I came to see the 1600. It's 944 centimeters short of a mile, but of all the events on the track it's still the closest race to a mile. For the eighth-graders in the race it would be the last mile that they'd ever run for their schools. There could be other races, and next year they might be running for a high school, but after this meet they'd be hanging up their middle school's colors.
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| Swift Creek's Alyson Churchill leads the first lap of the girls' 1600 |
The girls race was first. Swift Creek eighth-grader Alyson Churchill had won the 1600 in the season opener at Lincoln High with a 5:25.12. In the second meet, though, Emily Molen, a Deerlake eighth-grader, had stepped up and edged Churchill 5:33.15 to 5:33.59. The rivalry extended back to cross country season, when Churchill had won the first two races and Molen took the next three including the Championship. Just like cross country, the Championship race would be the rubber match in the 1600 between Churchill and Molen.
Churchill set the pace on the first 400-meter lap, with Emily Molen and Montford eighth-grader Caitlin Wilkey a few steps back. During the second lap Churchill opened a 40-meter gap. Molen and Wilkey had dropped the rest of the field but were unable to stay with Churchill, who doubled her lead to 80 meters by the end of the third lap. On the bell lap Molen left Wilkey behind, but wasn't able to close on the leader. Alone on the final straightaway almost to the finish line, Churchill won the race in 5:17.17, a personal best. Molen held off a homestretch charge by Wilkey to take second, 5:35.82 to 5:36.79. Swift Creek eighth-grader Chase Merrick also cracked 6:00, placing fourth in 5:51.32.
Top 15 Girls, 2016 Leon County School Middle School Championship 1600
- 5:17.17 ~ Alyson Churchill (Swift Creek) 8
- 5:35.82 ~ Emily Molen (Deerlake) 8
- 5:36.79 ~ Caitlin Wilkey (Montford) 8
- 5:51.32 ~ Chase Merrick (Swift Creek) 8
- 6:13.90 ~ Grace Overholt (Fairview) 8
- 6:14.23 ~ Rylee French (Swift Creek) 8
- 6:16.91 ~ Elise Ferguson (Fairview) 6
- 6:21.06 ~ Arianna Barrow (Raa) 6
- 6:24.09 ~ Tahirah Peterson (Fairview) 8
- 6:25.61 ~ Scout Causey (Deerlake) 6
- 6:30.96 ~ Makayla Case (Deerlake) 6
- 6:35.73 ~ Emma Chesire (Cobb) 6
- 6:36.16 ~ Madeline Feiock (Cobb) 8
- 6:39.41 ~ Lilli Unger (Raa) 7
- 6:40.76 ~ Brianna Nipper (Nims) 6
You had a lot of choices if you wanted to pick a favorite in the boys' 1600. Weston Blake, a Swift Creek seventh-grader, had won the event at the first middle school meet, running 5:23.88. A week later, Montford eighth-grader Findley Tucker won the boys' 1600 at the second middle school meet with a 5:24.42. Montford eighth-grader Hawthorne Hay had finished runner-up in both races, always less than two seconds behind the leader. Nile Bryant hadn't finished near the front in either race, but the Raa eighth-grader was the Leon County Schools' reigning cross country champion.
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| Hawthorne Hay and Nile Bryant lead on the final turn of the boys' 1600 |
Tucker led on the second lap with Bryant right behind him. During a slow third lap Hay moved up to join the two leaders. Nile Bryant moved to the front as the bell lap began, but Tucker and Hay stayed with him.
With 150 meters remaining, Hay attacked. He swung wide on the final turn, passing Bryant just before the homestretch. But Bryant still had fuel left in the tank. The Raa athlete ran down Hay on the final straightaway and streaked across the finish line in a winning 5:17.34. Hay was a close second in 5:18.18, and Tucker took third in 5:19.58. Fairview eighth-grader My'quize Harris placed fifth in 5:24.91.
Top 15 Boys, 2016 Leon County School Middle School Championship 1600
- 5:17.34 ~ Nile Bryant (Raa) 8
- 5:18.18 ~ Hawthorne Hay (Montford) 8
- 5:19.58 ~ Findley Tucker (Montford) 8
- 5:24.91 ~ My'quize Harris (Fairview) 8
- 5:26.84 ~ Campbell Hart (Cobb)
- 5:27.23 ~ Spencer Amsellem (Deerlake) 8
- 5:28.74 ~ Jalen Brownlee (Fairview) 7
- 5:30.59 ~ Weston Blake (Swift Creek) 7
- 5:32.24 ~ Sean Yearwood (Swift Creek) 8
- 5:33.81 ~ Yili Liu (Fairview)
- 5:38.62 ~ Cameron Phillips (Fairview) 8
- 5:40.30 ~ Ethan Eudy (Cobb) 8
- 5:43.48 ~ Nicholas Samuel (Fairview) 7
- 5:46.91 ~ John Cruz Yearty (Montford) 8
- 5:49.93 ~ Adam Barnes (Cobb) 8
Some of these athletes may return to the track on 14 May 2016 to compete in the FLYRA State Championship, but they won't be representing their schools. For the eighth graders, the thrill of running for Cobb or Deerlake, Montford or Fort Braden, Woodville or Fairview, Swift Creek or Nims, Raa or Griffin--that's over. New experiences are ahead, but they've run their last mile for their middle school.
| Winners of the Leon County Schools Middle School 1600, 2005 - 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Boys | Girls |
| 22 April 2005 | 5:20.22, Kurt Dietrich (Swift Creek) 7 | 6:01.06, Jana Stolting (Deerlake) 7 |
| 25 April 2007 | 5:09.13, Will Stanford (Raa) | 5:25.44, Rachel Givens (Raa) |
| 30 April 2008 | 5:03.45, Marcus Stallworth (Griffin) | 5:32.01, Carly Thomas (Raa) 8 |
| 29 April 2009 | 5:03.22, Trevor Touchton (Swift Creek) | 5:22.80, Cece Williams (Deerlake) |
| 28 April 2010 | 5:01.15, Jack Rutledge (Deerlake) | 5:35.67, Cece Williams (Deerlake) |
| 27 April 2011 | 5:06.09, Evan Wilson (Fairview) | 6:00.96, Madeline Horgan (Swift Creek) |
| 25 April 2012 | 5:07.76, Solomon Stevens (Cobb) | 5:52.49, Zoe Sheldon (Swift Creek) |
| 11 April 2013 | 5:12.95, Matthew Cashin (Raa) 8 | 5:43.83, Audrey Dogan (Raa) |
| 23 April 2014 | 4:55.23, Clayton Carlson (Swift Creek) 8 | 5:46.44, Lawton Campbell (Montford) 7 |
| 22 April 2015 | 5:03.90, Charles Hruda (Fairview) 8 | 5:20.42, Alyson Churchill (Swift Creek) 7 |
| 20 April 2016 | 5:17.34, Nile Bryant (Raa) 8 | 5:17.17, Alyson Churchill (Swift Creek) 8 |
| The Championships were held at Lincoln High School in 2005 and 2007. Godby High School hosted the Championships from 2008 to 2016. | ||
Links
- More photos of the 1600 at Leon County Schools' 2016 Middle School Championships
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10107523383081843.1073742186.5215641&l=3ec2db3377
- Find your own upcoming race on the track using the Trouble Afoot! calendar
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
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