Saturday, September 30, 2017

Bolles and Belen Jesuit get wins at a lake-free Alligator Lake

2017 Alligator Lake Cross-Country InvitationalThe ninth annual Alligator Lake Cross-Country Invitational wasn't held at Alligator Lake. After Hurricane Irma passed by Lake City, Florida on Monday morning, 11 September 2017, there was so much water in the lake that it had wandered out of its bed to see what was going on.


"Alligator Lake Park and its trails are still under about 3' of water," reported Dusty Smith of B3R Promotions, the meet hosts.


Rather than cancel the meet or transform it into a swimming event, B3R Promotions moved it to a higher and drier venue, The Oaks Equestrian Center in Lake City. No one seemed to have trouble finding the new location, because 135 teams and 1379 athletes made their way to the Equestrian Center on Saturday morning, 30 September 2017, to run one one of the nine races at the Alligator Lake Invitational.


Competition got started at 7:20 AM with the invitational section of the high school girls' 5K. Creekside's Claire Openshaw had raced Alligator Lake in 2016, when she finished a close second to Grace Blair of Oak Hall. Both Openshaw and Blair were back for the 2017 Alligator Lake, but this time it was all Openshaw. The Creekside sophomore won the race in 18:52, finishing 60 meters ahead of the runner-up, McIntosh sophomore Megan Uszynski. Blair was another twenty meters back, third in 19:11.


Chiles had two runners in the top ten--senior Ana Wallace (5th, 19:36) and junior Emily Culley (8th, 20:07)--but so did Bolles--seventh-grader Ella Mickler (7th, 20:03) and senior Rachel Shapiro (9th, 20:08). Bolles followed up with scoring performances by junior Maeve O'Riordan (11th, 20:13), frosh Layne Rivera (24th, 20:31), and sophomore Helena Kummings (27th, 20:40). That gave Bolles 78 points and first place in the 24-team field. Chiles was an extremely close second with 81 points. McIntosh edged Creekside for third, 97 to 101.


2017 Alligator Lake Cross Country Invitational Team Standings (High School Girls)
  1. Bolles, 78
  2. Chiles, 81
  3. McIntosh, 97
  4. Creekside, 101
  5. Niceville, 132
  6. Ponte Vedra, 152
  7. Oak Hall, 298
  8. Providence Christian, 309
  9. Mandarin, 319
  10. Saint Joseph, 330
  11. Providence, 338
  12. Mountain View, 345
  13. Maclay, 351
  14. Leon, 358
  15. Stanton Prep, 424
  16. South Walton, 425
  17. Pace, 426
  18. Saint Augustine, 486
  19. Buchholz, 495
  20. Eastside, 554
  21. Ocala Forest, 571
  22. Columbia, 610
  23. Duval Charter Baymeadows, 647
  24. Trinity Catholic, 735

Top 15 High School Girls, 2017 Alligator Lake Cross Country Invitational
  1. 18:51.7, Claire Openshaw (Creekside) 10
  2. 19:05.6, Megan Uszynski (McIntosh) 10
  3. 19:10.2, Grace Blair (Oak Hall) 12
  4. 19:17.3, Lillian Holtery (Niceville) 9
  5. 19:35.3, Ana Wallace (Chiles) 12
  6. 19:39.5, Claire Moritz (Ponte Vedra) 12
  7. 20:02.3, Ella Mickler (Bolles) 7
  8. 20:06.5, Emily Culley (Chiles) 11
  9. 20:07.7, Rachel Shapiro (Bolles) 12
  10. 20:11.5, Jennifer Woollery (Providence Christian) 9
  11. 20:12.6, Maeve O'Riordan (Bolles) 11
  12. 20:14.5, Kayla Rose (McIntosh) 10
  13. 20:16.3, Caitlin Wilkey (Chiles) 10
  14. 20:16.5, Patasha Bryan (South Walton) 9
  15. 20:17.7, Ciara Coger (Niceville) 12

Unlike Openshaw and Blair, Belen Jesuit senior Joshua Collins hadn't raced Alligator Lake in 2016. Neverthless, Collins was at the meet in 2017, and won the invitational section of the high school boys' 5K in 16:13. Zach Jaeger, a McIntosh junior, took second in 16:35. Jacksonville Stanton senior Sam Skiles was third in 16:43.


