Osceola Athlete of the Week: Poinciana's Levi Lee Wins State Championship in 1600m; Osceola Athletes Shine at FHSAA Track Finals

By: J. Daniel Pearson

Poinciana’s Levi Lee capped his incredible high school running career late Saturday afternoon by running to victory in the 1600-meter race at the FHSAA Class 4A State Championship at Hodges Field in Jacksonville.

Lee outraced Vero Beach’s Parker Banzhaff by 3/10^th of a second to win the event in 4:19.43. Lee remained undefeated in the event in the 2025 season – which included winning OBC, District and Regional Championships. He improved by more than eight seconds over his 13^th place finish at states in 2024.

With the championship, Lee joins St. Cloud weightlifter Mikey Ziss (Olympic and Traditional) and Harmony wrestler Nathan Lyttle as Osceola County’s individual state champions in the 2024-25 school year.

Lee was not the only county athlete to shine in the 4A meet on Saturday. Osceola’s Aailyah Strachen earned all-state honors in the girls’ long jump with a leap of 18’-3”; while St. Cloud’s Mason Shafer also reached the podium with a 5^th place finish in the pole vault at 13’-3 ½”.

Two other athletes just missed all-state designation by finishing one spot off the podium. Celebration’s Gavin Knopka, who also qualified in the discus, placed ninth in the shot; while Poinciana’s Tyler Johnson was 9^th in the triple jump. In a close girls’ 800 meter run, St. Cloud’s Kyla Perez was 12^th but just over one second separated 8^th from 14^th place.

The Class 3A meet was marred by one weather delay followed by another. Scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. Friday and end by 4 p.m., the meet was finally postponed late Friday until Saturday morning – forcing a contingent of Gateway High School athletes and coaches to find overnight accommodations at the last minute.

It didn’t seem to effect performance, however, as three athletes from the Panthers went on to earn All-State recognition Saturday. Jose Calderon, who placed seventh at last year’s 400-meter race, ran a blistering 48.26 time in Heat 2 – which was good for a fifth place finish.

Calderon accomplished even though he was battling a hamstring strain and was running in the slower heat.

Dalton Gould and Maxwell Garcon also scored points for the Panthers, who finished 21^st in the team race overall. Garcon, who qualified in two events, finished 5^th in the triple jump with a leap of 45’-7 1/8”; while Gould took seventh in the pole vault at 13’-9 ¾”. Gould height actually tied for 5^th but he was moved to seventh in the total misses criteria.

“It was a great day for Gateway and a great day for Osceola County athletes overall,” Panthers coach Tane Crossley said. “Jose, with his injury, bad lane draw and slow heat, ran a fantastic race. Dalton had a personal best in the pole vault and Maxwell was one of only two underclassmen to place in the triple jump. Congrats to Levi Lee who was phenomenal in the 1600 and the other county place winners.”

Osceola County Athletes At

2025 FHSAA State Track and Field Championships

3A Meet

Jose Calderon, Gateway, 400 Meters, 5th Place, 48.26*

Maxwell Garcon, Gateway, High Jump, No Height

Maxwell Garcon, Gateway, Triple Jump, 5th Place, 45’-7 ¼”*

Dalton Gould, Gateway, Pole Vault, 7th place, 13’—9 ¾”

Jazmin Brown, Gateway, Girls Discus, 17th Place, 101’-0”

4A Meet

Gavin Konopka, Celebration, Shot Put, 9th Place, 50’-0 ¾”

Gavin Konopka, Celebration, Discus, 15th Place, 139’-7”

Claire Reburn, Rylie Kieran, Carly Robbins, Sophia Meadows, Celebration, 4 x 800 Relay, 16th Place, 10:01.52