Lillian Holtery and Niceville, Nathan Reffitt and Chiles claim 4A District 1 cross-country crowns

Lillian Holtery raced a 19:03 5K on a 5K cross-country course at Twin Oaks Park in Niceville, Florida, winning the FHSAA 4A District 1 girls' cross-country championship on 30 October 2020. The Niceville High senior's performance led her school to first place in the team standings with a mathematically unbeatable score of nineteen points. Chiles High was similarly dominant in the boys' race, scoring a winning seventeen points behind senior Nathan Reffitt and sophomore Wyatt Townsend, who went one-two in 16:47 and 16:48.

Nathan Reffitt

2019 was Chiles High's first cross-country season in class 4A. The Timberwolf girls had marked that debut by winning the District 1 title. Lillian Holtery had been in that 2019 race, placing eighth behind three Chiles girls. That was history. In 2020 Holtery showed no respect for history, placing first in 19:03 and finishing nearly 200 meters ahead of the next runner. Chiles junior Kelly Davis took second, running 19:37. The next six places belonged to Niceville, though, with frosh Lauryn Cooper third in 20:42, junior Erika Bobek fourth in 20:44, senior Paige Kelly fifth in 20:46, sophomore Riley Johnston sixth in 20:47, frosh Victoria Roberts seventh in 21:04, and frosh Hailey Holtery eighth in 21:04. With only Davis keeping the Eagles from a perfect score, Niceville scored nineteen points, claiming the District title.


Chiles, the defending champions, took second with 45 points. Crestview placed third with 85 points, led by the fourteenth place, 21:58 performance of their sophomore, Aidan Beaty. The top three teams qualified to advance to the Region 1 Meet, scheduled for Saturday, 7 November 2020, at Alligator Lake Park in Lake City, Florida.


Girls' Team Standings, 2020 FHSAA 4A District 1 Cross-Country Championship

1. Niceville, 19 *
2. Chiles, 45 *
3. Crestview, 85 *
4. Tate, 99

* Team advances to the 4A Region 1 Championship


Top 10 Girls, 2020 FHSAA 4A District 1 Cross-Country Championship

1. 19:02.80, Lillian Holtery (Niceville) 12
2. 19:36.30, Kelly Davis (Chiles) 11
3. 20:42.00, Lauryn Cooper (Niceville) 9
4. 20:43.30, Erika Bobek (Niceville) 11
5. 20:45.30, Paige Kelly (Niceville) 12
6. 20:47.00, Riley Johnston (Niceville) 10
7. 21:03.30, Victoria Roberts (Niceville) 9
8. 21:03.80, Hailey Holtery (Niceville) 9
9. 21:30.10, Raina Crawford (Chiles) 11
10. 21:30.40, Elizabeth Segars (Niceville) 12

The Chiles boys had placed sixth at the District Meet in 2019, their first year in class 4A. The Timberwolves were determined to improve on that in 2020. The boys from Bradfordville started off by taking the first four places in their District race, starting with Nathan Reffitt and Wyatt Townsend. The two finished less than a second apart, with Reffitt first in 16:47.0 and Townsend second in 16:47.2. Juniors Filippo Aldrovandi Reina and Ben Kirbo were next across the finish line for Chiles, third in 16:59 and fourth in 17:00. Goaded by Timberwolf frosh Jackson Rowe, senior Jackson Sytsma was Chiles fifth scorer, seventh in 17:31 while Rowe was eighth in 17:31. The Chiles boys had nineteen points and their first District title in class 4A.


Scoring 51 points behind frosh Dawson Isbell (6th, 17:22), Niceville was second with 51 points. Crestview took third with 88 points. Crestview frosh Alexander Buena (10th, 17:36) was his team's first runner. As in the girls' race, the top three teams qualified for the 4A Region 1 Meet.


Boys' Team Standings, 2020 FHSAA 4A District 1 Cross-Country Championship

1. Chiles, 17 *
2. Niceville, 51 *
3. Crestview, 88 *
4. Tate, 94

* Team advances to the 4A Region 1 Championship


Top 10 Boys, 2020 FHSAA 4A District 1 Cross-Country Championship

1. 16:47.00, Nathan Reffitt (Chiles) 12
2. 16:47.20, Wyatt Townsend (Chiles) 10
3. 16:58.60, Filippo Aldrovandi Reina (Chiles) 11
4. 16:59.70, Ben Kirbo (Chiles) 11
5. 17:18.10, Brandon Knieja (Tate) 12
6. 17:22.00, Dawson Isbell (Niceville) 9
7. 17:30.30, Jackson Sytsma (Chiles) 12
8. 17:31.00, Jackson Rowe (Chiles) 9
9. 17:33.10, Seamus Hodge (Niceville) 9
10. 17:35.40, Alexander Buena (Crestview) 9

Links

• Complete results of the 2020 FHSAA 4A District 1 Cross-Country Championship Meet
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQ4rxiNTsnmE-WpsDwXj0opIUdta8wfjoEMkA-VM8XDO19Y-RN_RfFwtKvKT_YTbpzqNpscuodGOykt/pubhtml
  
  
• 2019 story, “New classifications, new District titles for Chiles, Bartram Trail, Caitlin Wilkey, and Bradley Ball”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/10/fhsaa-4a-district-1-2019.html
  
  
• 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
    
  
  
• 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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