Patrick Koon and Shari Brown grab firsts while Ruckel keeps on winning at the FSU Invite

Cross-country times aren't particularly meaningful as a measure of performance, but athletes occasionally obsess over them anyway. Patrick Koon, for instance, spent the 2019 cross-country season chasing a sub-10:00 3K.


"I think I can break 10:00," said Koon in late September, just after the Falcon Invitational. "If I can get down to 9:50, I think I'll be competitive at State."


The Fairview eighth-grader did just that on Friday afternoon, 11 October 2019, just two weeks before the middle school state meet, posting a winning 9:53.1 in the boys' 3K at the Florida State University Invitational, contested on Tallahassee, Florida's Apalachee Regional Park Championship Cross-Country Course. In the girls' 3K, Landmark Christian seventh-grader Shari Brown took first, holding off Lucrezia Gowdy, an Assumption Catholic seventh grader, 11:18.2 to 11:19.9. In the team competition, Ruckel Middle School grabbed first in the girls' race for the third year in a row, then added a third-straight boys' title. In the three-year history of middle school competition at the FSU Invitational, the Ruckel Rams have taken home all six first-place team trophies.

Shari Brown

The afternoon of middle school racing started at 5:00 PM with the girls' 3K. Shari Brown bounded out into the lead, leaving the field behind. Assumption Catholic's Gowdy started off more conservatively, but by the midway point of the race she had moved into second, trailing Brown by just a few steps. But just a few steps was all Brown needed at the finish line, which she reached just ahead of Gowdy, 11:19 to 11:20. Ruckel eighth-grader Lexi Roberts was third in 11:36, just ahead of Rampello seventh-grader Lula Katz (4th, 11:38) and sixth-grader Clifton Lewis (5th, 11:39).

Middle School Girls' 3K at the 2019 FSU Invitational

Roberts was just the first of four Ruckel athletes in the top ten. The other three were seventh-grader Mackenzie Thompson (6th, 11:49), eighth-grader Hailey Holtery (8th, 11:58), and seventh-grader Hannah Hunter (9th, 12:17). They were joined seconds later by seventh-grader Madeleine Toohey (11th, 12:21), giving Ruckel a near-perfect score of eighteen points and their third FSU Invitational win.


Maclay School, led by seventh-grader Gracie Koeppel (7th, 11:52), took second in the team standings with 45 points. Jacksonville Episcopal was third in the eight-team field with 122 points.


Team Standings, 2019 FSU Invitational Middle School Girls' 3K

1. Ruckel, 18
2. Maclay, 45
3. Jacksonville Episcopal, 122
4. Montford, 134
5. Wakulla, 140
6. Valwood, 149
7. Saint Mary Catholic, 151
8. Riversprings, 203

Top Ten Athletes, 2019 FSU Invitational Middle School Girls' 3K

1. 11:18.2, Shari Brown (Landmark Christian) 7
2. 11:19.9, Lucrezia Gowdy (Assumption Catholic) 7
3. 11:35.9, Lexi Roberts (Ruckel) 8
4. 11:38.0, Lula Katz (Rampello) 7
5. 11:38.8, Clifton Lewis (Unattached) 6
6. 11:49.0, Mackenzie Thompson (Ruckel) 7
7. 11:51.6, Gracie Koeppel (Maclay) 8
8. 11:57.9, Hailey Holtery (Ruckel) 8
9. 12:16.1, Hannah Hunter (Ruckel) 7
10. 12:20.0, Ava Duncan (Rampello) 7

The middle school boys' 3K opened with a group of three runners out in front of the rest of the field--Patrick Koon, Ruckel eighth-grader Dawson Isbell, and eighth-grader Alex Buena of GCU Elite. By the mile mark, Koon had broken away, and Montford eighth-grader Jackson Rowe was about to overtake Buena.

Dawson Isbell & Alex Buena & Patrick Koon

Unchallenged during the second half of the race, Koon went on to win by over 160 meters in 9:53.1. Jackson Rowe sprinted ahead of Isbell on the homestretch to take second, 10:27.2 to 10:29.9. Buena was fourth in 10:33.7, and Bay County harrier Nicolas Waddell took fifth in 10:35.1.


