Trouble Afoot!: Aucilla and Leon take home trophies from the 2010 Lincoln XC Invite

Monday, September 20, 2010

Aucilla and Leon take home trophies from the 2010 Lincoln XC Invite

The Aucilla Christian Academy girls' cross country team scored 67 points to win the 2010 Lincoln Invitational Cross-Country Meet, held Saturday, 18 September 2010 at Tom Brown Park in Tallahassee, Florida. Aucilla scored just three points better than the runners-up from Leon High, who were led by a winning 21:17 performance from senior Brooke Eubanks. In the boys' race Leon finished atop a 19-team field, outscoring the runners-up from Maclay School 31 to 65. One of those 31 points was scored by Leon senior Riley Doherty, who successfully defended his 2009 Lincoln Invitational title with a 16:20 run around the course.

17 teams lined up for the 10:00am girls' 5K race. In the absence of 2009 Lincoln Invitational winner Stefanie Kurgatt, the only certainty was that there would be a new champion in 2010. About half a mile into the race, Langlee Toothman of Florida State University School and P. K. Yonge's Kailyn Allen were in front. By the halfway point of the race, Allen had faded to fifth and Toothman had the lead to herself, followed by Emily Westlake of P. K. Yonge and Leon's Brooke Eubanks. Eubanks passed the struggling Westlake and then made a strong move past Toothman. There was no need to look back after that as Eubanks built up a lead of nearly 80 meters on her way to the win. Toothman hung on to take second for FSU in 21:37, while Leon's Autumn Wable moved up to place third in 21:58. Leon put three runners in the top ten, but it take five athletes to have a cross-country team, and Aucilla's fourth and fifth runners, Taylor Copeland (17th, 23:25) and Megan Gidens (21st, 23:45), made the difference between the top two teams. Aucilla outscored Leon 67 to 70 for the win. In a showdown of Developmental Research Schools, FSU School edged out P. K. Yonge for third, 103 to 106.

Once the girls cleared the course, it was time for the boys' 5K race. Two-time FHSAA-1A state champion Patrick Swain of Maclay was on the starting line, as were 2009 Lincoln Invitational champion Riley Doherty of Leon and 2008 Lincoln Invitational champion Will Stanford of Leon--not to mention 221 other athletes hungering for a win.

Close to 800 meters into the race Leon's Stanford was at the front of the race, with Maclay's Swain less than a stride behind. By 2400 meters Swain had taken over first and built up a lead. Behind Swain, Doherty and Leon's John Hazleton had moved up into second and third, while Stanford had fallen to fourth. As the leaders approached 3200 meters, Swain was still in front, but Doherty had left Hazleton and was moving up on the Maclay runner. Midway through the fifth kilometer Doherty passed Swain and ran for home. Doherty had beaten Swain by less than half a second in the 2009 race, but this time the Leon senior crossed the finish line more than 50 meters ahead of the Maclay senior, winning 16:20 to 16:30. Hazleton was third in at 16:50, while P. K. Yonge sophomore Garret Westlake moved up to finish fourth in 16:55. Godby's Dieumy Duclos outkicked Leon's Ben McMahon for fifth, 17:04 to 17:05.

Leon ended up with four runners in the top ten and no scorer finishing farther back than 11th, thus winning the team title with 31 points. Maclay put two runners in the top ten and four in the top 20, scoring 65 points to take second. The hosts from Lincoln were third with 93 points , and in another showdown of the two Developmental Research Schools P. K. Yonge beat out FSUS for fourth, 103 to 170.

"You're going to like it," Lincoln High coaching assistant Jessie Close assured me when I learned that there was going to be a new course this year at the Lincoln Invitational. The races were still at Tom Brown Park as in years gone by, but the narrow trail through the woods was no longer part of the course. In place of that "No Passing Zone," the runners negotiated a more open two-loop course where running was more important than position. Spectators could see much more of the race and the runners still got a taste of the traditional Tallahassee hills.

Tallahassee high school cross country continues on October 2 with the Godby Cougar Challenge at Phipps Park and on October 9 with the Florida State University Invitational at the Apalachee Regional Park Trail.

Girls' Team Results