Friday, October 25, 2019

Leon's teams, Kambry Smith, and Lewis Benitez-Chaparro each leave 3A District 1 as champions

It was a different FHSAA 3A District 1 Cross-Country Championship Meet at Tallahassee, Florida's Apalachee Regional Park on Thursday morning, 24 October 2019. Instead of just the western tip of the Florida Panhandle, the district went all the way from Pensacola in the west to Ocala in the east. In the new, larger District 1, the players had changed--neither Niceville nor Chiles were still in the District, having moved up to class 4A, while Wakulla was a new addition from class 2A. But it was Leon High School, a long-time player in class 3A, which came out of the meet as District champion in both the boys' race and the girls' race. Fort Walton Beach junior Kambry Smith won the girls' 5K in 18:44, while Ocala Vanguard senior Lewis Benitez-Chaparro was first in the boys' race with a 16:04.

Kambry Smith
Kambry Smith

Competition opened under cloudy skies at 8:00 AM with the girls' race. Gainesville sophomore Ani Veltcheva, the runner-up in Florida's 2018 high school cross-country state championship race, led the early charge, but Kambry Smith just off her shoulder. By two kilometers into the race, Smith had taken over the lead, ten meters ahead of Veltcheva. That gap widened to nearly 100 meters by the three-kilometer mark. Unchallenged during the final two kilometers, Smith crossed the line first in 18:44. It was Smith's career-best time at Apalachee Regional Park, the state meet course, and thirteen seconds better than her mark in the Pre-State Invitational at ARPXC twelve days earlier. Behind her, Leon junior Avery Calabro had overtaken Veltcheva, going on to place runner-up in 19:18. Veltcheva finished third in 19:36.


Smith wasn't the only Fort Walton Beach junior in the top ten, Jenson Shonk placed tenth for the Vikings in 20:58. But before Shonk could cross the line, Leon already had scoring performances from Calabro, junior Lillian Unger (5th, 19:59), and frosh Lily Moore (8th, 20:32). Frosh runners Mallory Robinson (25th, 21:51) and Stella Lewis (2:05) capped the Lions score, giving the Leon girls 69 points and the 2019 District title. Fort Walton was a close second with 76 points. Another Okalaoosa County team, Choctawhatchee, took third with 98 points.

Avery Calabro
Avery Calabro

The top ten teams qualified for the Region 1 championship, the second competition in the state championship series. Leon, Fort Walton Beach, and Choctawhatchee advanced, as did Gainesville (4th, 114), Vanguard (5th, 124), Wakulla (6th, 147), Gulf Breeze (7th, 152), Pace (8th, 200), Columbia (9th, 259), and Lincoln (10th, 267). Those teams earned the right to compete at The Oaks Equestrian Center in Lake City, Florida on Saturday, 2 November 2019, in the 3A Region 1 Championship. For the rest of the teams in the race, the 2019 high school cross-country season was over.


Girls' Team Standings, 2019 FHSAA 3A District 1 Cross-Country Championship
  1. Leon, 69 *
  2. Fort Walton Beach, 76 *
  3. Choctawhatchee, 98 *
  4. Gainesville, 114 *
  5. Vanguard, 124 *
  6. Wakulla, 147 *
  7. Gulf Breeze, 152 *
  8. Pace, 200 *
  9. Columbia, 259 *
  10. Lincoln, 267 *
  11. Lecanto, 335
  12. Mosley, 360
  13. Belleview, 363
  14. Washington, 413
  15. Milton, 446
  16. Lake Weir, 493
* Team advances to the 3A Region 1 Championship


Top 15 Girls, 2019 FHSAA 3A District 1 Cross-Country Championship
  1. 18:43.30, Kambry Smith (Fort Walton Beach) 11
  2. 19:17.50, Avery Calabro (Leon) 11
  3. 19:35.30, Annabella Veltcheva (Gainesville) 10
  4. 19:43.30, Kathryn Underhill (Mosley) 12
  5. 19:58.30, Lillian Unger (Leon) 11
  6. 20:10.40, Chloe Fernander (Choctawhatchee) 10
  7. 20:18.40, Deanna Bottino (Choctawhatchee) 10
  8. 20:31.70, Lily Moore (Leon) 9
  9. 20:38.50, Julia Charske (Vanguard) 11
  10. 20:57.30, Jensen Shonk (Fort Walton Beach) 11
  11. 21:03.50, Diamond Cooper (Wakulla) 12
  12. 21:17.70, Susan Ryan (Gainesville) 12
  13. 21:19.40, Elisa Williamson (Gulf Breeze) 10
  14. 21:20.50, Brylie Kilgore (Choctawhatchee) 9
  15. 21:23.10, Lauren Whittier (Lincoln) 11