Eighth-grader Seamus Hodge placed sixth in 10:41.5, giving Ruckel two runners in the top ten. GCU Elite also had a pair of scorers in the top ten, with eighth-grader Jonah Berry placing 10th in 10:48.9. GCU Elite also got an eleventh-place, 10:49.7 showing from eighth-grader Camden Roberts. But Roberts was followed across the finish line by Ruckel's three remaining scorers--eighth-grader Tobias Siren (12th, 10:55.4), sixth-grader Deacon Avery (13th, 10:55.5), and seventh-grader Nate Meissner (14th, 10:56.0). Ruckel had 44 points and first place among the eleven teams competing at the FSU Invitational. GCU Elite was second with 63 points. Koon's Fairview Falcons were a close third with 67 points.


Koon, like many of the other athletes and teams in the day's middle school races, is aiming for FLYRA's tenth annual Middle School Cross-Country Championship Meet in Lakeland, Florida on 26 October 2019. That's not the case for Shari Brown, but only because she lives in Alabama. Whatever their future aspirations, both Koon and Brown were champions at the 2019 FSU Invitational.


Team Standings, 2019 FSU Invitational Middle School Boys' 3K

1. Ruckel, 44
2. GCU Elite Racing, 63
3. Fairview, 67
4. Holy Comforter Episcopal, 98
5. Maclay, 159
6. Rampello, 174
7. Montford, 195
8. Saint Mary Catholic, 233
9. Seffner Christian, 246
10. Community Leadership, 251
11. Belmont, 284

Top Ten Athletes, 2019 FSU Invitational Middle School Boys' 3K

1.  9:53.1, Patrick Koon (Fairview) 8
2. 10:27.2, Jackson Rowe (Montford) 8
3. 10:29.9, Dawson Isbell (Ruckel) 8
4. 10:33.7, Alex Buena (GCU Elite Racing) 8
5. 10:35.1, Nicolas Waddell (Unattached) 8
6. 10:41.5, Seamus Hodge (Ruckel) 8
7. 10:43.8, Justin Greenwood (Fairview) 8
8. 10:45.4, Will Springer (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 8
9. 10:46.7, Noah Deem (Community Leadership) 7
10. 10:48.9, Jonah Berry (GCU Elite Racing) 8

Florida State University Invitational Cross-Country Meet Middle School winners, 2016 - 2019
Middle School Girls
Date	Winning Teams	Individual Winners
7 October 2016	Ruckel, 26	11:05.40, Lillian Holtery (Ruckel) 8
6 October 2017	Ruckel, 47	11:37.50, Rory Claussen (Shaldera TC) 6
11 October 2019	Ruckel, 18	11:18.2, Shari Brown (Landmark Christian) 7
Middle School Boys
Date	Winning Teams	Individual Winners
7 October 2016	Ruckel, 22 points	11:31.7, Logan Harrelson (Ruckel) 8
6 October 2017	Ruckel, 31	10:13.5, Zachary Bobak (Junior Dragons) 8
11 October 2019	Ruckel, 44	9:53.1, Patrick Koon (Fairview) 8

Links:

• Complete results of the 2019 FSU Invitational Middle School races
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSlD_GAq6Ju6T5nljgDJbQ59Fp7BbgsBd8cB5NIcHe-v9HEaXTVkrmxHPfCRFFVNJHyrPjV6iPGAf8U/pubhtml
  
  
• More "Trouble Afoot!" photos of the 2019 FSU Invitational Middle School races
  
  • Girls:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10114525556714753
    
  • Boys:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10114525673410893
    
  
  
• 2019 Tallahassee Area Cross Country Schedule
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/08/tallahassee-xc-2019.html
  
  
• Apalachee Regional Park's 2019 cross-country schedule
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/08/arpxc-schedule-2019.html
  
  
• The "Trouble Afoot!" racing calendar has your next race in the Tallahassee region
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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