Monday, August 19, 2019

Pierre Pean and Ann Centner lead the mob at the Madness

Hundreds of meters ahead of the rest of the competitors, Pierre Pean and Joey Jung raced through Tallahassee, Florida's Phipps Park on Saturday morning, 17 August 2019--up and down hills, over dirt and turf, and even twice through water. At the finish line, though, it was Pean who prevailed, winning Gulf Winds Track Club's Miller Landing Madness 8K cross-country race and running 31:21 to Jung's 31:23. Ann Centner was the first woman in the five-mile contest, placing sixth overall in 33:04.

Pierre Pean

Staged in Phipps Park each August since 2008, the Miller Landing Madness has become known as Tallahassee's last cross-country race before the actual cross-country season. This is especially true for the two shorter races on the program, the 3K and the 5K. The three-kilometer race is usually the choice of middle school runners, while high school athletes generally opt for the five kilometer event. Those youngsters usually pass on the flagship eight kilometer race, which is usually won by older athletes. Notably, the course record in the 8K is the 25:54 run in 2011 the three-time Canadian Olympian Kevin Sullivan. Sullivan had indeed been a four-time Big Ten cross-country champion while at the University of Michigan, but those days as a college harrier were nearly two decades behind him when he raced the Phipps Park hills.


It might be a good rule of thumb that high school athletes don't win the Miller Landing Madness 8K, but Joey Jung was out to break that rule in the 2019 race. It didn't look like it early in the race. After the first of five miles, Pierre Pean was already leading the 8K, with Jung trailing by 40 meters. That deficit had grown to 80 meters by the end of the fourth mile. Jung didn't quit, and came back during the final mile. He was within striking distance on the homestretch, but Pean held him off, winning 31:21 to 31:23. Another Lincoln High cross-country runner, incoming frosh Connor Edwards, took third in 32:46. Hong-Guo Yu was the fastest master runner in the 8K, edging Khary Wright for fourth, 32:53 to 32:55.

Joey Jung

A graduate student at Florida State University, Ann Centner has left her cross-country days at the University of Georgia and Oconee County High behind. Centner wasn't adverse to a little cross-country running in the Miller Landing Madness 8K, though, even it was only a week after she had been focused on track racing at the Breakfast on the Track Mile.


"I liked it," said Centner after the Madness 8K. "It was difficult. It might have been difficult because I was training for the mile for so long. It was fun, though."

Ann Centner

The fun part could have been leading the women's field from start to finish while winning the race in 33:04. Amanda Sava, another Florida State graduate student, was runner-up in the women's division, finishing nineteenth overall in 34:51. Alyssa Moore took third in the women's standings with a 36:00, good for 28th overall. Lourena Maxwell was the top woman master and sixth female finisher, 34th overall in 37:20.


Top Ten Men, 2019 Miller Landing Madness 8K
  1. 31:21, Pierre Pean (M, 19)
  2. 31:23, Joey Jung (M, 17)
  3. 32:46, Connor Edwards (M, 14)
  4. 32:53, Hong-Guo Yu (M, 50)
  5. 32:55, Khary Wright (M, 18)
  6. 33:05, Terance Keenan (M, 54)
  7. 33:11, Ryan Truchelut (M, 33)
  8. 33:13, Tristan A. Lanasa (M, 26)
  9. 33:24, Myles Gibson (M, 53)
  10. 33:37, Jack McDermott (M, 50)

Top Ten Women, 2019 Miller Landing Madness 8K
  1. 33:04, Ann Centner (F, 27)
  2. 34:51, Amanda Sava (F, 24)
  3. 36:00, Alyssa Moore (F, 25)
  4. 36:15, Brittney Barnes (F, 31)
  5. 37:12, Alyssa Terry (F, 26)
  6. 37:20, Lou Maxwell (F, 44)
  7. 40:01, Anna Koeppel (F, 41)
  8. 40:32, Laura McDermott (F, 39)
  9. 40:56, Nikky Manausa (F, 37)
  10. 42:11, Nancy Proctor (F, 58)

Pean and Centner had led their fields in the 8K nearly from the start. That wasn't the case in the 5K for Wakulla High senior Daniel Wiedeman, who shared the lead with a group of runners for more than half the race. Ultimately, Wiedeman left them behind.

Daniel Wiedeman

"It was around the two-mile mark, near the water pit," recalled Wiedeman.


