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The good news for the Lely High track team is that it will have four girls in the state 3A track and field finals at Winter Park on Friday.

The bad news is that Lely’s highest hope for the boys, Fortin Faustin, sustained an injury in warm-ups Friday morning at the Class 3A-Region 12 championships, ending a bid to race at state in the 300-meter hurdles, two relay events and compete in the long jump where he had been undefeated for the season.

“It was very unfortunate for Fortin, who has worked hard all season,” boys coach Mark McGarity said. “With him out, the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams didn’t have a chance.”

As shocking was Lely’s Victoria Howard not making state in the triple jump. In the district competition she went 37-feet-6 inches, a state best for the year, but failed to qualify in the top four at the regional that moved on to state. The winning distance was 36-feet-6 inches.

She did qualify in the long jump, finishing fourth. With the wind in her face she jumped 17 feet, a foot shorter than her best distance this season.

Manolitha Joseph lived up to her reputation, winning the 100-meter race in a school record time of 12.29 seconds. She took second in the 200-meter run in a school mark of 24.88. She is ranked No. 1 in the state finals in the 100.

“To my knowledge it is the first regional winner in the school’s history,” girls coach Nick Young said of Joseph’s win in the 100-meter race.

Marco’s Lindsey Bott stepped up, setting a school record for the girls pole vault, going 10 feet, to finish third. She is ranked fifth for the state competition.

Bott broke her own school mark of 9-feet-6 inches she set in district competition.

At the time Young predicted that Bott would do well. He predicted she would go 10 feet.

“Sometimes it is a mental barrier,” he said. “When she cleared 9-6 she had plenty of room to go 10.”

Bott credits her coach Pat Regan as her inspiration and a new pole.

“I used the pole in the district competition and it threw me over 9-6,” she said. “I wasn’t really expecting it, but it got me excited for the regional.”

She plays down her chance to be in the top eight medal spots on Friday.

“I’m just glad I will be there,” she said. “Being a senior this is my last hurrah and I really didn’t want it to end at the regional. My big goal was to go to state and I am really excited.”

And so are her parents, Kim and Pat, and brother William, a Marco Island Charter Middle School athlete.

“They are really excited, maybe more than me,” she said with a smile. “My brother skipped school to see me compete (at the regional).”

A word of warning to the Charter School folks. Don’t expect to see William this Friday either.

Marco Island Amber Imm is going to state again, qualifying in the 3200, finishing third in 11:44 and fourth in the 1600 in 5:29.

Young likes his girls’ chances to medal.

“Historically, the state (championships) is where surprises happen,” Young said. “People step it up another notch and do things they never imagined.”