Kambry Smith, Lewis Benitez-Chaparro, St. Augustine, and Leon keep rolling toward State

At its most challenging, cross-country is a sport of barriers. Hills, hedges, fallen trees, fences, and creeks are all barriers that an athlete might encounter during a cross-country race. For a high school cross-country team in Florida, though, there is one last barrier before the State Championship Meet, and that's the Regional. In order to get to State, a team has to place high enough in the Regional Meet to qualify. At the 3A Region 1 Championship Meet on Saturday morning, 2 November 2019, the Saint Augustine girls cleared that hurdle with room to spare, winning the regional title with 40 points. Likewise, the Leon High boys won their race, scoring 48. Fort Walton Beach senior Kambry Smith took first in the girls' 5K, running 18:42.44. In the boys' 5K, Vanguard senior Lewis Benitez-Chaparro edged Pace junior Francisco Ramirez for the win, 16:09.05 to 16:10.00.

Kambry Smith

For Kambry Smith, it was her second post-season win during 2019; nine days earlier she had won the 3A District 1 girls' 5K at Apalachee Regional Park, leading her team to a spot in the Regional Meet. Saint Augustine sophomore Reilly Barber took the runner-up spot behind Barber with a 19:07. Another Saint Augustine harrier, senior Madison Niederriter, was third in 19:14. Ani Veltcheva, a Gainesville sophomore, placed fourth in 19:23.


Saint Augustine had three runners in the top ten--more than any other team--when Elliott Fluman, a senior, finished fifth for the Yellowjackets in 19:25. Juniors Karah McElhone and Illiana Woodruff completed the scoring for Saint Augustine, placing fourteenth in 20:39 and eighteenth in 20:56. With that, the Yellowjackets had 40 points and the first-place team trophy.


Ponte Vedra and Leon each had 100 points. Leon's top runner, junior Avery Calabro (6th, 10:40), finished well ahead of Ponte Vedra's ace, junior Lauren Bing (16th, 20:50). But in high school cross-country, when scores are equal it's the sixth runner that decides the team's place, and Ponte Vedra's sixth runner, senior Sarah McMullin (43rd, 21:44), gave her team the advantage and second place. Leon was third in the eighteen-team field.


The top eight teams qualified for State. Saint Augustine, Ponte Vedra, and Leon each advanced, as did Fort Walton Beach (4th, 149), Choctawhatchee (5th, 170), Matanzas (6th, 180), Wakulla (7th, 237), and Vanguard (8th, 251).


Team Standings, 2019 FHSAA 3A Region 1 Girls' Cross-Country Championships

1. Saint Augustine, 40
2. Ponte Vedra, 100
3. Leon, 100
4. Fort Walton Beach, 149
5. Choctawhatchee, 170
6. Matanzas, 180
7. Wakulla, 237
8. Vanguard, 251
9. Gainesville, 262
10. Gulf Breeze, 271
11. Stanton, 310
12. Lincoln, 326
13. Mainland, 339
14. New Smyrna Beach, 349
15. Pace, 355
16. Seabreeze, 363
17. Columbia, 372
18. Middleburg, 379

Top 15 Girls, 2019 FHSAA 3A Region 1 Cross-Country Championships

1. 18:42.5, Kambry Smith (Fort Walton Beach) 11
2. 19:06.5, Reilly Barber (Saint Augustine) 10
3. 19:13.8, Madison Niederriter (Saint Augustine) 12
4. 19:22.5, Annabella Veltcheva (Gainesville) 10
5. 19:24.3, Elliott Fluman (Saint Augustine) 12
6. 19:39.1, Avery Calabro (Leon) 11
7. 19:54.1, Kathryn Underhill (Mosley) 12
8. 20:05.9, Lily Moore (Leon) 9
9. 20:07.3, Sydney Stelly (Stanton) 12
10. 20:08.7, Lillian Unger (Leon) 11
11. 20:15.0, Kelly Steffens (Matanzas) 12
12. 20:18.1, Chloe Fernander (Choctawhatchee) 10
13. 20:21.2, Deanna Bottino (Choctawhatchee) 10
14. 20:38.5, Karah McElhone (Saint Augustine) 11
15. 20:41.5, Lauren Whittier (Lincoln) 11