No one came back to challenge him as he raced the last mile alone to cross the finish line in a winning 18:32. Mason McCord, another Wakulla High senior, took second in 18:58. A few steps back, Florida High senior Morgan Castano was third in 19:01. Aaron Guyer was the first master runner in the 5K, sixteenth overall in 21:54.

Mason McCord

Wiedeman is a veteran of the Miller Landing Madness, although this was his first win at the event. He and his Wakulla teammates were scheduled to be back in Phipps Park the following Saturday for a different race on a different 5K course at the Dueling Summits Cross-Country Meet.


"I've run Miller Landing Madness every year in high school," said Wiedeman. "I liked the old water trap better than the one we run through now. And I'm not going to like the hill next week, but I'm not going to miss the water trap."

Grace Koeppel

Gracie Koeppel, an eighth-grader on the Maclay School cross-country team, won the women's title in the 5K at the Madness, placing twentieth overall in 22:14. Wakulla High senior Nina Prince outkicked Emily Smith for second in the women's standings, both runners clocked in 23:36. Prince and Smith were 34th and 35th overall.


Top Ten Men, 2019 Miller Landing Madness 5K
  1. 18:32, Daniel Wiedeman (M, 18)
  2. 18:58, Mason McCord (M, 17)
  3. 19:01, Morgan Castano (M, 17)
  4. 19:10, Stephen Votaw (M, 18)
  5. 19:17, Patrick Koon (M, 13)
  6. 19:40, Logan Kilpatrick (M, 15)
  7. 20:14, Clayton Knox (M, 14)
  8. 20:21, Lucas Mauch (M, 14)
  9. 20:29, Lincoln Gray (M, 14)
  10. 20:37, Jamichael Steen (M, 17)

Top Ten Women, 2019 Miller Landing Madness 5K
  1. 22:14, Gracie Koeppel (F, 13)
  2. 23:36, Nina Prince (F, 17)
  3. 23:36, Emily Smith (F, 34)
  4. 23:55, Jamiya Steen (F, 17)
  5. 23:56, Tirzah Votaw (F, 17)
  6. 24:25, Kat Sack (F, 27)
  7. 24:40, Maren Prince (F, 15)
  8. 25:12, Lauren Whittier (F, 16)
  9. 25:31, Norah Peters (F, 13)
  10. 25:41, Diamond Cooper (F, 17)

Fifth place in the 5K went to an eighth-grader from Fairview Middle School, Patrick Koon. About 40 minutes after Koon had finished that race in 19:17, he was on the starting line for the Miller Landing Madness 3K, a race he had won in 2017. Even though it was his second race of the morning, Koon headed to the front of the pack early. Jackson Rowe, a Montford Middle School eighth-grader, went with him.

Patrick Koon

"We were running together for the first four-tenths of a mile," said Koon. "At the water pit I went through and he went around and that's where I got ahead of him."


Koon held on to that advantage, winning the race in 10:47. Rowe was second in 11:05. Noah Deem, a seventh-grader at Community Leadership Academy, placed third in 11:11.


"It's not a fast course, but it's a real fun course," said Koon, reflecting on the hills and the water hazard.

Clifton Lewis

Koon had been a sixth grader when he won the Miller Landing Madness 3K for the first time. Clifton Lewis was a sixth grader when she ran the 2019 race, and she won the girls' division for the first time, placing thirteenth overall in 12:10. Sophia Youngberg, a Montford seventh-grader, was runner-up on the girls' side and 21st overall in 12:58. Leah Keller, an eighth-grader at Florida High, took third in the girls' standings and 29th overall in 13:32.


Top Ten Males, 2019 Miller Landing Madness 3K
  1. 10:47, Patrick Koon (M, 13)
  2. 11:05, Jackson Rowe (M, 13)
  3. 11:11, Noah Deem (M, 12)
  4. 11:36, Drayden Reams (M, 14)
  5. 11:44, Keshawn Nelson (M, 22)
  6. 11:45, Enijah Thomas (M, 13)
  7. 11:46, Matthew Wilbourn (M, 13)
  8. 11:46, Randy Manausa (M, 10)
  9. 12:01, Jack Schwenkler (M, 12)
  10. 12:02, Will Winsor (M, 13)

