Friday, January 24, 2020

Chris O'Kelley and Jamila Allen are the newest champs on Old Centerville Road

There are runners who feel very proprietary about Old Centerville Road. Some even think they were the first to run on that clay road through the Red Hills. They're wrong. High school athletes were trying out Old Centerville in the 1970s. Before that, there were probably children running after the school buses come to fetch the students from Moccasin Gap. In the 1800s, field hands were trotting alongside wagons taking cotton to market. Old Centerville Road has been around for a long time.

Chris O'Kelley
Chris O'Kelley

Gulf Winds Track Club came to Old Centerville Road in 2006, using it and Sunny Hill Road as the course for their yearly 30K. Chris O'Kelley raced the Gulf Winds Track Club 30K for the first time on Saturday morning, 18 January 2020, winning the 43rd annual race in 1:56:45 and averaging 6:16 for each of the 18.6 miles. Jamila Allen was the first woman in the 30K, placing eighteenth overall in 2:28:05.


The 30K and a concurrent 15K started from Bradley's Pond just after 9:00 AM. O'Kelley led the 30K early, accompanied by master runner Tony Guillen, who was running the 15K. Then they were overtaken by Michael Nesius.

Chris O'Kelley, Tony Guillen, Michael Nesius
Chris O'Kelley, Tony Guillen, and Michael Nesius

"He caught me and Tony at about three miles," said O'Kelley. "Then at the turnaround he was thirty seconds ahead. After the turnaround he started to slow down, and I caught him near twelve miles."


The turnaround was the halfway point in the 30K.

Michael Nesius
Michael Nesius

"I went out in about an hour, and came back in 56 minutes," said O'Kelley. "I was happy to negative split it."


Returning faster than he had gone out, O'Kelly opened a huge gap on Nesius while running a winning 1:56:45. Nesius took second in 2:02:46. David Graf was the first master runner in the 30k, placing third overall in 2:04:31. Thomas Howell took fourth with a 2:06:17.

Jamila Allen
Jamila Allen

In the women's competition, Jamila Allen was not a contender for the lead during the opening miles of the 30K. For the first half of the race, Allen and the rest of the women's field were chasing Jenny Early.


"I was probably fifth early in the race," said Allen. "I was second at the turnaround and then I passed the woman who was leading on the last hill on Sunny Hill Road."

Laura Reina
Laura Reina

Allen and Early crested that hill during the twelfth mile of the race. From there, Allen left Early and the other women behind, returning to Bradley's Pond and the finish line to take the women's title in 2:28:05. Laura Reina was the first woman master and second female finisher, twentieth overall in 2:35:41. Lourena Maxwell, women's champ in the 2019 Gulf Winds Track Club 30K, was the third woman and 21st overall in 2020, running 2:36:59. Jenny Early, after setting the pace for the women's field for more than half of the race, was fourth in the women's standings with a 2:38:52, placing 22nd overall

Lou Maxwell
Lou Maxwell

Top Ten Men, 2020 Gulf Winds Track Club 30K
  1. 1:56:45, Chris O'Kelley (M, 26) Tallahassee, FL
  2. 2:02:46, Michael Nesius (M, 35) Tallahassee, FL
  3. 2:04:31, David Graf (M, 43) Tallahassee, FL
  4. 2:06:17, Thomas Howell (M, 23) Blountstown, FL
  5. 2:07:19, Hong-Guo Yu (M, 51) Tallahassee, FL
  6. 2:08:52, Thomas Parker (M, 37) Tallahassee, FL
  7. 2:09:11, Myles Gibson (M, 53) Donalsonville, GA
  8. 2:16:33, Eric Schulz (M, 27) Tallahassee, FL
  9. 2:18:32, Eric Houge (M, 39) Tallahassee, FL
  10. 2:19:54, Thomas Murphy (M, 50) Tallahassee, FL

Top Ten Women, 2020 Gulf Winds Track Club 30K
  1. 2:28:05, Jamila Allen (F, 30) Tallahassee, FL
  2. 2:35:41, Laura Reina (F, 55) Tallahassee, FL
  3. 2:36:59, Lou Maxwell (F, 45) Tallahassee, FL
  4. 2:38:52, Jenny Early (F, 36) Tallahassee, FL
  5. 2:42:50, Alessandra Mousinho (F, 33) Tallahassee, FL
  6. 2:43:12, Kristin Halley (F, 38) Tallahassee, FL
  7. 2:43:13, Monica Judd (F, 45) Tallahassee, FL
  8. 2:43:36, Cecilia Bouaichi (F, 24) Tallahassee, FL
  9. 2:45:16, Monica Toth (F, 31) Tallahassee, FL
  10. 2:45:41, Samantha Fillmore (F, 43) Tallahassee, FL

Both Chris O'Kelley and Jamila Allen waited till the second half of the 30K to move out front. Caleb Carmichael showed no such patience in the 15K. Almost from the start, Carmichael, the West Florida University cross-country coach, was ahead of everyone in the shorter race. He stayed there, winning the 9.3-mile race in 51:21. Master runner Laura DiBella similarly led the women's field from start to finish, taking the women's title in 63:08 while placing tenth overall.