Collins was the only Belen athlete in the top ten, but just outside the top ten the Wolverines had solid performances from eighth-grader Adam Magoulas (13th, 17:17), sophomore Matthew Bryan (14th, 17:20), and juniors Cesar Aguzzi (15th, 17:20) and Lucas De La Hoz (17th, 17:21). That solid pack of four runners plus Collins gave Belen 56 points and the Alligator Lake high school boys' team title. Chiles was second with 115 points, led by senior Michael Phillips (7th, 16:57), the defending state champion in class 3A. McIntosh was third among the 22 teams in the race with 132 points.


2017 Alligator Lake Cross Country Invitational Team Standings (High School Boys)
  1. Belen Jesuit, 56
  2. Chiles, 115
  3. McIntosh, 132
  4. Niceville, 167
  5. Creekside, 170
  6. Ponte Vedra, 200
  7. South Walton, 209
  8. Stanton Prep, 256
  9. Saint Augustine, 319
  10. Mandarin, 320
  11. Saint Joseph, 331
  12. Bolles, 332
  13. Gainesville, 359
  14. Bishop Snyder, 375
  15. Maclay, 390
  16. Buchholz, 403
  17. Columbia, 440
  18. Mountain View, 444
  19. P.K. Yonge, 448
  20. Pace, 452
  21. Leon, 473
  22. Trinity Catholic, 722

Top 15 High School Boys, 2017 Alligator Lake Cross Country Invitational
  1. 16:13.0, Joshua Collins (Belen Jesuit) 12
  2. 16:35.0, Zach Jaeger (McIntosh) 11
  3. 16:42.3, Sam Skiles (Stanton Prep) 12
  4. 16:47.3, Vladimir Zander-Velloso (McIntosh) 12
  5. 16:47.3, Sebastian Kenne (Stanton Prep) 11
  6. 16:47.8, Sean Snyder (Saint Joseph) 12
  7. 16:56.3, Michael Phillips (Chiles) 12
  8. 17:01.4, Matthew Ortiz (Creekside) 11
  9. 17:04.4, John Broling (Gainesville) 12
  10. 17:12.5, Austin Montini (Oak Hall) 9
  11. 17:14.7, Parker Woodruff (Saint Augustine) 11
  12. 17:15.1, Matthew Newland (Chiles) 12
  13. 17:16.2, Adam Magoulas (Belen Jesuit) 8
  14. 17:19.5, Matthew Bryan (Belen Jesuit) 10
  15. 17:20.0, Cesar Aguzzi (Belen Jesuit) 11

After two second-tier high school varsity races, the middle school girls' 3K started at 9:10 AM. The 2016 winner, Abraham Lincoln eighth-grader Ani Veltcheva, was in the race. Veltcheva defended her title and then some, winning the race by nearly 200 meters in 12:04. Bolles seventh-graders took the next two places, with Jillian Candelina second in 12:53 and Elizabeth Csikai third in 13:01. The next three Bolles scorers were eighth-grader Hadley Ropp (15th, 14:15), sixth-grader Leila Bata (21st, 15:02), and eighth-grader Cate Wachholz (24th, 15:07). After that the Bolles girls had 46 points and first place in the eight-team field. Holy Comforter edged the Saint John Striders for second, 70 to 71. Holy Comforter's top runner was sixth-grader Mary Clayton Soto, tenth in 14:01, while the Striders were led by seventh-grader Peyton Skoglund, fourth in 13:01.


2017 Alligator Lake Cross Country Invitational Team Standings (Middle School Girls)
  1. Bolles, 46
  2. Holy Comforter, 70
  3. Saint Johns Striders, 71
  4. Ruckel, 88
  5. Jacksonville Episcopal, 109
  6. Abraham Lincoln, 149
  7. Providence, 185
  8. Queen of Peace, 193

Top 15 Middle School Girls, 2017 Alligator Lake Cross Country Invitational
  1. 12:03.7, Ani Veltcheva (Abraham Lincoln) 8
  2. 12:52.9, Jillian Candelino (Bolles) 7
  3. 13:00.2, Elizabeth Csikai (Bolles) 7
  4. 13:17.8, Peyton Skoglund (Saint Johns Striders) 7
  5. 13:24.2, Lauren Jones (Unattached) 8
  6. 13:27.6, Twaneise Johnson (V12 Athletic)
  7. 13:40.2, Kate Drummond (TeamFTC) 7
  8. 13:53.8, Emily Tomasi (Saint Johns Striders) 8
  9. 13:55.3, Madison Patchan (Saint Johns Striders) 6
  10. 14:01.0, Mary Clayton Soto (Holy Comforter) 6
  11. 14:04.4, Ava Ledy (Ocala Distance Project) 8
  12. 14:07.6, Anouk Victor (Saint Johns Striders) 8
  13. 14:11.0, Mackenzie Bell (Unattached) 8
  14. 14:14.7, Sarah Simpson (Eye of the Tiger) 7
  15. 14:14.8, Hadley Ropp (Bolles) 8

The middle school boys' 3K followed the middle school girls' race. Eighth-grader Rheinhardt Harrison of the Saint Johns Striders won the latter event by 120 meters, running 11:15. Abraham Lincoln eighth-grader Anton Matchev was second in 11:45; Matchev had placed third in the 2016 race. Eighth-grader Austin Martin of the Ocala Distance Project edged Holy Comforter eighth-grader Leo Kelly for third, 12:03 to 12:07.


