Trouble Afoot!: Giddens and Slupecki roll in Tom Brown Park

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Giddens and Slupecki roll in Tom Brown Park

Both wearing Aucilla Christian yellow, teammates Meagan Giddens and Taylor Copeland raced through Tom Brown Park on Saturday morning, 17 September 2011, far ahead of the rest of the field in the high school girls' race of the Lincoln Invitational. At the finish line, though, it was Giddens who had the edge over Copeland, winning the 5K race 20:51 to 20:54. Girls' team honors went to Wakulla, narrowly beating host Lincoln 50 to 52. Lincoln's Jacob Slupecki handily won the high school boys' race in 16:50, while host school Lincoln was once again disappointed in the team standings, placing second to Maclay 64 to 68.

"It was perfect for running out here at 8:00AM," remarked Lincoln assistant coach, Jessie Close, before the start of the first race.

It was still wasn't bad at 10:00AM, with mild temperatures and a light overcast, when the high school girls started running. The race opened with Aucilla Christian Academy teammates Meagan Giddens and Taylor Copeland out in front almost immediately. By the end of the first kilometer the two Aucilla athletes had broken contact with the field. After three kilometers Giddens and Copeland were still running side by side, over half a minute ahead of the third place runner, Kellie Hays of Lincoln. As the finish line approached, Giddens ran away from Copeland to win 20:47 to 20:51. Meanwhile, Wakulla's Marty Wiedeman and Cora Atkinson had been moving up through the field. Wiedeman kicked home on the final straightaway to challenge Hays, but Hays managed to hang on to third while Wiedeman was fourth, both runners clocked in 21:54. Atkinson was fifth in 22:01, and the two Wakulla runners were joined by a third, Kasey Jones (10th, 23:03) in the top ten. Host school Lincoln also put three girls in the top ten and had freshman Madeline Horgan (11th, 23:05) place just outside the top ten, but while the Trojans were waiting for their fifth runner to finish, Wakulla's next four runners crossed the line, sealing Wakulla's 50 to 52 victory.

The sun was out when the boys' race started. Several athletes fought for the early lead, but after two kilometers Lincoln senior Jacob Slupecki was out in front. 70 meters back, Wakulla's Stanley Linton, Maclay's Travis Covert, and Maclay's Connor Daughton chased Slupecki. In the second half of the race, Covert dropped Linton and Daughton, but failed to make any ground on Slupecki, who crossed the line first in 16:50 while Covert claimed the runner-up spot in 17:07. Linton slipped away from Daughton to take third, 17:22 to 17:25. Covert and Daughton were joined in the top ten by their fellow Maclay runner Jack Rutledge (9th, 18:04), and with additional scorers Matt Antworth (18th, 18:44) and Dennis Keane (31st, 19:32) Maclay was able to eke out a narrow 64 to 68 victory over runner-up Lincoln in the team standings, disappointing the host school for the second time that morning.

The 2011 high school cross-country season continues in Tallahassee with the Florida State University Invitational on September 24 at the Apalachee Regional Park Trail, the Cougar Challenge on October 8 at Phipps Park, the Tallahassee All-Comers Cross Country Championship on October 28 at Maclay School, and some meets in the state championship series in November. And don't forget middle school competition--the Everhart Invitational on September 22 at Gretchen Everhart School, and the Leon County Schools' championship meet on September 28 at Apalachee Regional Park.

Girls' Team Standings