Welcome to the 2024 Palm Beach Post High School Sports Awards, where we will be announcing nominations and winners for Player of the Year in each of our sports.

At the live show for this spring's Palm Beach County High School Sports Awards on Wednesday, June 5, at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, the girls track and field Player of the Year will be announced along with the teams, coaches, and athletes of the year, as well as a Courage Award winner. Nominated athletes can look for their name to register very soon at this link: Nominee Registration for the 2024 Palm Beach County High School Sports Awards (app.smartsheet.com/b/form/a453b3b0b11746d684ea82b881c11f88).

The show is produced with support from Baptist Health Orthopedic Care.

The Palm Beach County High School Sports Awards show is part of the USA TODAY High School Sports Awards, the largest high school sports recognition program in the country.

Action photos: Palm Beach County Track Championships 2024

Player of the Year Nominees

Julia De Gruttola Aere, junior, American Heritage

De Gruttola Aere was a four-time district champion this year, winning titles in the 200-meter dash, the 100-meter hurdles, the 4x100 relay and the shot put, demonstrating her impressive versatility. She translated that success into a regional title with her relay team, adding top-three finishes in the 200-meter dash and 100-meter hurdles, ultimately standing on the podium twice with a third-place finish in the relay at states (49.26) and fourth in the hurdling event (15.25).

Sam Woods, junior, Benjamin

The dual-sport athlete played a big role in the Benjamin girls' success this year, adding to her track and field accolades with a third-place podium finish in the 4x400 relay at states (3:59.95) in addition to setting a personal record in posting a seventh-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles (1:05.84). Woods also collected three top-five regional finishes and was a two-time district champion in her individual events, adding district runner-up honors in both relay events.

Akari Marshall, junior, Oxbridge

Marshall took multiple trips to the podium in Jacksonville this year, placing second in the 200-meter dash with a personal record (24.24), third in the 100-meter dash (12.10), and fifth in the 400-meter with yet another personal record (57.50). Marshall was a two-time regional champion in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, as well as a district champion in the 100-meter.

Jailyn Milord, junior, FAU High

Milord finished fourth at the 2A state championship, setting a personal record with her finish in the 400-meter event with a 54.63 time. The junior runner was also a two-time regional champion in the 200-meter and 400-meter in addition to setting a personal record with a third-place finish in the 100-meter. She was also a three-time district champion this season.

Sofia Balistreri, sophomore, Benjamin

The dual-sport athlete and relay expert qualified for the 4x400 meter relay as well as the 800-meter event, placing second at states in the latter with a personal best time of 2:12.89. With her help, the Bucs also finished third in the relay at the state meet. While Balistreri and Benjamin also competed successfully in the relay events at district and regionals, the sophomore was also a district and regional champion in the 800-meter.

Maxine Dalton, sophomore, Benjamin

Dalton had success in both track and field events for Benjamin this year, securing a pair of fifth-place finishes in the long jump (5.31 meters) and triple jump (11.03 meters) at the state meet this year. She set personal records in both events at regionals, winning a regional championship in the long jump and placing second in the triple. Her postseason success also included three district runner-up finishes, one of which was the 4x100 relay.

Avery Fronrath, senior, King's Academy

The King's Academy distance specialist was a state qualifier in the 1600-meter, 3200-meter and the 4x800 relay team, going to the podium with an eighth-place finish in the 1600 with a 5:10.53 time. Fronrath posted three top-four finishes in regionals and added four top-three finishes at districts, including district titles in both the 1600-meter and 3200-meter events.

Octavia Massena, senior, Oxbridge

Massena won a state championship title in the triple jump with an 11.74-meter mark this year, capping off a very successful year that also saw her qualify for states in the 200-meter, 400-meter, and long jump events, finishing top-ten in all, including a sixth-place podium finish in the 400 (57.56). Massena posted top-five finishes in all four events at regionals, winning a regional title in the triple jump, and she was also a three-time district champion.

Kori Haggard, senior, Benjamin

The Bucs' field expert qualified for states in the shot put, discus throw and javelin throw this year. Her best finish came via a second-place podium spot in the discus throw in Jacksonville (37.26 meters), but setting her own personal record with a seventh-place finish in the shot put (10.86 meters) had to be a nice way for the senior to end her high school campaign. Haggard was also a district champion in all three events and posted top-three finishes in all three events at regionals, including a regional title in the discus throw.

Lily White, senior, Benjamin

The dual-sport athlete put her speed and skills to the test as a four-time state qualifier this year, setting a personal record in the triple jump (10.66 meters) in an 11th-place finish. White also went to the podium to accept a third-place medal after playing her part in the Bucs' 4x400 relay at states. She posted four top-six finishes at regionals as well as top-five finishes in all four events to round out a wildly successful high school campaign.

