Abbey Griffin and Neal Porter fly right at the Falcon Invitational

Friday, 23 October 2020, was a day of close finishes at the third annual Falcon Invitational. At Florida State University' Rec SportsPlex that afternoon, both races were decided by less than a single second. Deerlake seventh-grader Abbey Griffin finished inches ahead of Montford eighth-grader Sophia Youngberg in the girls' 3K, winning 12:29.07 to 12:29.53. Neal Porter outkicked Danny Mauldin for the win in the boys' 3K, the Montford eighth-grader running 11:21.44 to the Deerlake eighth-grader's 11:22.19. The team competition was also tight, with the Montford girls scoring a winning 30 to Deerlake's 32, and the Deerlake boys put up 63 points to take first over Montford (65) and Fairview (67).

Sophia Youngberg and Abbey Griffin

The FSU Rec SportsPlex, on the west side of Tallahassee, was a new venue for the LCS middle school cross-country circuit--the third time this season that the athletes had raced on a new course. It was in fact only the second time that anyone had raced at the site--the first time had been less than two weeks earlier, when Godby High hosted the Mabry Manor Invitational at the SportsPlex. The location may have been novel, but the girls' 3K race started out in a familiar fashion--with Deerlake seventh-grader Kyra Swart setting the pace. Swart had entered the race with a six-race winning streak in LCS competition going back to the 2019 season.


The streak ended. After leading through the first kilometer, Swart stumbled and fell during the second kilometer. The race was now between Abbey Griffin and Sophia Youngberg. Griffin and Youngberg fought for first during the third and final kilometer, leaving the rest of the field far behind. The fight continued down the homestretch and all the way to the finish line, where it was Griffin over Youngberg by less than half a second. Two more Deerlake athletes battled for third, with seventh-grader London Mellen edging sixth-grader Kaia Ables 12:58 to 12:59.


Mellen and Ables gave Deerlake three girls in the top ten, but Montford put all five of their scorers in the top ten. After Youngberg finished runner-up for the Mustangs, sixth-grader Adriena Vilardo was fifth in 13:02, sixth-grader Savannah Stanley was seventh in 13:29, sixth-grader Haley Heitmeyer was ninth in 13:39, and eighth-grader Ava Hill was tenth in 13:40. Montford had 30 points and their first win of the season, ending the Deerlake girls' winning streak at four meets.


Deerlake was a very close second with 32 points. Raa took third with 86 points. The first Raa finisher was seventh-grader Cecilia Veliz, eighth in 13:36.


2020 Falcon Invitational Girls' Team Scores

1. Montford, 30
2. Deerlake, 32
3. Raa, 86
4. Cobb, 110
5. Fort Braden, 130
6. Swift Creek, NTS
   Nims, NTS
   Fairview, NTS
   Woodville, NTS
   Griffin, NTS

Top Ten, 2020 Falcon Invitational Girls' 3K

1. 12:29.07, Abbey Griffin (Deerlake) 7
2. 12:29.53, Sophia Youngberg (Montford) 8
3. 12:57.84, London Mellen (Deerlake) 7
4. 12:58.83, Kaia Ables (Deerlake) 6
5. 13:01.89, Adriena Vilardo (Montford) 6
6. 13:22.34, Gianna Guillermo (Swift Creek) 8
7. 13:28.31, Savannah Stanley (Montford) 6
8. 13:35.74, Cecilia Veliz (Raa) 7
9. 13:38.44, Haley Heitmeyer (Montford) 6
10. 13:39.20, Ava Hill (Montford) 8

Only Griffin and Youngberg had been in contention during the final kilometer of the girls' race. With a kilometer to go in the boys' 3K, four runners were still in the hunt for first. Montford's Neal Porter led, with three runners close behind--Deerlake eighth-grader Danny Mauldin, Swift Creek seventh-grader Asa Swope, and Fairview eighth-grader Xalimon Akbar.

Neal Porter

Over the final kilometer Swope and Akbar fell back, but Mauldin moved up to challenge Porter, setting up a finish reminicent of the Killearn Invitational earlier in the season. The outcome was the same--Porter narrowly beat Mauldin to the finish line to take first. Swope was third in 11:34. Akbar held off a late charge by Deerlake sixth-grader Jonathan Kiros to take fourth, 11:42 to 11:43.


