Blountstown boys and Wewahitchka girls repeat as District 2-1A cross country champs

Cross country teams are tested every time they race, but the important weighing comes at the end of the season. For the class 1A high schools of the Apalachicola River valley, that weighing came on Wednesday morning, 29 October 2014, in Blountstown's Sam Atkins Park. It was the FHSAA District 2-1A Cross-Country Meet, and it would determine which teams and athletes advanced to the Region 1 championships.


Racing started at 9:00 AM with the boys' 5K. Cottondale sophomore Garry Barnes won the race by over 100 meters, taking the District title with a 17:37. The defending District 2-1A champion, Blountstown senior Thomas Howell, was second in 18:00. Right behind Howell was Wewahitchka Gator sophomore Elijah Sarmiento, third in 18:02.


Two of Howell's Blountstown teammates, sophomore Tyreek Sumner and frosh Jesse Boyd, took fourth and fifth in 18:18 and 18:28. Blountstown's next two scorers were William Price, 15th in 20:07, and Alfredo Puente, 16th in 20:17. After that, the Tigers had a team total of 42 points and the 2014 District title. The top four teams earned the right to compete at the Region 1 meet. Cottondale was second with 61 points, Wewahitchka third with 77, and Graceville fourth with 125; those teams joined Blountstown in qualifying for Region 1 at Sunnyhill Farms in Tallahassee on Saturday morning, 8 November 2014.


Boys' Team Standings, 2014 FHSAA District 2-1A Cross Country Meet

1. Blountstown, 42 *
2. Cottondale, 61 *
3. Wewahitchka, 77 *
4. Graceville, 125 *
5. Franklin County, 140
6. Port St. Joe, 173
7. Altha, 183
8. Sneads, 189
9. North Bay Haven, 214

* Team advances to the Region 1 Championships


Top Ten Boys, 2014 FHSAA District 2-1A Cross Country Meet

1. 17:36.21 ~ Garry Barnes (Cottondale) 10
2. 17:59.82 ~ Thomas Howell (Blountstown) 12
3. 18:01.11 ~ Elijah Sarmiento (Wewahitchka) 10
4. 18:17.66 ~ Tyreek Sumner (Blountstown) 10
5. 18:27.25 ~ Jesse Boyd (Blountstown) 9
6. 18:51.07 ~ John Cartwright (Graceville) 10
7. 18:55.27 ~ Michael Black (Cottondale) 10
8. 18:59.24 ~ Brandon Pittman (Graceville) 12
9. 19:02.41 ~ Quinnaland Rhodes (Franklin County) 11
10. 19:07.24 ~ Colby Gay (Wewahitchka) 12

With six teams competing in the girls' race, only three would advance to Region. Wewahitchka frosh Sha Maria Cole did her part to see that the Gators made it to Region 1; the 2012 District champ, Cole won the 2014 race in 22:17. Cottondale seventh-grader Valerie Sampson, the 2013 District champ, edged Altha seventh-grader Bobbi Finuff for the runner-up spot, 23:09 to 23:12. Port St. Joe eighth grader Quinci Elphinstone and Blountstown frosh Bailey Johnson battled for fourth, with Elphinstone prevailing 23:41 to 23:42.


In addition to Cole, the Gators had seniors McKenna Waters (6th, 23:50) and Brittany Griffin (8th, 23:54) in the top ten. Frosh Rylee Waters (19th, 25:26) and eighth-grader Rayanna Penix (20th, 25:27) rounded out the Wewahitchka top five, giving the Gators 48 points and the 2014 District 2-1A title, their fourth in a row. Behind Valerie Sampson, Cottondale totaled 54 points to take second.


One qualifying spot remained. The Blountstown Tigers had 63 points, the third best score, but so did Altha's Wildcats. In high school cross country, when the scores are the same place is decided by the sixth runner. Blountstown's sixth runner, sophomore Keirstin Mosher (23rd, 25:53) finished ahead of Altha's, giving the Tigers third place in the team standings and a spot on the starting line at the Region 1 meet. Demonstrating that every athlete on a cross-country team counts, Blountstown's seventh runner, junior Dawn Starr (28th, 27:05), had already forced the tie score by finishing five seconds ahead of Altha's fifth runner, adding a point to the Wildcats' score. No place, no point, no second, and no runner can be ignored in cross country, the greatest sport in the world.


Girls' Team Standings, 2014 FHSAA District 2-1A Cross Country Meet

1. Wewahitchka, 48 *
2. Cottondale, 54 *
3. Blountstown, 63 *
4. Altha, 63
5. Graceville, 114
6. Sneads, 174

* Team advances to the Region 1 Championships


Top Ten Girls, 2014 FHSAA District 2-1A Cross Country Meet

1. 22:16.69 ~ Sha Mario Cole (Wewahitchka) 9
2. 23:08.99 ~ Valerie Sampson (Cottondale) 7
3. 23:11.77 ~ Bobbi Finuff (Altha) 7
4. 23:40.69 ~ Quinci Elphinstone (Port St. Joe) 8
5. 23:41.84 ~ Bailey Johnson (Blountstown) 9
6. 23:49.12 ~ McKenna Waters (Wewahitchka) 12
7. 23:52.20 ~ Deana Holland (Cottondale) 8
8. 23:53.73 ~ Brittany Griffin (Wewahitchka) 12
9. 23:57.66 ~ Connor Melvin (Cottondale) 12
10. 24:03.32 ~ Katie Cox (Altha) 11

Links

• Complete results of the 2014 FHSAA District 2-1A Cross Country Meet, courtesy of Miles and Minutes, LLC
  
  • Boys 5K: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jqnjHnPuKryune2rxghoorxr6b9uM6MFxKlrKCXb-hM/pub
    
  • Girls 5K: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ee9MWtXbKegl324xkb1pHK2Q6j-GDf5wyZtDPXU-5ZY/pub
    
  
  
• District 3-1A news, "Caroline Willis and Jake Mazziotta lead a Maclay sweep of District 3-1A"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/10/fhsaa-district-3-1a-2014.html
  
  
• Pick a race, any race, from the Trouble Afoot! racing calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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