Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Carl Corley and Haleigh Martin repeat at the Bay Invitational

For the 15th annual Bay Invitational, Bay High School was still billing the course in Panama City, Florida's Harder's Park as "BAY COUNTY'S ONLY TRUE CROSS COUNTRY COURSE!" As someone who has splashed through creeks at the north end of the county in the Pine Log State Forest, and run on similarly rugged terrain at the south end of the county on the Tyndall Air Force Base, this is a difficult statement to accept. Still, definitions of "true cross country" may vary. Anyway, it must be true. The meet's hosts couldn't say it if it weren't true, right?


Whether or not they came to run "true cross country," athletes from ten schools came to Harder's Park on Saturday morning, 10 September 2016 to run fast. When the racing was over, Wakulla High senior Haleigh Martin had run 19:24 and taken the Bay Invitational girls' title for the second time in three years, and Bleckley County senior Carl Ellis Corley was the boys' champ for the second straight year. The Maclay girls had taken the team title in their race, and Bleckley County took home another boys' team trophy.


The morning's competition opened with the 5K for girls. That race was all Haleigh Martin. Finishing in 19:24, the Wakulla senior was well over a minute better than the next fastest runner on the course. Martin also bettered her previous outing at the Bay Invitational, a winning 20:54 in the 2014 race. In fact, Martin ran faster than any girl had at the Bay Invitational since 2012, when Pace High's Rachel King went 19:05.

Haleigh Martin
Haleigh Martin

But if Martin was the dominating individual in the girls' 5K, Maclay was the dominating team. Four of the top eight girls wore Maclay blue, with senior Molly McCann second in 20:44, sixth-grader Ella Porcher third in 21:42, frosh Avery Smith sixth in 22:03, and senior Rachel Rumana eighth in 22:07. Sixth-grader Sofia Paredes was Maclay's fifth runner, placing fourteenth in 22:51. That gave the Marauders 33 points and dibs on the team trophy. The defending champions from Fort Walton Beach were second with 60 points, led by frosh Lauren Adams (5th, 21:54). Behind the fourth-place 21:47 performance of sophomore Macy Moe, Bleckley County scored 93 points and placed third in the team standings.


2016 Bay High XC Invitational Team Standings, High School Girls
  1. Maclay, 33 points
  2. Fort Walton Beach, 60
  3. Bleckley County, 93
  4. North Bay Haven, 109
  5. Wakulla, 132
  6. Arnold, 165
  7. Rutherford, 174
  8. Mosley, 177
  9. Marianna, 229

Top Ten High School Girls, 2016 Bay High XC Invitational
  1. 19:23.72 ~ Haleigh Martin (Wakulla) 12
  2. 20:43.37 ~ Molly McCann (Maclay) 12
  3. 21:41.61 ~ Ella Porcher (Maclay) 6
  4. 21:46.88 ~ Macy Moe (Bleckley County) 10
  5. 21:53.52 ~ Lauren Adams (Fort Walton Beach) 9
  6. 22:02.36 ~ Avery Smith (Maclay) 9
  7. 22:05.64 ~ Ella Swigler (Mosley) 11
  8. 22:06.69 ~ Rachel Rumana (Maclay) 12
  9. 22:09.64 ~ Emma Wilson (North Bay Haven) 5
  10. 22:09.72 ~ Maia Rivera (Fort Walton Beach) 11

This wasn't the first year that the Bleckley County boys made the trip of over 200 miles from Cochran, Georgia to the Bay Invitational. The Royals may travel all that distance to experience "true cross country." Or they may be attracted by the Gulf Coast beaches. Mostly, though, they come to the Bay Invitational to win.


Mission accomplished in that respect for Bleckley County senior Carl Ellis Corley. Corley went 17:09 in the boys' 5K to finish first, just ahead of the 17:14 posted by the runner-up, Maclay sophomore Clay Milford. Wakulla senior Bryce Cole edged Bleckley County frosh Garrett Rogers for third, 17:43 to 17:44.