Top Ten Females, 2019 Miller Landing Madness 3K
  1. 12:10, Clifton Lewis (F, 11)
  2. 12:58, Sophia Youngberg (F, 11)
  3. 13:32, Leah Keller (F, 13)
  4. 13:38, Payton Thumm (F, 12)
  5. 13:51, Leah Kiros (F, 13)
  6. 14:00, Liliana Lewis (F, 13)
  7. 14:10, Avamarie Griffiths (F, 12)
  8. 14:14, Madison Sims (F, 12)
  9. 14:17, Cecilia Veliz (F, 11)
  10. 14:22, Maddie Manausa (F, 13)

Nearly 500 athletes crossed the finish line at the 2019 Miller Landings Madness, with 141 in the 8K, 196 in the 5K, and 136 in the 3K. Gulf Winds Track Club chip-timed the races.


Miller Landing Madness Winners, 2004 - 2019
DateRaceMenWomenFinishers
28 August 20048K27:57, Gary Droze34:58, Kate Remillard79
5K16:40, Shawn Patterson20:13, Adriana Piekarwicz170
27 August 20058K27:36, Justin Davis31:02, Sarah Docter-Williams120
5K15:59, Alex Miletich18:58, Lydia Willise235
26 August 20068K29:49, Adam David Churchill33:29, Kati Gosnell103
5K16:06, Christian Minor19:30, Jana Stolting217
3K11:39, Brian Bowden12:47, Summer Shepherd118
25 August 20078K27:42, Seth Proctor32:31, Sheryl Rosen108
5K16:13, Joseph Franklin19:57, Emily Ness194
3K11:58, Sam McManama11:59, Carly Thomas70
30 August 20088K28:57, David Altmaier32:49, Sheryl Rosen76
5K17:12, Austin Stevens18:46, Jana Stolting110
3K11:21, Will Henderson13:14, Autumn Wable73
29 August 20098K28:05, Chris Lake33:03, Sarah Docter-Williams151
5K18:17, Austin Stevens18:17, Jana Stolting243
3K11:26, Chase Harris12:04, Cecelia Williams136
28 August 20108K26:28, Kevin Cook33:29, Sheryl Rosen168
5K17:15, Patrick Swain19:22, Stefanie Kurgatt160
3K11:14, Wil Luca13:30, Madeline Horgan110
27 August 20118K25:54, Kevin Sullivan32:17, Sheryl Rosen236
5K16:59, Jacob Slupecki20:14, Stefanie Kurgatt212
3K11:08, Evan Francis12:59, Cheyenne Hildinger157
25 August 20128K27:50, Vince Molosky36:36, Jane Johnson190
5K16:32, Joseph Garcia19:12, Stefanie Kurgatt258
3K10:57, Jake Mazziotta12:16, Adrianna Dugan148
24 August 20138K26:29, Will Stanford35:11, Katie Showman150
5K16:55, Joseph Garcia19:20, Emily Ness237
3K10:48, James McClure12:20, Chase Merrick135
23 August 20148K28:26, Chris Lake35:26, Brittney Barnes154
5K17:09, Joe Garcia21:13, Caroline Willis172
3K11:33, Jonathan McClure12:34, Alyson Churchill173
22 August 20158K28:45, Roger Schmidt38:07, Jane Skalski126
5K18:16,James McClure20:33, Caroline Willis207
3K11:14, Jonathan McClure11:34, Alyson Churchill205
20 August 20168K31:06, Geb Kiros37:19, Katie Sack160
5K18:03, Jake Mazziotta19:20, Alyson Churchill203
3K11:41, Trenton Blake12:52, Lindsay James171
19 August 20178K29:11, Clayton Carlson35:01, Kat Sack125
5K17:55, Jesse Boyd21:07, Elizabeth Skipper237
3K11:01, Patrick Koon12:43, Paige Churchill212
18 August 20188K33:07, Jim Halley36:04, Katie Sherron127
5K18:00, Jesse Boyd19:57, Sheryl Rosen201
3K10:37, Connor Edwards11:26, Rory Claussen177
17 August 20198K31:21, Pierre Pean33:04, Ann Centner141
5K18:32, Daniel Wiedeman22:14, Gracie Koeppel196
3K10:47, Patrick Koon12:10, Clifton Lewis136
The Miller Landing Madness was preceded in history by the Miccosukee Madness (2004-2007)
and the Tom Brown Bash (1977-2003) races.


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Posted by Herb Wills at 4:40 PM
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