But Bolles claimed the next three places, with eighth-grader Frank Ruperto fifth in 12:10 and seventh-grader Aidan Ryan and Andrew McGraw sixth in 12:13 and seventh in 12:15. Bolles eighth-graders Matthew McClure (13th, 12:39) and Colin Duhnoski (15th, 12:52) finished the Bulldogs' scoring, giving their school 46 points and victory. The Saint Johns Striders took a close second place, outscoring Ruckel 76 to 77.


2017 Alligator Lake Cross Country Invitational Team Standings (Middle School Boys)
  1. Bolles, 39
  2. Saint Johns Striders, 76
  3. Ruckel, 77
  4. Jacksonville Episcopal, 108
  5. Holy Comforter, 120
  6. Abraham Lincoln, 139
  7. Queen of Peace, 140
  8. First Christian, 220

Top 15 Middle School Boys, 2017 Alligator Lake Cross Country Invitational
  1. 11:15.0, Rheinhardt Harrison (Saint Johns Striders) 8
  2. 11:44.7, Anton Matchev (Abraham Lincoln) 8
  3. 12:02.4, Austin Martin (Ocala Distance Project) 8
  4. 12:06.1, Leo Kelly (Holy Comforter) 8
  5. 12:09.8, Frank Ruperto (Bolles) 8
  6. 12:12.1, Aidan Ryan (Bolles) 7
  7. 12:14.6, Andrew McGraw (Bolles) 7
  8. 12:22.8, Quinn Remisiewicz (Saint Johns Striders) 8
  9. 12:24.0, Parker Nunley (Ruckel) 8
  10. 12:24.5, Philip Matchev (TeamFTC) 5
  11. 12:33.9, Michael Officer (Jacksonville Episcopal) 8
  12. 12:38.2, Anthony Wirsing (Ruckel) 8
  13. 12:38.2, Matthew McClure (Bolles) 8
  14. 12:40.8, Jackson Yarbrough (Holy Comforter) 8
  15. 12:51.7, Colin Duhnoski (Bolles) 8



Alligator Lake Cross Country Invitational Champions
2008 - 2017
High School Girls 5K
DateTeam ChampIndividual Champ
4 October 2008Flagler Palm Coast, 27 points20:39, Molly Teague (Buchholz) 10
24 October 2009Ridgeview, 4619:37, Sierra Solaun (Bucholz) 12
23 October 2010
22 October 2011Providence, 3418:42, Danielle Van Liere (Providence) 8
22 September 2012Walton, 4119:04, Emma ZeeAbrahamsen (Lassiter) 11
21 September 2013Fort Walton Beach, 5418:41, Emma Rudman (Fort Walton Beach) 10
26 September 2015Niceville, 8419:02, Emma Tucker (Chiles) 12
17 September 2016Satellite, 6019:36, Grace Blair (Oak Hall) 11
30 September 2017Bolles, 7818:52, Claire Openshaw (Creekside) 10
High School Boys 5K
DateTeam ChampIndividual Champ
4 October 2008Flagler Palm Coast, 39 points16:32, Carter Robertson (Buchholz) 12
24 October 2009Buchholz, 5515:50, Jimmy Clark (Creekside) 11
23 October 2010
22 October 2011Leon, 6115:53, Garret Westlake (P. K. Yonge) 11
22 September 2012Walton, 5216:05, Kenan Farmer (Walton) 11
21 September 2013Chiles, 7315:09, Sukhi Khosla (Leon) 11
26 September 2015Chiles, 8916:02, Blake Lowery (Gainesville) 12
17 September 2016Satellite, 4015:52, Matthew Clark (Creekside) 12
30 September 2017Belen Jesuit, 5616:13, Joshua Collins (Belen Jesuit) 12
In 2008 and 2009 the meet was called the Greater North Florida Invitational.
No meet was held in 2014.


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Posted by Herb Wills at 11:51 PM
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