"Bay County's Only True Cross Country Course!"That was the breathless billing for the 13th annual Bay High Cross-Country Invitational. I'm not saying that it's wrong, but it's not a discussion that I'm going to get into. Arguing about "true cross country" is a lot like arguing about what make a "true American"--both debates are liable to get ugly enough that the bouncer is going to have to ask you to leave. I will say that calling Harder Park "Bay County's Only True Cross Country Course" seems like a slap in the face to Mosley High's Dolphin Dash, the North Bay Haven High Invitational, Arnold High's Marlin Mad Dash, and Rutherford's Ram Run.
Besides, everyone knows that the best cross-country venue in Florida is the Championship Course in Leon County's Apalachee Regional Park (ARPXC).
"True Cross Country" or not, competition opened at 8:30 AM on Saturday morning, 13 September 2014, with the girls' 5K race. The defending champion, Bleckley County junior Ellen Powell, was on the starting line, but the first athlete to cross the finish line was Wakulla sophomore Haleigh Martin. Martin ran 20:54 to pick up her second win of the season, a week after winning Wakulla's opener at the Cougar Cross Country Challenge. Choctawhatchee sophomores Shawna Lindsay and Shelby Lindsay picked up the next two places, both athletes clocked in 21:07. A few feet back, Arnold junior Michaela Ashley finished fourth in 21:08.
Niceville's first finisher was sophomore Claire Crist, fifth in 21:27. Before another two minutes had passed, Crist was joined by the next four Niceville runners--senior Nicole Escoffier (7th, 21:35), sophomore Mackenzie Shinnick (8th, 21:43), frosh Hannah Schneidewind (11th, 22:00), and frosh Claudia Howes (13th, 22:50)--giving the Eagles 44 points. However, Choctawhatchee also had 44 points after the Lindsays and sophomore Julia Davis (9th, 21:50), junior Maddie Borcyk (12th, 22:50), and junior Paige Borcyk (18th, 23:28) had finished for the Indians. There are no ties in high school cross country, though--"Ties in team scoring shall be resolved by comparing the sixth-place finishers from the tying teams. The team with the best sixth place finisher shall prevail." At the 2014 Bay Invitational that was Niceville. The Eagles' sixth runner frosh Ciara Coger (15th, 23:13) trumped Choctawhatchee's sixth, junior Shelby Linafelter (28th, 25:17), giving Niceville the win.
Always be nice to your sixth runner.
Bleckley County, girls champs at the 2013 Invitational, placed third in the twelve-team field with 82 points.
2014 Bay High XC Invitational Team Standings, High School Girls
- Niceville, 44 points
- Choctawhatchee, 44
- Bleckley County, 82
- Wakulla, 95
- Mosley, 138
- Arnold, 196
- Rutherford, 202
- Aucilla Christian, 211
- Bay, 242
- Wewahitchka, 247
- North Florida Christian, 266
- Northview, 326
Top Ten High School Girls, 2014 Bay High XC Invitational
- 20:53.49 ~ Haleigh Martin (Wakulla) 10
- 21:06.02 ~ Shawna Lindsay (Choctawhatchee) 10
- 21:06.21 ~ Shelby Lindsay (Choctawhatchee) 10
- 21:07.44 ~ Michaela Ashley (Arnold) 11
- 21:26.86 ~ Claire Crist (Niceville) 10
- 21:33.70 ~ Ellen Powell (Bleckley County) 11
- 21:34.52 ~ Nicole Escoffier (Niceville) 12
- 21:42.71 ~ Mackenzie Shinnick (Niceville) 10
- 21:49.29 ~ Julia Davis (Choctawhatchee) 10
- 21:55.28 ~ Ella Swigler (Mosley) 9
The boys' 5K followed. Arnold senior Jordan Lance won the race in 17:28, crossing the finish line with a lead of well over 100 meters. A traffic jam followed Lance into the finish chute, with Mosley junior Ethan Mines (2nd, 17:53), Rickards junior Solomon Stevens (3rd, 17:54), Niceville junior Jason Nodjomian (4th, 17:57), and Bleckley County sophomore Dayton Cannon (5th, 17:59) all coming in within a few seconds of one another. Cannon was joined in the top ten by Bleckley County juniors Austin Cook (7th, 18:06) and Logan Bridges (8th, 18:08). After sophomore Carl Ellis Corley (12th, 18:22) and junior Taylor Harrell (16th, 18:40) were in for Bleckley County, the defending champs had 48 points and no need for a tie-breaker. Placing on top of the sixteen-team field, the Royals took another team title home to Cochran, Georgia. Niceville was second with 79 points and Wakulla third with 105.
