A four-lap rumble is coming to the track at Chiles

We've got the makings of a great 1600-meter race to look forward to in the Tallahassee area on 5 April 2014. It would be better if it were a mile, of course. The 1600 is a good distance, but it's still short of a mile by a first down. Would it be so wrong to run another 934 centimeters?


So it won't be a mile, but it will be the high school boys' 1600 at the 15th annual Chiles Capital City Classic. Scheduled for 2:00 PM ET on the track at Chiles High School's Bradfordville campus, this is what the entry list looks like in the championship section:

15th Annual Chiles Capital City Track & Field Classic, 5 April 2014 Event 8, Boys 1600 Meter Run Varsity Section 5
Seed	Bib #	Athlete	Class	School	Seed time
1	66	Khosla, Sukhi	2015	Leon	4:13.02
2	70	Wallenfelsz, Adam	2016	Leon	4:17.02
3	18	Bartlett, Avery	2015	Chiles	4:17.15
4	27	Turner, Sean	2014	Chiles	4:22.16
5	28	Zimmerman, Cade	2014	Chiles	4:28.32
6	97	Strickland, Alex	2014	North Florida Christian	4:32.54
7	19	Grigas, Jared	2015	Chiles	4:36.53
8	23	Murray, Tyson	2015	Chiles	4:36.84
9	80	Scott, Hunter	2015	Lincoln	4:37.61
10	115	Witherspoon, Travet	2015	Thomasville	4:40.08
11	114	White, Will	2014	Thomasville	4:42.17
12	124	Cole, Bryce	2017	Wakulla	4:43.88
13	88	McClure, James	2018	Maclay	4:44.05
14	26	Thomas, Blaine	2015	Chiles	4:49.42
15	65	Cashin, Matthew	2017	Leon	4:50.12
16	21	Hawkins, Aric	2015	Chiles	4:50.51

Now let's look at the list of Leon County's ten fastest high school outdoor 1600-meter runners of all time:

1. 4:08.84 ~ Joseph Franklin, Godby, ’08
2. 4:11.76 ~ Matt Mizereck, Leon, ’10
3. 4:13.02 ~ Sukhi Khosla, Leon, ’15
4. 4:14.50 ~ David Ogletree, Lincoln, ’93
5. 4:15.48 ~ Alex Miletich, Chiles, ’04
6. 4:15.64 ~ Ray Carter, Leon, ’89
7. 4:17.02 ~ Adam Wallenfelsz, Leon, ’16
8. 4:17:15 ~ Avery Bartlett, Chiles, ’15
9. 4:17.39 ~ Ryan Deak, Lincoln, ’02
10. 4:20.1y(~4:18.74), Larry Abele, Fla High, ’85

I've thrown in the highlights to emphasize this: Three of the milers stepping on to the track Saturday are among the fastest ever in this area.


Leon junior Sukhi Khosla is leading the state in the 1600 with the 4:13.02 he ran at the Jacksonville Bolles Bulldog Classic on 7 March 2014. Leon sophomore Adam Wallenfelsz and Chiles junior Avery Bartlett may be the more interesting story, though. The pair are among the top high school milers in Florida this spring, and they've been locked together in close races since the season opened. At the Chiles Championships on 1 March 2014, Bartlett prevailed over Wallenfelsz 4:32.70 to 4:34.16. They met again on 7 March 2014 in the Bolles Bulldog Classic 1600; Wallenfelsz finished ahead of Bartlett in that rematch, 4:23.68 to 4:23.70. In a third confrontation at the FSU Relays, Wallenfelsz edged Bartlett again, 4:17.02 to 4:17.15. Coe and Ovett raced faster in the 1980s, but not closer.


Unfortunately, the weather forecast for Saturday includes a chance of thunderstorms. Events could be delayed or canceled by lightning. Weather permitting, though, it could be a good one. Finals on the track are scheduled to begin at 12:45 PM ET, with the boys' 1600 listed for 2:00. 10:00 AM ET with the girls' 4 x 800-meter relay, then continue on a rolling basis.


Links

• Chiles High's Capital City Classic meet page at FLRunners.com
  http://fl.milesplit.com/meets/159706-15th-annual-chiles-capital-city-track-field-classic
  
  
• A 2013 1600 at Chiles High
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/03/chiles-championships-mile-2013.html
  
  
• Find a mile (or an, ugh, 1600) to run yourself on the Trouble Afoot! race calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  

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