Caleb Carmichael
Caleb Carmichael

Jackson Yarbrough, the defending champion in the race, placed second to Carmichael in 54:57. Yarbrough is a sophomore on the cross-country team at Leon High. The next four finishers were also Leon harriers, with frosh Jake Rogers third in 55:20, sophomore Leo Kelly fourth in 55:51, senior Joseph Ashebo fifth in 55:53, and senior Bryson Gonzalez sixth in 58:00. Tony Guillen was the fastest master runner in the 15K, placing seventh overall in 60:01.

2020 Gulf Winds Track Club 30K and 15K
Early Leaders

Avery Calabro and Lilli Unger, two other Leon High cross-country runners, raced in the women's division. They ran together for most of the race, but Calabro pulled away just before the finish to edge Unger for second in the women's standings, 64:37 to 64:30. The two placed twelfth and thirteenth overall. Alyssa Terry, who was the women's runner-up in the 2019 race, was the fourth female finisher in 2020, placing fourteenth overall in 64:49. Cairo, Georgia physician Zita Magloire, a former Mississippi State cross-country runner, was the fifth woman and eighteenth overall in 66:53.

Laura DiBella
Laura DiBella

66 athletes finished the 2020 Gulf Winds Track Club 30K, with another 140 completing the 15K. Gulf Winds Track Club chip-timed both races.


Top Ten Men, 2020 Gulf Winds Track Club 15K
  1. 51:21, Caleb Carmichael (M, 35) Pensacola, FL
  2. 54:47, Jackson Yarbrough (M, 16) Tallahassee, FL
  3. 55:20, Jake Rogers (M, 14) Tallahassee, FL
  4. 55:51, Leo Kelly (M, 16) Tallahassee, FL
  5. 55:53, Joseph Ashebo (M, 18) Tallahassee, FL
  6. 58:00, Bryson Gonzalez (M, 18) Tallahassee, FL
  7. 60:01, Tony Guillen (M, 51) Tallahassee, FL
  8. 61:16, Matthew Mizereck (M, 28) Tallahassee, FL
  9. 61:21, Tristan Lanasa (M, 26) Tallahassee, FL
  10. 64:16, Chris Robinson (M, 45) Tallahassee, FL

Top Ten Women, 2020 Gulf Winds Track Club 15K
  1. 63:08, Laura DiBella (F, 41) Tallahassee, FL
  2. 64:37, Avery Calabro (F, 16) Tallahassee, FL
  3. 64:40, Lilli Unger (F, 17) Tallahassee, FL
  4. 64:49, Alyssa Terry (F, 26) Tallahassee, FL
  5. 66:53, Zita Magloire (F, 35) Cairo, GA
  6. 69:00, Ali Kelly (F, 47) Tallahassee, FL
  7. 70:36, Megan Churchill (F, 17) Tallahassee, FL
  8. 73:54, Lily Moore (F, 15) Tallahassee, FL
  9. 74:22, Ruffian Tyner (F, 44) Tallahassee, FL
  10. 74:44, Stella Lewis (F, 15) Tallahassee, FL

