Feasting on the middle distances at the Chiles Classic

Some folks divine their financial and romantic fortune by examining tea leaves. If you want a forecast of what you might see at a track meet, though, you'd do better to examine the heat sheets. The list for Chiles High School's 15th annual Capital City Track & Field Classic prophesied hot times in the 1600. It turned out to be good prophecy.


Another kind of forecast, the weather forecast, threatened to get in the way, though. A line of storms marching across the Florida panhandle toward Tallahassee scared Chiles into changing the meet schedule, moving to an earlier 10:00 AM start. In the end, the meteorologists might as well have stuck with tea leaves. The worst weather stayed out in the Gulf of Mexico, and Tallahassee saw barely more than a trace of rain all day Saturday. If anything, a few more clouds would have been welcome. The Saturday, 5 April 2014, track meet was warm and bright.


In the girls' 1600, Chiles senior Ashton McMurray shrugged off early challenges from Maclay frosh Caroline Willis and FAMU frosh Audrey Dogan to win the race. Running all but alone for the second half of the race, McMurray clocked a 5:15.52 for the not-quite-a-mile race.


Top Ten Girls, Chiles Classic 1600

1. 5:15.52 ~ McMurray, Ashton (Chiles) 12
2. 5:29.98 ~ Willis, Caroline (Maclay) 9
3. 5:34.71 ~ Lockhart, Grace (Leon) 10
4. 5:35.67 ~ Krueger, Juliana (Chiles) 10
5. 5:36.06 ~ Dogan, Adrianna (FAMU) 9
6. 5:55.48 ~ Wiedeman, Margaret (Wakulla) 12
7. 5:56.78 ~ Smith, Rachel (Thomasville) 12
8. 5:57.56 ~ Rumana, Rachel (Maclay) 9
9. 5:58.15 ~ Toothman, Amanda (Florida) 11
10. 6:00.71 ~ Smith, Rebekah (Thomasville) 10

With three sub-4:20 athletes in the field of the boys' 1600, it's surprising that no one went with Leon junior Sukhi Khosla when he went through the first lap in 65 seconds. That's what reputation will do for you, though; with a 4:13.02 to his credit, Khosla is the state leader in the 1600. He turned it up a notch on the second 400, running a 63 second split and leaving everyone else far behind. Khosla went faster still for the second 800, finishing the race in 4:14.92 and taking out the twelve-year-old meet record of 4:17.39, set in 2002 by Lincoln sophomore Ryan Deak.


Top Ten Boys, Chiles Classic 1600

1. 4:14.92 ~ Khosla, Sukhi (Leon HS) 11
2. 4:22.05 ~ Bartlett, Avery (Chiles HS) 11
3. 4:22.12 ~ Turner, Sean (Chiles HS) 12
4. 4:24.84 ~ Zimmerman, Cade (Chiles HS) 12
5. 4:29.29 ~ Grigas, Jared (Chiles HS) 11
6. 4:33.53 ~ Scott, Hunter (Lincoln HS) 11
7. 4:34.91 ~ Murray, Tyson (Chiles HS) 11
8. 4:38.65 ~ Buchholz, Kyle (Leon HS) 11
9. 4:41.85 ~ Wallenfelsz, Adam (Leon HS) 10
10. 4:43.80 ~ White, Will (Thomasville High School) 12

Ashton McMurray was back later in the girls' 800. She stayed tucked back in the pack during the first 400, while Valdosta junior Desmeonna McDuffie led. McMurray took charge during the second lap. Florida State University School junior Amanda Toothman tried to keep up, but McMurray won going away in 2:30.21, while Toothman was second in 2:33.50.


Top Ten Girls, Chiles Classic 800

1. 2:30.21 ~ McMurray, Ashton (Chiles HS) 12
2. 2:33.50 ~ Toothman, Amanda (Florida High School) 11
3. 2:34.13 ~ Krueger, Juliana (Chiles HS) 10
4. 2:35.34 ~ Lockhart, Grace (Leon HS) 10
5. 2:35.68 ~ Martin, Haleigh (Wakulla HS) 9
6. 2:36.23 ~ Stair, Josephine (Ridgeview HS) 11
7. 2:40.07 ~ Mcduffie, Desmeonna (Valdosta High School) 11
8. 2:41.31 ~ Kadir, Hana (Florida High School) 10
9. 2:42.00 ~ Hayes, Jacara (Thomasville High School) 10
10. 2:42.46 ~ Sheldon, Zoe (Leon HS) 9

Chiles junior Avery Bartlett had finished second to Sukhi Khosla in the 1600, but he got a second crack at the Leon junior in the boys' 800. It was a third junior who led the first lap, though, Thomasville High's Travet Witherspoon. While Witherspoon rocketed around the track, Bartlett hit the 400 in second place at 59.95. Khosla went after Bartlett just after 400, but Bartlett held him off on the turn. Just past 500 meters, Witherspoon wilted. Bartlett and Khosla thundered past him. Khosla continued to challenge for the lead all the way to 700 meters, but Bartlett denied him. The last 100 meters belonged to Bartlett, who raced home in a winning 1:55.89, his personal best. Khosla's 1:56.86 second-place effort was also a PR. Maclay senior Connor Daughton took third in 1:58.68.


Top Ten Boys, Chiles Classic 800

1. 1:55.89 ~ Bartlett, Avery (Chiles HS) 11
2. 1:56.86 ~ Khosla, Sukhi (Leon HS) 11
3. 1:58.68 ~ Daughton, James Connor (Maclay School) 12
4. 2:02.60 ~ Witherspoon, Travet (Thomasville High School) 11
5. 2:02.92 ~ Grigas, Jared (Chiles HS) 11
6. 2:04.15 ~ Richardson, Kyle (Ridgeview HS) 12
7. 2:06.60 ~ Escobar, George (Maclay School) 10
8. 2:06.67 ~ Wallenfelsz, Adam (Leon HS) 10
9. 2:07.46 ~ Hernandez, Allan (Chiles HS) 11
10. 2:07.89 ~ Murray, Tyson (Chiles HS) 11

Links

• Results of Chiles High's 2014 Capital City Track & Field Classic at Dyestat.com
  http://parser.dyestat.com/meetresults.jsp?meetID=69120
  
  
• The Chiles Classic and other Northwest Florida athletics at DistancePreps.com
  http://www.distancepreps.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=31488&do=news&news_id=242232
  
  
• "A four-lap rumble is coming to the track at Chiles"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/04/chiles-classic-pre-2014.html
  
  
• More photos of the 2014 Capital City Classic 1600
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10104414844203673.1073741974.5215641&l=bce8b82c1f
  
  
• More photos of the 2014 Capital City Classic 800
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10104414968309963.1073741975.5215641&l=4a223d8e9a
  
  
• Find your next race in the Tallahassee region using the Trouble Afoot! race calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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