2014 Bay High XC Invitational Team Standings, High School Boys
- Bleckley County, 48 points
- Niceville, 79
- Wakulla, 105
- Choctawhatchee, 155
- Rickards, 161
- Mosley, 181
- Arnold, 197
- Northview, 223
- South Walton, 255
- Aucilla Christian, 256
- Wewahitchka, 271
- Rutherford, 308
- North Florida Christian, 330
- Franklin County, 366
- Marianna, 399
- Bay, 400
Top Ten High School Boys, 2014 Bay High XC Invitational
- 17:27.67 ~ Jordan Lance (Arnold) 12
- 17:52.17 ~ Ethan Mines (Mosley) 11
- 17:53.76 ~ Solomon Stevens (Rickards) 11
- 17:56.62 ~ Jason Nodjomian (Niceville) 11
- 17:58.89 ~ Dayton Cannon (Bleckley County) 10
- 18:04.76 ~ Abraham Grandison (Rickards) 12
- 18:05.29 ~ Austin Cook (Bleckley County) 11
- 18:07.48 ~ Logan Bridges (Bleckley County) 11
- 18:09.78 ~ Bryce Cole (Wakulla) 10
- 18:16.95 ~ Matthew Roehrig (Choctawhatchee) 10
| Bay High Cross-Country Invitational individual champions, 2008-2014 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Boys | Girls |
| 18 October 2008 | 17:21, Thomas Heikkinen (Rutherford) | 20:13, Holly Stanton (Rocky Bayou) |
| 26 September 2009 | 16:49, Luc Lawrence (Fort Walton Beach) c/o 2010 | 20:03, Iolani Scanlan (Fort Walton Beach) c/o 2010 |
| 2 October 2010 | 16:52, Robert Mann (Navarre) | 21:17, Melissa Knappel (Crestview) |
| 1 October 2011 | 16:55, Will Strickland (Meade County) | 19:47, Mikayla Hodges (Arnold) |
| 6 October 2012 | 16:44, Brandon Amendt (Pace) | 19:05, Rachel King (Pace) |
| 14 September 2013 | 18:14, Aaron Jane (Bay) c/o 2014 | 21:25, Ellen Powell (Bleckley County) c/o 2016 |
| 13 September 2014 | 17:28, Jordan Lance (Arnold) c/o 2015 | 20:54, Haleigh Martin (Wakulla) c/o 2017 |
| Bay High Cross-Country Invitational team champions, 2008-2014 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Boys | Girls |
| 18 October 2008 | Mosley, 56 points | Wakulla, 55 points |
| 26 September 2009 | Fort Walton Beach, 50 points | Fort Walton Beach, 15 points |
| 2 October 2010 | Navarre, 38 points | Bleckley County, 29 points |
| 1 October 2011 | Meade County, 32 points | Bleckley County, 42 points |
| 6 October 2012 | Navarre, 26 points | Navarre, 49 points |
| 14 September 2013 | Bleckley County, 33 points | Bleckley County, 22 points |
| 10 September 2014 | Bleckley County, 48 points | Niceville, 44 points |
Links
- Complete results of the 2014 Bay High XC Invitational, courtesy of Miles and Minutes, LLC
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SL5la6FAcKyqesDUYNKKo2NYIho4zK7tYuOUZBuOJJY/pub
- More high school athletics coverage at Trouble Afoot!
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/high%20school
- "True cross country" or merely ersatz, you'll find it in upcoming races on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
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