Saturday, September 9, 2017

D'Aleo, Swigler finish first at the Bay Invitational

On Saturday, 9 September 2017, Huricane Irma, a category five storm, was lurking off the coast of Cuba and threatening to turn north and make a south-to-north tour of the Florida peninsula. Understandably, most folks in Florida spent the day running for cover instead of running cross country. But in Panama City, Florida the sport went on at the sixteenth annual Bay High Cross-Country Invitational. Bleckley County won the high school girls' 5K, while Mosley High senior Ella Swigler took individual honors in the race. In the high school boys' 5K, South Walton won the team title, led by the first-place finish of their sophomore ace, Jacob D'Aleo.


The morning of racing opened at Panama City's Harder's Park with the high school girls' 5K. That event featured a rematch of the duel at the Buccaneer Bash between Arnold frosh Marisa Ashley and Mosley senior Ella Swigler. There, two weeks earlier, Ashley had edged Swigler for the win, 19:53 to 19:57. The two had also raced against each other the following week at the Big Bend Invitational in Tallahassee, where Ashley placed third and Swigler fourth. Unlike the Buccaneer Bash, though, at the Bay Invite Swigler and Ashley were joined up front by South Walton frosh Patasha Bryan, making it a three-way battle for first.

Ella Swigler
Ella Swigler

This time it was Swigler who came out best crossing the finish line with a 40-meter lead and a winning time of 19:51. Ashley outkicked Bryan for the runner-up spot, 20:00 to 20:01.


At 20:56, fourth place went to Bleckley County sophomore Austin Perez, the first in an avalanche of runners from the Cochran, Georgia school. Perez was joined in the top ten by four other Bleckley County runners--junior Macy Moe (5th, 21:05), frosh Christa Hall (6th, 21:34), junior Sarah Green (8th, 22:50), and frosh Molly Sims (9th, 23:08). Those five athletes tallied a mathematically unbeatable score of 27 for Bleckley County, giving the Royals their first girls' team title at the Bay Invitational since 2013 and their fourth since 2010. South Walton was second with 38 points, and Mosley third with 77 points.


2017 Bay High XC Invitational Team Standings, High School Girls
  1. Bleckley County, 27
  2. South Walton, 38
  3. Mosley, 77
  4. Rutherford, 101

Top Ten High School Girls, 2017 Bay High XC Invitational
  1. 19:50.38, Ella Swigler (Mosley) 12
  2. 19:59.70, Marisa Ashley (Arnold) 9
  3. 20:00.35, Patasha Bryan (South Walton) 9
  4. 20:55.98, Austin Perez (Bleckley County) 10
  5. 21:04.78, Macy Moe (Bleckley County) 11
  6. 21:33.69, Christa Hall (Bleckley County) 9
  7. 22:19.08, Madison Peele (South Walton) 11
  8. 22:49.56, Sarah Green (Bleckley County) 11
  9. 23:07.24, Molly Sims (Bleckley County) 9
  10. 23:14.70, Aris Short (South Walton) 9

Jacob D'Aleo wasn't at the Bay Invitational in 2016; his South Walton team had raced elsewhere in the Panhandle that day. D'Aleo was certainly at the meet in 2017, though. The South Walton sophomore won the high school boys' 5K by more than 50 meters, clocking a 16:50--the fastest winning time at the Bay Invitational since 2012, when Pace's Brandon Amendt went 16:44. Arnold junior Mason Bennett was second in 17:01, and Bleckley County sophomore Garrett Rogers took third in 17:08.


After D'Aleo, South Walton's next four scorers were senior Connor Norton (5th, 17:16), sophomore Logan Brooks (7th, 17:35), junior Brandon Phillips (8th, 17:38), and junior Jacob Beadle (9th, 18:05). Once Beadle crossed the finish line, South Walton had 30 points and first place in the field of six teams--ending the Bleckley County boys' four-year winning streak. Led by the fourth-place, 20:56 finish of sophomore Austin Perez, Bleckley County was second with 48 points. Arnold took third with 83 points.


Next on the high school cross-country schedule in Bay County is Rutherford's seventh annual Ram Run on Saturday, 16 September 2017. Mosley hosts the ninth annual Dolphin Dash on Saturday, 30 September 2017, and the Bay County Cross-Country Championships are Saturday, 14 October 2017.


2017 Bay High XC Invitational Team Standings, High School Boys
  1. South Walton, 30
  2. Bleckley County, 48
  3. Arnold, 83
  4. Rutherford, 105
  5. Mosley, 109
  6. Bay, 174

Top Ten High School Boys, 2017 Bay High XC Invitational
  1. 16:49.36, Jacob D'Aleo (South Walton) 10
  2. 17:00.62, Mason Bennett (Arnold) 11
  3. 17:07.91, Garrett Rogers (Bleckley County) 10
  4. 17:11.59, Blake Turner (Arnold) 12
  5. 17:15.16, Connor Norton (South Walton) 12
  6. 17:33.57, Jaylen Thigpen (Bleckley County) 11
  7. 17:34.56, Logan Brooks (South Walton) 10
  8. 17:37.07, Brandon Phillips (South Walton) 11
  9. 18:04.53, Jacob Beadle (South Walton) 11
  10. 18:12.72, Delrico Pearson (Rutherford) 11

Bay High Cross-Country Invitational team champions, 2008 - 2017
DateBoysGirls
18 October 2008Mosley, 56 pointsWakulla, 55 points
26 September 2009Fort Walton Beach, 50 pointsFort Walton Beach, 15 points
2 October 2010Navarre, 38 pointsBleckley County, 29 points
1 October 2011Meade County, 32 pointsBleckley County, 42 points
6 October 2012Navarre, 26 pointsNavarre, 49 points
14 September 2013Bleckley County, 33 pointsBleckley County, 22 points
13 September 2014Bleckley County, 48 pointsNiceville, 44 points
12 September 2015Bleckley County, 21 pointsFort Walton Beach, 17 points
10 September 2016Bleckley County, 57 pointsMaclay, 33 points
9 September 2017South Walton, 30 pointsBleckley County, 27 points


Bay High Cross-Country Invitational individual champions, 2008 - 2017
DateBoysGirls
18 October 200817:21, Thomas Heikkinen (Rutherford)20:13, Holly Stanton (Rocky Bayou)
26 September 200916:49, Luc Lawrence (Fort Walton Beach)20:03, Iolani Scanlan (Fort Walton Beach)
2 October 201016:52, Robert Mann (Navarre)21:17, Melissa Knappel (Crestview)
1 October 201116:55, Will Strickland (Meade County)19:47, Mikayla Hodges (Arnold)
6 October 201216:44, Brandon Amendt (Pace)19:05, Rachel King (Pace)
14 September 201318:14, Aaron Jane (Bay)21:25, Ellen Powell (Bleckley County)
13 September 201417:28, Jordan Lance (Arnold)20:54, Haleigh Martin (Wakulla)
12 September 201516:57, Carl Ellis Corley (Bleckley County)20:05, Maddie Fulmer (Fort Walton
10 September 201617:09, Carl Ellis Corley (Bleckley County)19:24, Haleigh Martin (Wakulla)
9 September 201716:50, Jacob D'Aleo (South Walton) 1019:51, Ella Swigler (Mosley) 12


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