The five-kilometer course at Apalachee Regional Park is two loops. The loops differ in length, but both take the runners up "the Wall," a steep rise. Choctaw junior Darius Johnson led opening stages of the 3A District 1 boys' race, but after the first trip up the Wall he had fallen into third, trailing Vanguard senior Lewis Benitez-Chaparro and Pace junior Francisco Ramirez. Two Leon runners--sophomore Jackson Yarbrough and frosh Jacob Rogers--were also moving up on Johnson.

Lewis Benitez-Chaparro, Francisco Ramirez
Lewis Benitez-Chaparro & Francisco Ramirez

After the second climb of the Wall, Benitez-Chaparro still had the lead, with Ramirez less than a step behind. The race was still that close with 200 meters to go. On the home stretch, Benitez-Chaparro sprinted away from Ramirez, taking the district title in 16:04. Ramirez was second in 16:11. Yarbrough was third in 16:14 and Rogers fourth in 16:30. Johnson outkicked Gainesville senior Nicholas Cain for fifth, 16:36 to 16:40.


Leon senior Bryson Gonzalez placed tenth in 16:59, making three athletes in the top ten for the Lions. The Lions completed their scoring with senior Assencha Ashebo finishing fourteenth in 17:08 and sophomore Leo Kelly twentieth in 17:15, giving the Leon boys 51 points and first place in the field of twenty teams.

Jackson Yarbrough
Jackson Yarbrough

Nicholas Cain's Gainesville squad placed second with 81 points, joining Leon in qualifying for the Region 1 contest as did Johnson and Choctawhatchee by placing third with 92 points. Lincoln (4th, 134), Vanguard (5th, 138), Fort Walton Beach (6th, 147), Pace (7th, 187), Gulf Breeze (8th, 195), Lecanto (9th, 280), and Belleview (10th, 310) also advanced to the Region 1 championship in Lake City.


The teams in Lake City on 2 November 2019 will be racing for a berth in Florida's 2019 State Cross-Country Championship Meet. The top eight teams in each race will qualify for the State Meet, scheduled for Saturday, 9 November 2019, on the Apalachee Regional Park Championship Cross-Country Course in Tallahassee.


Boys' Team Standings, 2019 FHSAA 3A District 1 Cross-Country Championship
  1. Leon, 51 *
  2. Gainesville, 81 *
  3. Choctawhatchee, 92 *
  4. Lincoln, 134 *
  5. Vanguard, 138 *
  6. Fort Walton Beach, 147 *
  7. Pace, 187 *
  8. Gulf Breeze, 195 *
  9. Lecanto, 280 *
  10. Belleview, 310 *
  11. Wakulla, 312
  12. Columbia, 385
  13. Washington, 386
  14. Milton, 409
  15. Arnold, 426
  16. Mosley, 452
  17. Rickards, 495
  18. Escambia, 522
  19. Pine Forest, 537
  20. Lake Weir, 556
* Team advances to the 3A Region 1 Championship


Top 15 Boys, 2019 FHSAA 3A District 1 Cross-Country Championship
  1. 16:03.60, Lewis Benitez-Chaparro (Vanguard) 12
  2. 16:10.40, Francisco Ramirez (Pace) 11
  3. 16:13.70, Jackson Yarbrough (Leon) 10
  4. 16:29.30, Jacob Rogers (Leon) 9
  5. 16:35.50, Darius Johnson (Choctawhatchee) 11
  6. 16:40.00, Nicholas Cain (Gainesville) 12
  7. 16:41.90, Cade Seeber (Gulf Breeze) 11
  8. 16:55.20, Nicholas Samuel (Lincoln) 11
  9. 16:58.00, Finn Youberg (Gulf Breeze) 11
  10. 16:58.50, Bryson Gonzalez (Leon) 12
  11. 16:59.60, Michael Egorov (Gainesville) 12
  12. 17:02.70, Kaleb Hollins (Choctawhatchee) 9
  13. 17:05.70, Ryan Sloan (Fort Walton Beach) 11
  14. 17:07.10, Assencha Ashebo (Leon) 12
  15. 17:07.60, Benjamin Mock (Gainesville) 12

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Posted by Herb Wills at 5:38 PM
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