Haynes and Judd make the open 5K the highlight of the Big Bend Cross-Country Invitational

On the second Saturday morning in a row, Chris Haynes stepped into the community race at a cross-country meet. And for the second Saturday morning in a row, Haynes ran faster in that race than anyone else in any other race at the meet. The date was 2 September 2017, the meet was the Big Bend Cross-Country Invitational, the site was Apalachee Regional Park Championship Cross-Country Course, and Haynes' time was 15:47. In the same race, Jodie Judd ran the fastest women's time of the morning. Judd, a Florida State University student from Great Britain competing unattached, ran 18:07, placing fourth overall.

Chris Haynes

Haynes first raced at Apalachee Regional Park the year the course opened, competing in the Florida Athletic Coaches Association's 2009 High School Senior All-Star Meet. His 15:47 at the Big Bend Invitational, though, was a bit faster than that years ago performance as a Lee High senior.


"Oh yeah, by far," affirmed Haynes.

Blake Riley

"I'm looking forward to the 8K at the FSU Invitational," said Haynes. "The 8K, and then a half-marathon in November."


Blake Riley finished second to Haynes in 16:37. Gatlin Nennstiel, a first-year runner on the Tallahassee Community College cross-country team, placed third in 18:04. Jay Wallace was the top master runner in the race and the fourth male finisher, fifth overall in 18:40.

Jodie Judd

Jodie Judd left the rest of the women's field behind from the starting gun, but the second women's spot remained in contention. Ani Veltcheva--an eighth-grader from Abraham Lincoln Middle School in Gainesville, Florida--held the second position early, but by the end of the first half of the race she had been joined by two runners from Florida State University, Sarah Candiano and Elizabeth Jenkins. Candiano set a stiff enough pace for the group to drop Jenkins, but she couldn't lose Veltcheva. All the way to the final stretch it was Candiano vs Veltcheva, a 2014 high school cross-county state champion vs. a 2016 middle school cross-country state champion. At the finish line Candiano held the edge, 18:44 to Veltcheva's 18:45. The two runners were sixth and seventh overall. Jenkins was fourth in the women's standings and ninth overall in 18:54.

Elizabeth Jenkins, Ani Veltcheva, Sarah Candiano

55 athletes finished the open 5K at the 2017 Big Bend Cross-Country Invitational. Miles and Minutes, LLC, of Tallahassee, Florida timed the race.


Top Ten Men, 2017 Big Bend Cross-Country Invitational Open 5K

1. 15:46.38, Chris Haynes
2. 16:36.12, Blake Riley
3. 18:03.14, Gatlin Nennstiel
4. 18:39.70, Jay Wallace
5. 18:47.98, Joshua Guest
6. 19:03.70, Edwin Davis
7. 19:12.43, Gannon Hundley
8. 19:23.10, Travis Parks
9. 20:01.00, Carter Hay
10. 20:57.79, Akintunde Azikwe

Top Ten Women, 2017 Big Bend Cross-Country Invitational Open 5K

1. 18:06.98, Jodie Judd
2. 18:43.46, Sarah Candiano
3. 18:44.67, Ani Veltcheva
4. 18:53.93, Elizabeth Jenkins
5. 18:58.96, Forever Young
6. 19:22.06, Jessica Lonas
7. 19:38.60, Micaela Torres
8. 19:58.62, Bella Poole
9. 20:11.33, Mackenzie Brown
10. 20:24.51, Kelly Aponte

Links

• Complete results of the 2017 Big Bend Cross-Country Invitational Open 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQKTUKWQiuNoP5BIlLcy2sATkQLkNAaUZok7H9MexEx65uOU_pQMf6LfGeE_35QK3rifhyM3PsqDGXF/pubhtml
  
  
• More photos of the 2017 Big Bend Cross-Country Invitational Open 5K
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10110473360947553.1073742301.5215641&type=1&l=9e9d12860f
  
  
• Fred Deckert's photos of the 2017 Big Bend Cross-Country Invitational Open 5K
  https://plus.google.com/photos/112560881455823075870/album/6461724641818260881
  
  
• Find your next cross-country run in the Tallahassee region on the Trouble Afoot! racing calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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