The results are in and Palmetto Middle School came out on top of the Districtwide Fitness Competition at the end of the school year. At the same time, the school’s golf team won the 1999 Dade County Middle School Golf Championship for the 12th year in a row, topping Miami Springs in a playoff.

A total of 26 schools participated in the Districtwide Fitness Competition, which was sponsored by Dr. Jayne Greenberg, supervisor of Secondary Physical Education for the Miami-Dade School District.

Each school sent one girl and one boy to compete in several different events. The Palmetto team of eighth grader Tony Almeida and seventh grader Marianne Curtis — a star basketball player and the Dade County cross country champion — were individual category winners.

Almeida, the Miami-Dade wrestling champion in the 145-pound class, and Curtis both won the mile run, while Almeida tied with two other boys in the shuttle run. Curtis easily topped the push ups category, far surpassing her closest competitor. Her push up totals and time in the mile run surpassed those of the girls who won those events on the high school level.

"Marianne won the competition with 69 pushups in one minute," said Bob Murphy, Palmetto Middle School physical education director and coach. "She beat the best boy’s number of 62 push ups, then she just kept going and did over 100 total pushups."

Greg Huxman and James Anderson led the Palmetto Middle School golf team to a narrow playoff victory over Miami Springs for its 12th straight county championship in a tournament that saw 28 schools compete.

The victory was the 22nd county golf championship that Coach Murphy has garnered for Palmetto in 28 years of coaching the sport at the school.

"This year was maybe the most exciting competition of any I have ever been involved with," Murphy said. "Regulation play went down to the last putt and then it ended in a tie."

Palmetto’s six-member team, which also included Rebecca Kuhn, Josh Mays, Todd Nienaber and Dan Gross, scored a 323 total score for 18 holes of play off the red tees on the par 70 Palmetto Golf Course. The Miami Springs Middle School team matched that score to force the playoff, while Southwood trailed in third place with a 351 team score.

In the playoff, each team’s top four players competed on the first hole, with Palmetto coming out victorious, topping the Miami Springs team 22 to 24 in very competitive play.

And, finally, Palmetto Middle School also won the first-ever Miami-Dade girls’ middle school golf tournament. Rebecca Kuhn led the field with a nine-hole total of 38 in play at the Briar Bay Country Club. Palmetto’s Laura Ricketts and Daniela Figuerola placed fourth and fifth. South Miami Middle School was second in team play.