Gulf Winds Track Club 30K champions, 1978 - 2020
DatesRaceMenWomenFinishers
18 January 202030K1:56:45, Chris O'Kelley2:28:05, Jamila Allen66
15K51:21, Caleb Carmichael63:08, Laura Dibella140
19 January 201930K1:46:53, Austin Whitelaw2:33:55, Lourena Maxwell59
15K56:27, Jackson Yarbrough60:09, Ann Centner191
20 January 201830K1:43:01, Christopher Haynes2:10:13, Katie Sherron81
15K57:39, Tate Wallenfelsz66:08, Megan Churchill185
14 January 201730K1:46:13, Stan Linton2:15:31, Katie Sherron56
15K54:46, Matthew Cashin65:27, Sheryl Rosen219
16 January 201630K1:54:12, Charlie Johnson2:16:21, Katie Sherron73
15K52:17, Matt Mizereck60:54, Adriana Piekarewicz192
17 January 201530K1:53:19, Nate Kaiser2:22:32, Katie Sherron107
15K50:11, Sukhi Khosla58:37, Sheryl Rosen165
11 January 201430K1:57:29, Vince Molosky2:34:23, Laura McDermott55
15K51:06, Sukhi Khosla61:27, Seeley Gutierrez169
12 January 201330K1:48:22, Stanley Linton2:16:41, Katie Showman150
15K52:57, Sukhi Khosla64:19, Kristin Sweeney200
14 January 201230K1:51:30, Charlie Johnson2:17:38, Katie Showman150
15K53:29, Stanley Linton60:42, Pasca Cheruiyot176
15 January 201130K1:51:48, Vince Molosky2:17:15, Heather Griffis103
15K53:03, Stephen Cox59:55, Lisa Johnson169
16 January 201030K1:56:14, Vince Molosky2:14:22, Sheryl Rosen90
15K51:50, Matt Mizereck63:45, Lisa Johnson101
17 January 200930K1:54:06, Vince Molosky2:11:41, Sheryl Rosen87
15K51:05, Will Stanford61:49, Lisa Johnson96
12 January 200830K2:00:29, Vince Molosky2:17:24, Sheryl Rosen77
15K54:23, Matt Mizereck63:13, Lisa Johnson126
13 January 200730K2:01:23, Justin Dickieson2:04:21, Sheryl Rosen70
15K58:18, Matthew Mizereck73:40, Anna Busby50
21 January 200630K2:03:36, Michael Douma2:09:27, Stephanie Liles65
15K58:51, Chris Holland60:30, Sarah Docter-Williams59
22 January 200530K1:56:18, Art Remillard2:13:50, Jane Johnson38
16 January 200430K1:56:00, Timothy Bolton2:09:27, Jane Johnson69
18 January 200330K2:02:28, Larry Mengelkoch2:07:46, Jane Johnson59
15 December 200130K2:09:43, Tom Ratliffe2:22:56, Carrie Weyant31
3 February 200130K2:00:29, Kevin Porter2:02:27, Jane Johnson43
5 February 200030K1:57:47, Garth Grumme1:53:04, Anne Van Schuppen77
6 February 199930K1:58:17, Doug Gorton2:11:20, Jane Johnson87
10 January 199830K1:57:45, Clarence Calloway2:04:34, Jane Johnson79
7 January 199730K1:54:26, Tracy Burch2:00:28, Jane Johnson
13 January 199630K1:46:14, John Viitanen2:12:30, Eileen Telford50
14 January 199530K1:49:45, Herb Wills2:22:18, Nancy Stuparich50
22 January 199430K1:43:50, Herb Wills2:07:27, Lisa Herman51
16 January 199330K1:43:54, Herb Wills2:12:42, Carrie Hunnicutt60
4 January 199230K1:46:36, Jessie Close2:13:46, Lynda Nilges79
12 January 199130K1:37:31, David Keen2:06:03, Paula Johnson92
13 January 199030K1:43:57, Herb Wills2:12:00, Paula Johnson87
14 January 198930K1:45:31, Jessie Close2:22:07, Mary Jean Yon98
16 January 198830K1:45:24, Tom Burr2:10:04, Mae Cleveland102
10 January 198730K1:44:45, Larry Greene2:11:59, Karen Macharg82
18 January 198630K1:38:54, Herb Wills2:10:48, Missy James92
14 January 198530K1:45:10, Herb Wills2:17:56, Mae Cleveland94
14 January 198430K1:43:32, Noel Shumann2:04:20, Barbara Balzer99
15 January 198330K1:48:18, Andrew Wills2:18:18, Christy Orthman100
16 January 198230K1:44:41, Rick Miller1:56:57, Laura Ledbetter74
198130K

12 January 198030K1:51:19, Steve Ray2:48:31, Robyn Anderson70
3 February 197930K1:42:13, Ken Misner2:12:44, Lynda Heimann124
11 March 197830K1:46:19, Tim Simpkins2:22:31, Donna Glotzbach25
  • In 1978 the race was run on Apalachicola National Forest roads, starting and finishing near
    Hilliardville.
  • From 1979 to 1981 the race was run on Natural Bridge Road.
  • From 1982 to February 2001 the race was run in the Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge.
  • From December 2001 to 2005 the race was run at Natural Bridge.
  • From 2006 to 2019 the GWTC 30K was run on Old Centerville Road and Sunny Hill Road,
    starting and finishing at
    Bradley's Retreat in Felkel.


Links
#2673

No comments:

Post a Comment