Monday, October 12, 2020

Kyra Swart and Neal Porter quickly christen Killearn's new cross-country course

Monday was an unusual day of the week for a Leon County Schools' middle school cross-country meet, and Killearn Golf and Country Club was an unusual venue for such a competition. Nevertheless, it was business as usual for Deerlake seventh-grader Kyra Swart. Swart, the 2019 LCS girls' cross-country champion, won her fifth LCS race in a row, running 12:10 and leading the Bucks to a mathematically unbeatable score of 24 points and the team title. The Deerlake boys were the first team in their race as well, but the first runner across the finish line in the boys' 3K was a Montford eighth-grader, Neal Porter, who ran 10:49.

Middle School Girls' 3K
Middle School Girls' 3K

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Leon County Schools' 2020 middle school cross-country season almost didn't happen at all. As it was, competition was delayed a month till late September, and many of the parks and schoolyards where the athletes had races in years past were closed. But on the north side of Tallahassee, Florida in the Killearn Estates neighborhood, Killearn Golf and Country Club had nine holes that were no longer in use. Agreements were made, a course was designed, grass was mowed. It wasn't 3000 meters--definitely more than 2800, not quite 2900--but it was a cross-country course. On Monday evening, 5 October 2020, nearly 200 middle school harriers showed up to race on the new venue.


The girls' race inaugurated the course. With 300 meters to go, competition was still close. Kyra Swart was leading going around the last turn, closely shadowed by Deerlake seventh-grader Abbey Griffin and Montford eighth-grader Sophia Youngberg, with Fort Braden eighth-grader Madison Sims not much further back. Then Swart put the hammer down. She opened a gap of more than 20 meters on the homestretch, on her way to crossing the finish line first in 12:10. Griffin held off Youngberg to take second, 12:19 to 12:21, while Sims was fourth in 12:33.

Kyra Swart
Kyra Swart

Deerlake had four more runners in the top ten--sixth-grader Kaia Ables was fifth in 12:36, seventh-grader London Mellen seventh in 12:46, sixth-grader Myra Holman ninth in 13:06, and seventh-grader Charlotte Reynolds tenth in 13:08. With most of the field still out on the course, the Deerlake girls had put up a total of 24 points, clinching first. Montford, led by Youngberg, was second with 55 points. Swift Creek took third among the six teams entered with 100 points; their top runner was eighth-grader Gianna Guillermo, sixth in 12:40.


Girls' Team Standings, 2020 Killearn Invitational
  1. Deerlake, 24
  2. Montford, 55
  3. Swift Creek, 100
  4. Raa, 103
  5. Cobb, 127
  6. Fort Braden, 134

Top Ten Girls, 2020 Killearn Invitational
  1. 12:09.51, Kyra Swart (Deerlake) 7
  2. 12:18.33, Abbey Griffin (Deerlake) 7
  3. 12:20.55, Sophia Youngberg (Montford) 8
  4. 12:32.14, Madison Sims (Fort Braden) 8
  5. 12:35.37, Kaia Ables (Deerlake) 6
  6. 12:39.96, Gianna Guillermo (Swift Creek) 8
  7. 12:45.11, London Mellen (Deerlake) 7
  8. 12:47.55, Cecilia Veliz (Raa) 7
  9. 13:05.20, Myra Holman (Deerlake) 6
  10. 13:07.32, Charlotte Reynolds (Deerlake) 7

With half a kilometer to go in the boys' 3K, Montford's Neal Porter was leading the race, running 40 meters ahead of a chase group that included eighth-graders Danny Mauldin of Deerlake and Asher Robertson of Swift Creek, sixth-grader Celestine Rwamptie of Nims, seventh-grader Asa Swope of Swift Creek, and sixth-grader Jonathan Kiros of Deerlake. By the homestretch, Mauldin had burst out of the pack and was closing on Porter. But Porter held on and beat Mauldin to the finish line 10:49 to 10:51. Robertson and Swope took third and fourth, running 11:05 and 11:09. Kiros was fifth in 11:15 and Rwamptie sixth in 11:26.

Middle School Boys' 3K
Middle School Boys' 3K

Mauldin and Kiros were joined in the top ten by another Deerlake scorer, eighth-grader Logan Peltier, who placed seventh in 11:21. Eighth-grader Matt Morales (11th, 11:46) and sixth-grader Sawyer McNeely (13th, 11:57) also scored for the Bucks, giving Deerlake 38 points and first place among the eight teams in the meet.

Swift Creek, led by Robertson, was second with 56 points. Montford was third with 73 points behind the winning performance of Neal Porter.

Neal Porter
Neal Porter

Next up in Leon County Schools' middle school cross-country season is the eighth annual Mustang Stampede at Montford Middle School on Wednesday, 14 October 2020. The season continues with the Falcon Invitational at the FSU Recreation SportsPlex on Friday, 23 October 2020, and concludes with the LCS League Championship Meet at Apalachee Regional Park on Wednesday, 28 October 2020.


Brian Corbin timed and scored the 2020 Killearn Invitational.


Boys' Team Standings, 2020 Killearn Invitational
  1. Deerlake, 38
  2. Swift Creek, 56
  3. Montford, 73
  4. Fairview, 106
  5. Nims, 144
  6. Raa, 147
  7. Cobb, 174
  8. Fort Braden, 233

Top Ten Boys, 2020 Killearn Invitational
  1. 10:48.38, Neal Porter (Montford) 8
  2. 10:50.08, Danny Mauldin (Deerlake) 8
  3. 11:04.72, Asher Robertson (Swift Creek) 8
  4. 11:08.09, Asa Swope (Swift Creek) 7
  5. 11:15.00, Jonathan Kiros (Deerlake) 6
  6. 11:25.94, Celestine Rwamptie (Nims) 6
  7. 11:26.81, Logan Peltier (Deerlake) 8
  8. 11:29.29, Cadden Maxwell (Raa) 8
  9. 11:37.46, Xalimon Akbar (Fairview) 8
  10. 11:42.92, Julian Thompson (Raa) 8

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Posted by Herb Wills at 6:19 PM
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