Dillard’s Christiana Coleman couldn’t have scripted a better final chapter for her senior year.
Coleman leaves as one of the most decorated track and cross country athletes in Broward County and the icing on the cake came at the 3A state track championships at the University of North Florida Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville.
The University of Florida signee ran personal-best times in winning the 1,600 (4:53.58), and the 3,200 (10:50.88) to help Dillard’s girls win the team state championship and end the 14-year reign of Miami Northwestern. The last time Dillard’s girls won the state title was in 1978.
“It was perfect,” said Coleman, who had also run a 2:12.86 PR in the 800. Dillard coach Davidson Gill, however, opted to rest his star distance runner to maximize their chances at the state championship. “I was happy I was able to be fresh running the 1,600 and 3,200. It paid off. I was happy when he told me I didn’t have to run the 800. It was great to win the state cross country title and turn around and do the same thing for track.”
Coleman, who was named the Sun Sentinel runner of the year in the fall after also winning the state cross country title with a personal-best time of 17:53.40 in Tallahassee. It also resulted in a team state championship. Coleman started running in the seventh grade and would run with the high schoolers. This year, she got extra workouts in running with the boys’ team.
“I expected to be able to do this because I did well running in middle school,” Coleman said. “I knew that I had nothing but time to get better. This journey has definitely been fun all of these years. I see myself in a lot of the girls who are in middle school at Dillard, and I tried to mentor and motivate them.”
Gill said Coleman was a foundational piece for both programs.
“Storybook ending to a long career with four state championships (1 cross country and 3 track),” Gill said. “She was an instrumental part of bringing a state championship back to Dillard High School.
“Chris was a silent leader who led by example with her work ethic and her consistency to be perfect in her workouts and everyone followed,” Gil added.
