Swift Creek girls and Raa boys win the "Battle at Tom Brown"

Leon County Schools opened the middle-school cross-country season on Wednesday, 15 September 2010 with the "Battle at Tom Brown," a meet at (you guessed it) Tom Brown Park. The Swift Creek Middle School girls won for the second straight year, scoring 43 points. The Raa boys also successfully defended their 2009 title, totaling the best possible score of 15 points.


The girls' raced first, two miles around Tom Brown Park. 2008 and 2009 winner Cece Williams having moved on from Deerlake Middle to Chiles High School, it was certain that there would be a new champion. Raa runners Rebecca Clendinen and Lindsay Hughes went to the front and steadily ran away from the field. Ultimately Clendinen took first and Hughes second, 14:24 to 14:25. Raa put four runners in the top ten, but you need five runners to make a team score. Led by Madelyn Horgan's third place finish, Swift Creek put all five of their scorers in the top 12 for their title-winning total of 43 points.


Several runners dashed for the front at the start of the boys' two-mile race, looking like they had come out of starting blocks. But they quickly learned that you can't sprint two miles, and swiftly faded. Soon Raa's Wil Luca and Sukhi Khosla were leading, and then Luca pulled away. At the finish line Luca had successfully defended his 2009 "Battle At Tom Brown Title," running 11:45 for the win. Behind him his teammates Sukhi Khosla (11:57), Jason Benn (12:10), Evan Francis (12:12), and Lewis Langston (12:23) took places two through five, making for a perfect 15-point score. Anthony Walker of Cobb placed sixth in 12:26, coming within three seconds of breaking Raa's monopoly on the top five and ruining their perfect score.


The Battle at Tom Brown was hosted by Swift Creek Middle School and directed by their coach, Mike Eto. The Leon County Schools' cross country season continues on September 22 at Fort Braden Park, on September 30 at Gretchen Everhart School, and concludes on October 6 with the championship meet at Apalachee Regional Park Trail.


Girls' Team Standings

1. Swift Creek, 43 points
2. Raa, 61 points
3. Cobb, 68 points
4. Montford, 85 points
5. Deer Lake, 134 points
6. Fairview, 179 points
7. Ft. Braden, 245 points
8. Griffin, NTS

Top Ten Girls

1. Rebecca Clendinen (Raa) 14:24
2. Lindsay Hughes (Raa) 14:25
3. Madelyn Horgan (Swift Creek) 14:50
4. Alex Wallace (Deer Lake) 14:52
5. Mandy Kinner (Cobb) 14:53
6. Brittany Asbury (Raa) 14:58
7. Zoe Sheldon (Swift Creek) 15:09
8. Mary Dixon (Cobb) 15:20
9. Christiana (Raa) 15:26
10. Lindsay Riker (Swift Creek) 15:39

Boys' Team Standings

1. Raa, 15 points
2. Montford, 67 points
3. Swift Creek, 85 points
4. Cobb, 119 points
5. Deer Lake,
6. Fairview, 223 points
7. Griffin, 382 points
8. Fort Braden, 577 points

Top Ten Boys

1. Will Luca (Raa) 11:45
2. Sukhi Khosla (Raa) 11:57
3. Jason Benn (Raa) 12:10
4. Evan Francis (Raa) 12:12
5. Lewis Langston (Raa) 12:23
6. Anthony Walker (Cobb) 12:26
7. Gary Barnes (Raa) 12:30
8. Ryan Olin (Montford) 12:31
9. Devon Foster (Raa) 12:32
10. Kyle Nichols (Cobb) 12:38

Links:

• Photos of the 2010 Battle At Tom Brown
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100327347215403.2971490.5215641&type=1&l=af6904ea3f
  
  
• The 2009 Gretchen Everhart Invitational
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2009/10/zimmerman-and-williams-winners-at-owl.html
  
  
• Choose your next Tallahassee-area racing experience from the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1