (7th, 570 pounds, 265 clean, 305 bench)

183: Grady White, Pace (4th, 625 pounds, 340 clean, 285 bench); Blaise Presnell, Pace (12th, 565 pounds, 305 clean, 260 bench); Sami Rusom, Navarre (17th, 550 pounds, 265 clean, 285 bench)

199: Alex Gomez, Pace (1st, 720 pounds, 325 clean, 395 bench); Austin Eichman, Milton (4th, 630 pounds, 270 clean, 360 bench)

219: Aiden Spratt, Milton (4th, 710 pounds, 320 clean, 390 bench); Jake Box, Pace (6th, 700 pounds, 345 clean, 355 bench); Mikey Wildes, Pace (10th, 615 pounds, 310 clean, 305 bench)

238: Roan Strom, Navarre (2nd, 700 pounds, 370 clean, 330 bench); Carter Sanborn, Milton (9th, 625 pounds, 275 clean, 350 bench); Trenton Franke, Milton (19th, 565 pounds, 240 clean, 325 bench)

Unlimited: Joshua Stillings, Milton (4th, 725 pounds, 315 clean, 410 bench); Jonathan Flynn, Tate (11th, 655 pounds, 300 clean, 355 bench); Zeaven Jones, Navarre (14th, 645 pounds, 285 clean, 360 bench)

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pace weightlifting, Pensacola High's Eccles win state titles