Don Estridge seventh-grader Julia D’Emic made quite the statement in the Palm Beach County Middle School championships at Park Vista High School recently.
D’Emic won the 1,600-meter run with a time of 5:39.82 over Omni Middle School’s Adriana Boucher (5:53.17). She was one of three county champions.
“We are expecting great things from Julia this fall in cross country and next year as an eighth-grader,” said Don Estridge coach Bruce Rich. “Since the end of the school year, Julia has gone on to the state track championships, running in the 3,000-, 1,600- and 800-meter runs, setting personal records in each event.
“Then Julia traveled to the track nationals in Greensboro, North Carolina,” Rich said. “She competed in the same three races over three days, setting three new PRs, while finishing fifth in two of the races.”
In addition to D’Emic, eighth-grader Joe’Rell Haines set the school record in the 400-meters with a winning time of 54.72. The boys’ 4×100 relay, composed of Kai Sainmervil, Geron Miller, Darien Menardy, and Marcus Ulysses also won a county title of 46.69, which was also a school record.
“I had a great group of dedicated young men,” Rich said, whose boys finished seventh with 23 points. The girls finished fourth with 48 points, just four points out of second. Woodlands Middle won the girls with 80 points, while Crestwood Middle captured the girls’ title with 65 points.