Deerlake eighth-grader Logan Peltier was ninth in 12:17, making it three Bucks in the top ten. eighth-graders Trevor Lord (20th, 12:52) and Josh Ryland de Kloet (27th, 13:07) finished the scoring for Deerlake, giving the Bucks 63 points and their fourth win in four outings this season.


Porter and the Montford Mustangs were second with 65. Led by Akbar, Fairview had their best showing of the 2020 season, placing third with 67 points.


Leon County Schools' 2020 middle school cross-country season concludes on Wednesday, 28 October 2020, with the LCS Championship Meet at Apalachee Regional Park. On the girls' side, the defending champs from 2019 are the Deerlake bucks. Fairview won the boys' title in 2019.


2020 Falcon Invitational Boys' Team Scores

1. Deerlake, 63
2. Montford, 65
3. Fairview, 67
4. Swift Creek, 81
5. Nims, 130
6. Raa, 134
7. Cobb, 206
8. Fort Braden, 235
9. Woodville, 256
10. Griffin, NTS

Top Ten, 2020 Falcon Invitational Boys' 3K

1. 11:21.44, Neal Porter (Montford) 8
2. 11:22.19, Danny Mauldin (Deerlake) 8
3. 11:33.85, Asa Swope (Swift Creek) 7
4. 11:41.59, Xalimon Akbar (Fairview) 8
5. 11:42.59, Jonathan Kiros (Deerlake) 6
6. 11:52.95, Julian Thompson (Raa) 8
7. 12:01.90, Cadden Maxwell (Raa) 8
8. 12:10.28, Celestine Rwamptie (Nims) 6
9. 12:16.12, Logan Peltier (Deerlake) 8
10. 12:16.86, Kylen Welch (Nims) 8

Falcon Invitational Champions 2018 - 2020
Girls
Date	Team Champ	Individual Champ
27 September 2018	Swift Creek, 34	11:27.82, Maya Tang (Deerlake) 8
26 September 2019	Swift Creek, 44	12:30.55, Kyra Swart (Deerlake) 6
23 October 2020	Montford, 30	12:29.07, Abbey Griffin (Deerlake) 7
Boys
Date	Team Champ	Individual Champ
27 September 2018	Deerlake, 35	9:49.60, Wyatt Townsend (Deerlake) 8
26 September 2019	Fairview, 30	10:10.03, Patrick Koon (Fairview) 8
23 October 2020	Deerlake, 63	11:21.44, Neal Porter (Montford) 8
The Falcon Invitational was in Phipps Park in 2018 and 2019, and at the FSU Rec SportsPlex in 2020.

Links

• Complete results of the 2020 Falcon Invitational Middle School Cross-Country Meet via Brian Corbin
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRoi2qGGvA3x3ocZBUGxwx82iulvynRc68kWod4CnFFeflfb6XNTYOB8G2bALzGF9YtEUuiyzhZ4Fd2/pubhtml
  
  
• More photos of the 2020 Falcon Invitational Middle School Cross-Country Meet
  
  • Girls: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10118412999433383
  • Boys: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10118413662280033
  
  
• The 2020 LCS middle school cross-country season
  • Swift Creek Kick Off: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2020/10/swift-creek-2020.html
  • Killearn Invitational: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2020/10/killearn-2020.html
  • Mustang Stampede: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2020/10/mustang-2020.html
  • Falcon Invitational: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2020/10/falcon-2020.html
  • LCS Championship: [ Coming on 28 October 2020 ]
  
  
• Leon County Schools' 2020 middle school cross country schedule
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2020/10/lcs-xc-2020.html
  
  
• 2019 story, “Kyra Swart and Patrick Koon soar at the Falcon Invitational”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/09/falcon-2019.html
  
  
• 2018 story, “Tang and Townsend fly to victory at the Falcon Invitational”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/09/falcon-2018.html
  
  
• Tallahassee area cross country meets in 2020
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2020/09/tallahassee-xc-2020.html
  
  
• Find your next road race or cross-country run in the Tallahassee region
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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