Friday, September 14, 2012

Montford girls and Swift Creek boys take wins home from Fort Braden

Zoe Sheldon and Audrey DoganAfter two meetings, the Leon County Schools' 2012 middle school cross-country season is starting to look like a game of musical titles. At the season opener on September 5, the Battle at Tom Brown, Swift Creek won the girls' race, but at the Fort Braden Run on September 12 the top girls' team was Montford. For the boys, defending county champs from Raa took the Battle at Tom Brown, but Swift Creek answered with a victory at Fort Braden. There have been two constants, though. The team competition has been close, and Raa athletes Audrey Dogan and Matthew Cashin continue to be the fastest runners in their races.


Audrey DoganThe Fort Braden meet commenced at 6:00 PM ET in Fort Braden Community Park with the girls' two-mile race. Raa's Audrey Dogan and the 2011 Fort Braden Run champion, Swift Creek's Zoe Sheldon, led the field out of the park and across a bridge onto the grounds of Fort Braden School. Sheldon set the pace, hitting the half mile in 3:11 and the mile in 6:38. Then Dogan took over, leading the girls through a mile and a half in 10:28. When the runners came back across the bridge and returned to the park, Dogan was still in front and starting to open a gap. Dogan charged through the park to the finish line, recording a 13:58 winning time and becoming the first girl to ever crack 14:00 at the Fort Braden Run. Sheldon finished second in 14:10, just ahead of the 14:14 turned in by Ana Wallace of Deer Lake. The next two places went to Montford runners Caroline Grace Brantley (14:39) and Saige Kemeny (14:56), setting up Montford's team score of 48 points. However, Swift Creek also scored 48. Following NFHS rules, the tie was broken by comparing the sixth runner of each team, and Montford's Kinley Emerson gave her team the decision with a 16:29.


Team Standings, GirlsMontford girls cross-country team
  1. Montford, 48
  2. Swift Creek, 48
  3. Raa, 67
  4. Fairview, 92
  5. Deer Lake, 108
  6. Elizabeth Cobb, 177
  7. Fort Braden, 202

Top Ten Girls
  1. 13:57.43 ~ Audrey Dogan (Raa) 8
  2. 14:09.07 ~ Zoe Sheldon (Swift Creek) 8
  3. 14:13.67 ~ Ana Wallace (Deer Lake) 7
  4. 14:38.94 ~ Caroline Grace Brantley (Montford) 6
  5. 14:55.15 ~ Saige Kemeny (Montford) 6
  6. 15:00.41 ~ Clare Keenan (Raa) 6
  7. 15:04.25 ~ Arianna Neeley (Swift Creek) 7
  8. 15:17.15 ~ Bridget Isenberg (Fairview) 8
  9. 15:26.18 ~ Asta Hemenway (Swift Creek) 7
  10. 15:27.19 ~ Emily Culley (Montford) 6

Matthew CashinIn the boys' race, Raa's Matthew Cashin was the first runner out of the park, already with a respectable lead. By halfway through the race, Etavious Milton of Griffin had moved into second, but wasn't close enough to worry Cashin. Cashin returned to the park to finish with a winning 12:40. Milton ran 12:51 for the runner-up spot, while Fairview's Joseph Jones was third in 12:55. Swift Creek took the next two places, with Stephen Veliz running 13:03 and Shane Suchoki 13:08. The two accounted for the first nine points of Swift Creek's total of 54, good enough for the team title. Montford was disappointed in their ambitions of a sweep of the Fort Braden titles, placing a close second with 60 points. Raa, the victor a week earlier at the Tom Brown meet, was third with 76.


Team Standings, Boys
  1. Swift Creek boys cross-country team.Swift Creek, 54
  2. Montford, 60
  3. Raa, 76
  4. Fairview, 87
  5. Deer Lake, 119
  6. Elizabeth Cobb, 164
  7. Griffin, 179
  8. Fort Braden, 229

Top Ten Boys
  1. Etavious Milton12:39.96 ~ Matthew Cashin (Raa) 8
  2. 12:50.56 ~ Etavious Milton (Griffin) 7
  3. 12:54.85 ~ Joseph Jones (Fairview) 7
  4. 13:02.57 ~ Stephen Veliz (Swift Creek) 8
  5. 13:07.28 ~ Shane Suchoki (Swift Creek) 8
  6. 13:12.37 ~ Daniel Sweeny (Montford) 7
  7. 13:14.03 ~ Matthew Newland (Montford) 7
  8. 13:15.61 ~ Jacob Dodson (Raa) 7
  9. 13:19.15 ~ Ricky Mobley (Fairview) 8
  10. 13:23.97 ~ Jake Scott (Montford) 7

Fort Braden Cross-Country Meet Champions, 2010-2012
Date
Boys
Girls
22 SEP 2010
12:26, Sukhi Khosla (Raa)
15:01, Rebecca Clendinen (Raa)
14 SEP 2011
12:16, Evan Francis (Raa)
14:45, Zoe Sheldon (Swift Creek)
12 SEP 2012
12:40, Matthew Cashin (Raa)
13:58, Audrey Dogan (Raa)


Fort Braden Cross-Country Meet Team Titles, 2010-2012
Date
Boys
Girls
22 SEP 2010
Raa (15 points)
Raa (33 points)
14 SEP 2011
Montford (55 points)
Swift Creek (47 points)
12 SEP 2012
Swift Creek (54 points)
Montford (48 points)


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Posted by Herb Wills at 2:59 PM
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3 comments:

  1. TallahasseeTrailsSeptember 19, 2012 at 8:05 AM

    Always enjoy the coverage, Herb.
    If you'd like to link it, I still have the Fort Braden MS Course Tour gallery available for viewing. It includes a course map and link to video tour.
    I botched the attempted race videos this year, but the 2011 ones are still posted.
    I'll try again at the 26 Sep MS Championships.

    ReplyDelete
  2. TallahasseeTrailsSeptember 19, 2012 at 8:08 AM

    Btw, love the shot of Etavious' levitating foot skimming well inside of the flags on that infield shot.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Herb WillsSeptember 19, 2012 at 11:31 AM

    Thanks, John!

    I added a link to the tour. Etavious wasn't the only offender on that turn and he wasn't even the worst offender, he was just one of the few who got photographed while making secants instead of tangents on that turn. I also saw some lack of respect for the pin flags at the Lincoln Invitational later that week. I suppose you could always replace the pin flags with a more authoritative marking, like pylons strung with razor wire.

    Herb.

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