Lewis Benitez-Chaparro and Francisco Ramirez had already tangled nine days earlier in the boys' race at the 3A District 1 Meet. That race had gone down to the final 200 meters, when Benitez-Chaparro pulled away with the finish line in sight and grabbed a 16:04 to 16:11 win. It was even closer in Lake City. Vanguard's Benitez-Chaparro crossed the finish line less than a second before his Pace rival, Ramirez. Benitez-Chaparro had beaten Ramirez again, 16:09.05 to 16:10.00, but the two would meet again a week later at the State Meet.

Lewis Benitez-Chaparro and Francisco Ramirez

Behind the duelling Benitez-Chaparro and Ramirez, Leon sophomore Jackson Yarbrough placed third in 16:30. Leon frosh Jacob Rogers took fourth in 16:43, edging out Choctawhatchee junior Darius Johnson (5th, 16:44).


Leon had a third top-ten finisher, senior Assencha Ashebo, who was seventh in 16:50. Leon's remaining two scorers were seniors Bryson Gonzalez (14th, 17:00) and Jackson Roberts (20th, 17:15), giving the Lions 48 points and the Region 1 title--their first since 2014.


Ponte Vedra, led by junior Lucas Bouquot (6th, 16:46), was second among nineteen teams with 108 points. Darius Johnson's Choctawhatchee team was third with 130 points, just a few points better than Gainesville (4th, 135) and Stanton (5th, 136). Also qualifying for State were Fort Walton Beach (6th, 160), Lincoln (7th, 180), and Vanguard (8th, 196).


The State Championship Meet will be in Tallahassee, Florida at Apalacheee Regional Park on Saturday morning, 9 November 2019. Florida's State Championship in High School Cross-Country has been contested 53 times since 1947; the meet has been at Apalachee Regional Park each year since 2012.


Team Standings, 2019 FHSAA 3A Region 1 Boys' Cross-Country Championships

1. Leon, 48
2. Ponte Vedra, 108
3. Choctawhatchee, 130
4. Gainesville, 135
5. Stanton, 136
6. Fort Walton Beach, 160
7. Lincoln, 180
8. Vanguard, 196
9. Saint Augustine, 219
10. Pace, 225
11. Gulf Breeze, 275
12. Matanzas, 284
13. New Smyrna Beach, 320
14. Lecanto, 392
15. Seabreeze, 438
16. Belleview, 440
17. Middleburg, 464
18. Ridgeview, 476
19. Pine Ridge, 541

Top 15 Boys, 2019 FHSAA 3A Region 1 Cross-Country Championships

1. 16:09.1, Lewis Benitez-Chaparro (Vanguard) 12
2. 16:10.0, Francisco Ramirez (Pace) 11
3. 16:29.8, Jackson Yarbrough (Leon) 10
4. 16:42.2, Jacob Rogers (Leon) 9
5. 16:43.8, Darius Johnson (Choctawhatchee) 11
6. 16:45.3, Lucas Bouquot (Ponte Vedra) 11
7. 16:49.7, Assencha Ashebo (Leon) 12
8. 16:55.7, Christopher Russell (Stanton) 11
9. 16:55.8, Cameron Heinz (Ponte Vedra) 12
10. 16:56.1, Dalton Hawley (Matanzas) 12
11. 16:56.5, Cade Seeber (Gulf Breeze) 11
12. 16:56.6, Chase Wilson (Lecanto) 12
13. 16:58.6, Nicholas Samuel (Lincoln) 11
14. 16:59.1, Bryson Gonzalez (Leon) 12
15. 16:59.9, Nicholas Cain (Gainesville) 12

