Grace Koeppel and Leo Rutledge lead a Maclay sweep of 1A District 4

For some athletes in North Florida, the high school cross-country state championship series opened in Lake City on Thursday, 29 October 2020 with the 1A District 4 Meet. Maclay swept the team titles in that opening round competition at Alligator Lake Park, the girls scoring a winning 19 points and the boys nabbing first in their race with 18 points. Maclay frosh Gracie Koeppel was first in the girls' 5K with a 20:50. In the boys' 5K, Maclay senior Leo Rutledge edged Maclay junior Jackson Yarbrough for the win, 17:24 to 17:25.

Grace Koeppel

Morgan Wilson, a Community Christian junior, was second in 21:11. As it turned out, Wilson was the only barrier between Maclay and a perfect score, because the next four places were Maclay's remaining scorers--seventh-grader Lillian Koeppel was third in 22:24, frosh Natalie Hammett was fourth in 22:29, seventh-grader Nishi Bhanderi was fifth in 22:57, and eighth-grader Payton Thumm was sixth in 22:58. After that wave of blue-clad runners, Maclay had nineteen points and the 2020 1A District 4 girls' cross-country title.


Led by Wilson, Community Christian was second in the team standings with 50 points. Saint Joseph scored 71 points to take third; the top runner on the Saint Augustine school's team was sophomore Ana Whitehouse, seventh in 23:26. Aucilla Christian was fourth with 110 points, led by their top sophomore, Samantha Drawdy (18th, 25:15).


Maclay, Community Christian, and Saint Joseph qualified for the next round in the state championship series, the 1A Region 1 Championship Meet at New World Golf in Jacksonville, Florida on Friday morning, 6 November 2020.


Girls' Team Standings, FHSAA 1A District 4 Cross-Country Meet

1. Maclay, 19 *
2. Community Christian, 50 *
3. Saint Joseph, 71 *
4. Aucilla Christian, 110

* Team advances to the 1A Region 1 Championship


Top Ten Girls, FHSAA 1A District 4 Cross-Country Meet

1. 20:49.22, Gracie Koeppel (Maclay) 9
2. 21:10.54, Morgan Wilson (Community Christian) 11
3. 22:23.81, Lillian Koeppel (Maclay) 7
4. 22:28.26, Natalie Hammett (Maclay) 9
5. 22:56.06, Nishi Bhanderi (Maclay) 7
6. 22:57.54, Payton Thumm (Maclay) 8
7. 23:25.02, Ana Whitehouse (Saint Joseph) 10
8. 23:28.96, Sarah Tychsen (Community Christian) 9
9. 23:48.33, Jane-Kathry Whittington (Maclay) 12
10. 24:10.29, Olivia Bishop (Maclay) 9

In the girls' race, only Community Christian's Morgan Wilson prevented Maclay from having a perfect score. Similarly, in the boys' race only one runner came between Maclay and a perfect score. After Maclay's Leo Rutledge (1st, 17:24) and Jackson Yarbrough (2nd, 17:25) had taken the first two places for the Marauders, Saint Joseph sophomore Victor Farfan grabbed third with a 17:55.

Leo Rutledge

But Farfan was followed by a lot of runners in Maclay blue. Marauder sophomore Clayton Knox was fourth in 18:05, Marauder sophomore Carter Rothell was fifth in 19:01, and Marauder junior Lawrence Bishop placed sixth in 19:13. That gave the Maclay boys eighteen points and the win.


Victor Farfan and Saint Joseph put up 69 points and grabbed the runner-up spot in 1A District 4. Community Christian, led by senior Nicholas Ciarlariello (8th, 19:26), scored 80 points for third.


Maclay, Saint Joseph, and Community Christian each advanced to the 1A Region 1 meet.


Boys' Team Standings, FHSAA 1A District 4 Cross-Country Meet

1. Maclay, 18 *
2. Saint Joseph, 69 *
3. Community Christian, 80 *
4. Aucilla Christian, 85
5. Saint John Paul II, 144
6. Wakulla Christian, 171

* Team advances to the 1A Region 1 Championship


Top Ten Boys, FHSAA 1A District 4 Cross-Country Meet

1. 17:23.42, Leo Rutledge (Maclay) 12
2. 17:24.18, Jackson Yarbrough (Maclay) 11
3. 17:54.40, Victor Farfan (Saint Joseph) 10
4. 18:04.20, Clayton Knox (Maclay) 10
5. 19:00.49, Carter Rothell (Maclay) 10
6. 19:12.59, Lawrence Bishop (Maclay) 11
7. 19:18.27, Wyatt Stafford (Aucilla Christian) 12
8. 19:25.15, Nicholas Ciarlariello (Community Christian) 12
9. 19:25.64, Ashton Akam (Saint Joseph) 9
10. 19:27.57, Sean-Patrick McCann (Maclay) 12

Links

• Complete results of the 2020 FHSAA 1A District 4 Cross-Country Championship Meet
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vS-Z7u5FSv0xK03KrBfi52cPeH136opk8m3OMOUWaH9kSEUq2eyaKf-stAMokojdQN3dRM1O_6bEFpE/pubhtml
  
  
• Trouble Afoot! coverage of the 2020 FHSAA District Cross-Country Championships
  • 4A District 1: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2020/10/fhsaa-4a-district-1-2020.html
    
  • 3A District 2: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2020/11/fhsaa-3a-district-2-2020.html
    
  • 1A District 4: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2020/10/fhsaa-1a-district-4-2020.html
  
  
• Find your next race--road, track, or trail--on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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