Mainland's Cydney Wright, NSB's Cole Crkvenac win 3A state track and field titles

Local history was made at the Florida High School Athletic Association's Class 3A track and field championships — twice, in the span of several hours.

New Smyrna Beach's Cole Crkvenac joined the first group of gold medalists in a state-sanctioned javelin competition since 1950, edging out New Port Richey's Rahshad McClanahan by two inches.

As night fell, and the action turned to the track, Stanford commit Cydney Wright became Mainland's first female champion, sprinting to glory in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.68 seconds.

More:Full list of Volusia-Flagler high school track and field qualifiers for FHSAA finals

The top seed in both short sprint events following regionals, Wright recovered from her earlier defeat in the 100. She took third behind the Miami Southridge duo of Alyssa Jones and Cynteria James.

"I wasn’t upset because of the time, but with how I executed," Wright said in a phone interview. "I was definitely expecting a different outcome. I had to get back into the warm-up zone, back into blocks and hammer into my mind, 'Get out, get out, get out.'"

Wright pulled away in the home stretch and won by daylight. Still, she hustled toward the scoreboard to confirm that it wasn't just a dream.

"My mind kind of went blank," Wright said. "I wanted to see my name and make sure I actually won a state championship. I had to see my name to make sure it was real."

Crkvenac gained the lead with the third of his four attempts — a throw of 49.33 meters, or 161 feet, 10 inches. 

"As soon as I released it, it felt good, and I was excited," Crkvenac told the Florida Times-Union.

McClanahan's final throw came close but ultimately fell short at 48.44 meters. With the win, Crkvenac joined high jumper Isaac Hill (1992) as the only Barracuda boys to take home a gold medal from states.