Fifteen years of FHSAA 3A Region 1 Cross-Country Champions, 2005 - 2019
Boys
Date	Team Champs	Individual Champs
5 November 2005	Chiles, 35	15:53, Jonathan Blocker (Chiles) 12
4 November 2006	Chiles, 50	15:40, Eric Larson (Washington) 11
10 November 2007	Leon, 37	15:19, Eric Larson (Washington) 12
15 November 2008	Leon, 26	15:45, Matt Mizereck (Leon) 11
14 November 2009	Leon, 62	15:27, Matt Mizereck (Leon) 12
13 November 2010	Washington, 48	15:26, William Clark (Creekside) 12
12 November 2011	Fort Walton Beach, 90	15:30, Thomas Howell (Niceville) 10
10 November 2012	Fort Walton Beach, 49	15:26, Thomas Howell (Niceville) 11
2 November 2013	Chiles, 78	15:39, Sukhi Khosla (Leon) 11
8 November 2014	Leon, 35	14:53, Sukhi Khosla (Leon) 12
31 October 2015	Creekside, 45	16:07, Matthew Cashin (Leon) 11
29 October 2016	Chiles, 61	15:51, Michael Phillips (Chiles) 11
4 November 2017	Chiles, 45	15:49, Michael Phillips (Chiles) 12
3 November 2018	Chiles, 69	15:43, Connor Phillips (Chiles) 12
2 November 2019	Leon, 48	16:10, Lewis Benitez-Chaparro (Vanguard) 12
Girls
Date	Team Champs	Individual Champs
5 November 2005	Chiles, 47	19:09, Julia Bryant (Chiles) 11
4 November 2006	Chiles, 40	19:11, Julia Bryant (Chiles) 12
10 November 2007	Chiles, 42	19:29, Lauren Day (Crestview) 10
15 November 2008	Chiles, 15	19:02, Carly Thomas (Chiles) 9
14 November 2009	Chiles, 34	18:30, Lilly Williams (Chiles) 10
13 November 2010	Chiles, 45	18:07, Lily Williams (Chiles) 11
12 November 2011	Chiles, 43	17:50, Lilly Williams (Chiles) 12
10 November 2012	Fort Walton Beach, 70	18:33, Susan Givens (Chiles) 12
2 November 2013	Pace, 87	18:45, Emma Rudman (Fort Walton Beach) 10
8 November 2014	Creekside, 40	18:18, Kelly Aponte (Saint Augustine) 11
31 October 2015	Niceville, 63	18:45, Claire Mortiz (Ponte Vedra) 10
29 October 2016	Niceville, 40	17:56, Alyson Churchill (Lincoln) 9
4 November 2017	Chiles, 32	18:08, Ana Wallace (Chiles) 12
3 November 2018	Chiles, 43	17:53, Claire Openshaw (Creekside) 11
2 November 2019	Saint Augustine, 40	18:45, Emily Culley (Chiles) 12
The 3A Region 1 meet was run at Ridgeview High in Orange Park in 2005. The meet was run at the Miccosukee Greenway in Tallahassee in 2006, 2007, and 2008. The meet was run at Sunnyhill Farms near Tallahassee in 2009, 2010, 2012,  and 2014. The meet was run at Alligator Lake in Lake City in 2011, 2013, and 2015. The meet was run at Sante Fe College in Gainesville in 2016. The meet was run at New World Golf in Jacksonville in 2018. The meet was held at The Oaks Equestrian Park in Lake City in 2017 and 2019.

Links

• Complete results of the 2019 FHSAA 3A Region 1 Cross-Country Championship Meet
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQTTTCaRzAPd_MMUGyRZ1R3B1Rq39wm9epbqGI23xska5JyZPr-41Z8aIw6_Wl6SGhLTng_kv1P4gWD/pubhtml
  
  
• Trouble Afoot! coverage of 2019 FHSAA Region 1 cross-country
  
  • 1A: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/11/fhsaa-1a-region-1-2019.html
    
  • 2A: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/11/fhsaa-2a-region-1-2019.html
    
  • 3A: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/11/fhsaa-3a-region-1-2019.html
    
  • 4A: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/11/fhsaa-4a-region-1-2019.html
    
  
  
• 2012 story, “Region 1 cross country, Sunny Hill Farms and the road to State”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/11/fhsaa-regon-1-2012.html
  
  
• 2009 story, “2009 FHSAA Region 1-3A / 2A Cross Country Meet”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2009/11/2009-fhsaa-region-1-3a-2a-cross-country.html
  
  
• Find a cross-country, road, or track race for your schedule on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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