Bleckley County had taken top team honors in the boys' race in 2013, 2014, and 2015. The Royals seemed well on their way to claiming a fourth straight title in the 2016 when half of the top six runners wore Bleckley County colors, with overall winner Corley joined by Rogers and senior Dayton Cannon (6th, 17:58). But Fort Walton Beach also put three runners in the top ten--sophomore Brandon Meza was eighth in 18:04, junior Parker Dewrell ninth in 18:12, and sophomore Jordan Huckaby tenth in 18:14. And while Bleckley County waited for a fourth scorer, Wakulla put juniors Scott Lloyd (11th, 18:15) and Caleb Wiedeman (12th, 18:16) across the finish line. Bleckley County's fourth was sophomore C. J. Rich (15th, 18:26), but Wakulla answered with sophomore Chris Porter (16th, 18:30), junior Dalten Parker (19th, 18:35), and senior Alex Smythe (24th, 19:34). Wakulla's first six were in, giving the team a final tally of 62 points. Fort Walton Beach's top seven had finished, and the team's score was 67 points. Bleckley County had 26 points, but their fifth scorer was still out on the course.


If sophomore Austin Hiner had run just fifteen seconds slower, the team outcome would have been different. But Bleckley County's Hiner ran 20:15 and finished 32nd, scoring 31 points and giving the Royals a team total of 57. The Bleckley County boys had won the Bay Invitational for the fourth year in a row. The upstarts from Wakulla were second, and Fort Walton Beach was third.


Of the schools at the Bay Invitational, Arnold, Bay, Fort Walton Beach, Mosley, North Bay Haven, Rutherford, and Wakulla are scheduled to be back on the trails of Bay County on 17 September 2016 for the sixth annual Rutherford Ram Run. That one may not be "true cross country," but should still be worth watching.


2016 Bay High XC Invitational Team Standings, High School Boys
  1. Bleckley County, 57
  2. Wakulla, 62
  3. Fort Walton Beach, 67
  4. Maclay, 87
  5. Rutherford, 161
  6. Arnold, 163
  7. North Bay Haven, 174
  8. Marianna, 208
  9. Bay, 234
  10. Mosley, 257

Top Ten High School Boys, 2016 Bay High XC Invitational
  1. 17:08.09 ~ Carl Ellis Corley (Bleckley County) 12
  2. 17:13.29 ~ Clayburn Milford (Maclay) 10
  3. 17:42.12 ~ Bryce Cole (Wakulla) 12
  4. 17:43.35 ~ Garrett Rogers (Bleckley County) 9
  5. 17:48.02 ~ Alix Gennette (Rutherford) 12
  6. 17:57.20 ~ Dayton Cannon (Bleckley County) 12
  7. 18:02.93 ~ Mason Bennett (Arnold) 10
  8. 18:03.37 ~ Brandon I Meza (Fort Walton Beach) 10
  9. 18:11.66 ~ Parker Dewrell (Fort Walton Beach) 11
  10. 18:13.44 ~ Jordan Huckaby (Fort Walton Beach) 10

Bay High Cross-Country Invitational team champions, 2008 - 2016
DateBoysGirls
18 October 2008Mosley, 56 pointsWakulla, 55 points
26 September 2009Fort Walton Beach, 50 pointsFort Walton Beach, 15 points
2 October 2010Navarre, 38 pointsBleckley County, 29 points
1 October 2011Meade County, 32 pointsBleckley County, 42 points
6 October 2012Navarre, 26 pointsNavarre, 49 points
14 September 2013Bleckley County, 33 pointsBleckley County, 22 points
13 September 2014Bleckley County, 48 pointsNiceville, 44 points
12 September 2015Bleckley County, 21 pointsFort Walton Beach, 17 points
10 September 2016Bleckley County, 57Maclay, 33 points



Bay High Cross-Country Invitational individual champions, 2008 - 2016
DateBoysGirls
18 October 200817:21, Thomas Heikkinen (Rutherford)20:13, Holly Stanton (Rocky Bayou)
26 September 200916:49, Luc Lawrence (Fort Walton Beach)20:03, Iolani Scanlan (Fort Walton Beach)
2 October 201016:52, Robert Mann (Navarre)21:17, Melissa Knappel (Crestview)
1 October 201116:55, Will Strickland (Meade County)19:47, Mikayla Hodges (Arnold)
6 October 201216:44, Brandon Amendt (Pace)19:05, Rachel King (Pace)
14 September 201318:14, Aaron Jane (Bay)21:25, Ellen Powell (Bleckley County)
13 September 201417:28, Jordan Lance (Arnold)20:54, Haleigh Martin (Wakulla)
12 September 201516:57, Carl Ellis Corley (Bleckley County)20:05, Maddie Fulmer (Fort Walton
10 September 201617:09, Carl Ellis Corley (Bleckley County)19:24, Haleigh Martin (Wakulla)


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Posted by Herb Wills at 1:36 AM
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