Caitlin Wilkey and Junious Brown rule the Red Hills Invitational

In 2017, Chiles High School hosted the first Red Hills Invitational Cross-Country Meet at Tallahassee, Florida's Phipps Park. There were three teams in the high school girls' race. Chiles won.


At the second annual Red Hills Invitational, there were five teams in the girls' race. Chiles won.


At the third annual Red Hills Invitational, on Saturday morning, 14 September 2019, there were eleven teams in the girls' race. Chiles won. Chiles senior Caitlin Wilkey was first in 19:29.


I'd say that history keeps repeating itself, but altho' Chiles had also won the boys' race in 2017 and 2018, Leon put an end to that in 2019, placing first in a field of 13 teams. Maclay senior Junious Brown won individual honors, finishing more than 200 meters ahead of the next runner in 15:55.

Caitlin Wilkey

The girls' 5000-meter race was first on the agenda, scheduled for an 8:00 AM start. Finishing more than 100 meters ahead of the next runner, Caitlin Wilkey got the win, her third in three weeks. Thus far undefeated in cross-country during 2019, Wilkey also took first at the Big Bend Invitational and the George Whitmire Classic. Leon High runners took the next two places, with Lion junior Avery Calabro second in 19:54 and Lion junior Lilli Unger third in 20:22.


But in addition to Wilkey, Chiles had three more runners in the top ten--senior Emily Molen took sixth for the Timberwolves in 20:39, sophomore Kelly Davis was ninth in 21:19, and senior Megan Churchill was tenth in 21:19. sophomore Kendall Meyer finished the scoring for the Chiles girls, placing fourteenth in 21:49. That gave the Timberwolf team 40 points and their third straight Red Hills title. Leon took second with 52 points. South Walton, led by the fifth-place, 20:34 finish of junior Patasha Bryan, was third with 83 points.


Girls' Team Standings, 2019 Red Hills Cross-Country Invitational

1. Chiles, 40
2. Leon, 52
3. South Walton, 83
4. Wakulla, 117
5. Lowndes, 146
6. Community Christian, 147
7. Maclay, 163
8. Valdosta, 236
9. Aucilla Christian, 258
10. Jefferson County, 274
11. Florida State, 302

Top Ten Girls, 2019 Red Hills Cross-Country Invitational

1. 19:29.00, Caitlin Wilkey (Chiles) 12
2. 19:53.40, Avery Calabro (Leon) 11
3. 20:21.90, Lillian Unger (Leon) 11
4. 20:30.10, Gracie Koeppel (Maclay) 8
5. 20:33.20, Patasha Bryan (South Walton) 11
6. 20:38.70, Emily Molen (Chiles) 12
7. 21:07.30, Lily Moore (Leon) 9
8. 21:13.50, Ava Flaherty (South Walton) 9
9. 21:18.50, Kelly Davis (Chiles) 10
10. 21:19.00, Megan Churchill (Chiles) 12

Tallahassee's 2019 high school cross-country season had opened at Phipps Park on 24 August 2019 with the Dueling Summits Invitational. Junious Brown hadn't been at that meet, but the Maclay senior was in Phipps Park for the Red Hills Invitational. You couldn't miss him. Brown was the guy crossing the finish line first in the boys' 5K with a 200-meter lead. Leon sophomore Jackson Yarbrough took second behind Brown in 16:41. Lowndes junior Alec Munger edged Leon frosh Jake Rogers for third, 16:50 to 16:53.

Junious Brown

Chiles put four runners in the top ten--junior Nathan Reffitt (6th, 17:04), sophomore Ben Kirbo (7th, 17:05), senior Hawthorne Hay (8th, 17:10), and frosh Wyatt Townsend (9th, 17:18). But while the Timberwolves were waiting for their fifth scorer, the Leon Lions answered with senior Bryce Bass (10th, 17:20), sophomore Leo Kelly (11th, 17:24), and seniors Jackson Roberts (12th, 17:25) and Bryson Gonzalez (13th, 17:29). With that, Leon had 39 points and the team title. The Chiles boys were a close second with 44 points, and Lowndes was third with 92.


Boys' Team Standings, 2019 Red Hills Cross-Country Invitational

1. Leon, 39
2. Chiles, 44
3. Lowndes, 92
4. Maclay, 118
5. Wakulla, 185
6. Community Christian, 212
7. Florida State, 230
8. Aucilla Christian, 235
9. South Walton, 252
10. North Florida Christian, 287
11. Rickards, 289
12. St. John Paul II Catholic, 313
13. Valdosta, 313
14. Jefferson County, 353

Top Ten Boys, 2019 Red Hills Cross-Country Invitational

1. 15:54.90, Junious Brown IV (Maclay) 12
2. 16:40.90, Jackson Yarbrough (Leon) 10
3. 16:49.60, Alec Munger (Lowndes) 11
4. 16:52.50, Jake Rogers (Leon) 9
5. 17:01.00, David Andrew Keen (North Florida Christian) 12
6. 17:03.10, Nathan Reffitt (Chiles) 11
7. 17:04.90, Ben Kirbo (Chiles) 10
8. 17:09.30, Hawthorne Hay (Chiles) 12
9. 17:17.70, Wyatt Townsend (Chiles) 9
10. 17:19.10, Bryce Bass (Leon) 12

Red Hills Invitational winners, 2017 - 2019
Girls
Date	Team Champ	Individual Champ
14 October 2017	Chiles, 17	19:00.89, Ana Wallace (Chiles) 12
15 September 2018	Chiles, 23	19:23.31, Abby Schrobilgen (Chiles) 12
14 September 2019	Chiles, 40	19:29.00, Caitlin Wilkey (Chiles) 12
Boys
Date	Team Champ	Individual Champ
14 October 2017	Chiles, 16	16:17.99, Matthew Newland (Chiles) 12
15 September 2018	Chiles, 21	16:58.79, Connor Phillips (Chiles) 12
14 September 2019	Leon, 39	15:54.90, Junious Brown IV (Maclay) 12

Links

• Complete results of the 2019 Red Hills Cross-Country Invitational
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRDrzRmwseJthCXhZ3vJSRz9s6kxPbBFw-mNzb_gcImBjM2YZwYqwFEN4qfdvSPbfxo14eXmutgLvhm/pubhtml
  
  
• 2018 story, “Abby Schrobilgen and Connor Phillips make it all about Chiles at the Red Hills Invitational”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/09/red-hills-xc-2018.html
  
  
• 2017 story, “Wallace and Newland lead the Chiles charge at the Red Hills Cross-Country Invitational”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/10/red-hills-xc-2017.html
  
  
• Tallahassee's 2018 Cross-Country Schedule
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/07/tallahassee-xc-2018.html
  
  
• Upcoming races in the Tallahassee region on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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