ORANGE PARK - Triple jump state champion Melvin Briley, two Bronco high jumpers and a classic mile duel highlighted day one of the upcoming track season as area athletes put spike to track Thursday night at Ridgeview High School. Oakleaf High won both the girls and boys titles with Middleburg runnerup for the girls and Orange Park runnerup for the boys.

Briley, the Class 4A defending champion i the triple jump, knocked out two gold medals with wins in his specialty as well as the long jump with early-season measures of 47-feet, 5-3/4-inches and 22’-1.5” respectively. Second to Briley was Middleburg’s Marcus Floyd at 45’-6.5”, who was second in Class 3A last year.

Briley triple jumped 49-7 to win the Class 4A title last year. Floyd jumped 45’-11.75” for his second in Class 3A last year.

In the boys and girls high jump events, Middleburg High’s pair of Bryce Quiett and Kaley Petrosky both put up winning heights of 6’-3.5” and 5’-1.75” to win their evetns. Quiett finished sixth in Class 3A at 6’-2” after a 6’-6.75” winning district 4-3A jump and a 6’-75” region title jump.

Petrosky, third at regions at 5’-3.25” last year, jumped 5’-3.75” to finish fourth in Class 3A last year. Petrosky hit 5’-5” for the district 4-3A title last year.

In the boys 1600, pitting Keystone Heights’ Alex Guy with Ridgeview’s Joel Nesi with Oakleaf’s Damien Price adding a third legit challenge, Guy and Nesi broke out from all challengers early in the race to establish a shoulder-to-shoulder battle that saw the lead change four times in the last lap. Guy eventually outkicked Nesi in the final 80 yards to win in 4:42.77 with Nesi in at 4:46.32 and Price third at 5:07.61.

Nesi was fourth at district 4-2A last year at 4:40.07 while Guy ran 4:42.04 for seventh in region 2-2A.

In the girls 1600, Ridgeview’s Marisa Kortright took control after a strong first lap by Keystone Heights’ Haley Phillips, a 78 second trip, to win decisively, in 5:45.82.

Behind Kortright, a pair of up and coming freshman; Middleburg’s Emma Mussante and Oakleaf’s Kylie Overstreet, battled for second place right to the final 20 yards with Mussante taking the runnerup in 6:08.56. Overstreet ran 6:11.18 with Phillips hanging on for fourth in 6:15.75.

In the girls long jump, Oakleaf’s twice state meet qualifier Loren Johnson, fifth last year at 17’-11.75”, won by nearly three feet with a 19’-3.5” jump.

Johnson also won the triple jump at Ridgeview at 37’-10.65”. Johnson jumped 36’-0” at the Class 4A championship meet last year.

In the boys 400, Orange Park’s Alex Collier blazed a top-ranked 50.79 to top a strong field of one-lappers. Collier ran 52.01 last year for fourth at the district 4-3A championship meet then finished 12th in the region at 52.41. Next up for track is the Bishop Snyder Danny Brown Invitational on February 23.