Jamaria Richardson, freshman, Pahokee

Richardson was a two-time state runner-up this season in both the 400-meter event (56.60), where she set her personal record, and the 4x400 relay (3:58.60). With her help, Pahokee also went to the podium for a fourth-place finish in the 4x100 relay (49.52). The Blue Devils won a regional title in the 4x400 and Richardson was also a state qualifier in the long jump after placing fourth in regionals with a personal-best 5.20-meter mark. The freshman was also a three-time district champion.

Taylor Nicole Overton, freshman, Boca Raton

A state qualifier in the 400-meter and 4x400 relay, the Bobcats' freshman runner set a personal record in the former of the two events with a 57.45 time and a 10th-place finish at states. Overton also posted two top-three finishes in both events at regionals after helping Boca Raton's 4x400 relay team win a district title.

Thalia Waters, senior, Atlantic

Waters was a two-time state champion for Atlantic this year, winning the 100-meter hurdles with a 13.72 time and setting a personal record to take first in the long jump with a 6.16-meter mark. Waters was a two-time regional champion in both events, adding a pair of fourth-place finishes in the 100-meter dash and the 4x100 relay. The Atlantic senior was also a three-time district champion as one of Palm Beach County's premier track and field talents this year.

Cameron Shelby, junior, Wellington

Wellington's distance runner was a two-time district champion in the 800-meter, setting a personal record with a 5:06.17 time, and the 1600-meter events this year for Wellington, adding a second-place finish at regionals in the 1600 with a 5:09.82 time to qualify for states.

Laney Williams, senior, Spanish River

Williams took a trip to the podium for a sixth-place finish in the 3200-meter event at the state championships, posting a personal-best 11:06.14 time. The Sharks' distance runner also helped her squad win a regional title in the 4x800 relay (9:37.35). Williams was a two-time district champion in the 1600-meter and 3200-meter events.

Sativa James, senior, Seminole Ridge

James placed third in the regional championship in the high jump (1.57 meters) to qualify for states this year. She helped the Hawks to a fourth-place finish in the 4x100 relay at regionals as well, adding a pair of district titles to her resume, winning both events.

Janae Roberts, junior, Wellington

Though Roberts just barely missed a podium finish in the triple jump at the state meet, she still impressed in a ninth-place finish with an 11.26-meter mark. She set her own record at regionals in the event, taking third with an 11.42-meter mark. Roberts won a district title in the event as well as the long jump (5.12 meters) while contributing to her program's district runner-up 4x400 relay team.

Isabella Garito, junior, Park Vista

Garito was a state qualifier in the pole vault this year, setting a personal record in her top-10 finish with a 3.15-meter mark. The Park Vista junior was a district champion in the event and placed fourth in the regional meet.

Aaliyah Lacey, junior, Dwyer

A state qualifier in the discus throw, Lacey represented the Panthers with regional and district titles in the event, setting a personal record of 34.27 meters just prior to the start of the postseason.

Dakota Johnson, junior, Dr. Joaquin Garcia

Johnson placed fourth in the javelin throw at the state championship meet with a 35.50-meter mark. Prior to her podium finish in Jacksonville, the junior won a regional and district title in the event, adding top-four finishes in both the discus throw and shot put to lead the Bulldogs' field team this year.

Kirsten Maarsingh, sophomore, Wellington

Maarsingh was a state qualifier in the 1600-meter and 3200-meter events this year, finishing 10th in both. The distance runner posted a pair of top-three finishes in both the events at regionals after success at districts, where she won district titles in both the 3200-meter and the 4x800 relay, plus a district runner-up finish in the 1600-meter event for Wellington.

Aryanna Paulena, senior, John I. Leonard

With a regional championship in the high jump, Paulena was a state qualifier in the event, finishing the year with a ninth-place finish in the event in Jacksonville. The field athlete posted a fifth-place finish in the pole vault event at regionals after setting a personal record in her second-place finish (2.85 meters) in the event at districts. She was a district champion in the high jump as well.

Madelyn Horner, freshman, Cardinal Newman

Horner was a specialist in the javelin throw this year, posting a state runner-up podium finish in the event with a 37.10-meter mark. The Crusaders freshman also set a personal record in the event with a third-place finish at regionals (37.26 meters), rounding out her resume with a pair of top-five finishes in the discus throw and javelin throw at districts.

Brielle George, junior, King’s Academy

George was a two-time state qualifier this year for King's, posting a pair of podium finishes with a sixth-place mark in the high jump (1.57 meters) while also contributing to the seventh-place finish for King's in the 4x400 meter (4:05.07). The junior won a regional championship in the high jump and finished with a pair of top-eight finishes in her relay events at regionals as well. George was a two-time district champion in the high jump and 4x400 team relay.

Coach of the Year

Bayardo Sinclair, Oxbridge Academy

Despite only having four girls qualify for states, Sinclair led Oxbridge to a fifth-place state finish this season. His team compiled 31 points as the second-best team from Palm Beach County at the Class 1A championship meet in Jacksonville.

Alex Peterman is a high school sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at apeterman@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: See which girls track and field athletes made spring All-County team