Sunday, June 13, 2021

At Cadillac Trail, Dan Wurgler and Clifton Lewis lead the return of the Summer Trail Series

Like most Strava entries, Daniel Wurgler's log for Saturday, 12 June 2021, isn't very exciting. It's a sparse record--"Morning Run, Distance 5.8 mi, Elevation 259 ft, Time 40:23." There's a map that shows that the run skirted the south shore of Lake Lafayette in Tallahassee, going through Tom Brown Park and Lafayette Heritage Park. What the entry doesn't tell you is that Wurgler's run was the opening event in Gulf Winds Track Club's Summer Trail Series, the Cadillace Trail Race, and that Wurgler won in 40:26. Thirteen-year-old Clifton Lewis, a rising eighth-grader, took first in the women's division, placing eighth overalll in 46:21.

Daniel Wurgle
Daniel Wurgler

The race, billed as 5-1/2 miles, started from Tom Brown Park at 8:00 AM. After a couple hundred meters on the paved Goose Pond Trail, the runners turned onto the natural surface of the Cadillac Trail. A rain shower the previous day had settled the sand of the drought-parched trail. Leonardo Canete, a Tallahassee master runner, was the early leader. Canete was coming off a cross-country win a week earlier at Gulf Winds Track Club's Potluck Four Mile. As the leaders made their first trip past the parking lot of Lafayette Heritage Park, a third of the way into the race, Canete was trailed by Michael Nesius, Daniel Wurgler, and three other athletes. Going past the parking lot again on the return trip, the pursuit had melted away except for Wurgler, still within striking distance of Canete.


Wurgler struck. After passing Canete, Wurgler opened a 30-meter lead on the way to the finish line, where he crossed first in 40:26. Canete took second in 40:34, the top master runner in the race. Nesius edged Kyle Kraeft for third, 40:51 to 40:53.

Clifton Lewis
Clifton Lewis

Clifton Lewis set the pace for the women's field, making her first trip past the parking lot of Lafayette Heritage Park six seconds before Amelia Bryant. Although young, Lewis brought quite a bit of experience into the race. She had run four Trail Series races in 2019, including one that took in portions of the Cadillac Trail. More notably, Lewis had taken ninth in the middle school girls' race at the 2020 FLYRA Cross-Country State Championships.


In the 2019 Trail Series, Lewis had always placed among the top ten women and had even taken second in one race, but never first. She changed that at the 2021 Cadillac Trail Race, winning by close to 300 meters in 46:21. Bryant was second in the women's standings with a 47:30, finishing tenth overall in her first Trail Series outing. Hannah Hosay, an alum of the Holy Comforter and Maclay cross-country teams, was the third woman and sixteenth overall in 50:26. In the showdown for first woman master runner, Ruffian Tyner made it over the finish line just ahead of Tsige Tadesse-Kiros, both athletes clocked in 56:05. Tyner and Tadesse-Kiros were the eighth and ninth female finishers, placing 30th and 31st overall.


The 2021 Cadillac Trail Race was the first event in Gulf Winds Track Club's eighth Summer Trail Series. The run was directed by series founder, Bobby York. 107 athletes finished, and Gulf Winds Track Club chip-timed the race.


Top Ten Men, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2021 Cadillac Trail 5½-Mile Trail Race
  1. 40:26, Daniel Wurgler (M, 21)
  2. 40:34, Leonardo Canete (M, 42)
  3. 40:51, Michael Nesius (M, 36)
  4. 40:53, Kyle Kraeft (M, 32)
  5. 42:19, Tristan Lanasa (M, 28)
  6. 42:37, Ryan Kunz (M, 38)
  7. 43:44, Christian Minor (M, 34)
  8. 46:38, Philip Sura (M, 51)
  9. 48:13, Ryan Baumbach (M, 41)
  10. 48:34, Timothy Qualls (M, 42)

Top Ten Women, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2021 Cadillac Trail 5½-Mile Trail Race
  1. 46:21, Clifton Lewis (F, 13)
  2. 47:30, Amelia Bryant (F, 32)
  3. 50:26, Hannah Hosay (F, 19)
  4. 53:22, Tricia Gundersen (F, 30)
  5. 53:27, Averi Lewis (F, 24)
  6. 54:09, Cecilia Bouaichi (F, 25)
  7. 55:50, Martha Guyas (F, 36)
  8. 56:05, Ruffian Tyner (F, 45)
  9. 56:05, Tsige Tadesse-Kiros (F, 53)
  10. 57:21, Brandi Campbell (F, 45)

Gulf Winds Track Club's Summer Trail Series race winners, 2013 - 2021
YearDateRaceTop MaleTop FemaleFinishers
2013June 22Cadillac Trail 5½M37:38, Kevin Sullivan45:07, Stephanie Liles-Weyant121
July 13Swamp Forest Trail 4½M30:19, Kevin Sullivan34:12, Micah Adriani124
July 27Magnolia Trail 3½M21:44, Kevin Sullivan24:45, Stephanie Liles-Weyant114
August 3Red Bug Trail 4½M33:31, Bryce Van Dam43:46, Stephanie Liles-Weyant92
2014June 21Red Bug Trail 4½M38:30, Charn McAllister42:02, Brook Pace114
July 12Swamp Forest Trail 4½M29:06, Charn McAllister33:13, Brook Pace109
July 26Magnolia Trail 3½M26:03, Charn McAllister30:16, Emily Molen108
August 2Cadillac Trail 5½M41:38, Brian Molen48:25, Emily Molen88
2015May 30Cadillac Trail 5½M39:15, Zach Deveau42:51, Alyson Churchill158
June 13Oak Hammock Trail 5M32:59, Zach Deveau35:10, Alyson Churchill129
July 18Coon Bottom Trail 4M28:42, Zach Deveau29:14, Alyson Churchill112
August 1Red Bug Trail 4½M35:14, Greg Bargo35:24, Alyson Churchill112
2016May 21Magnolia Trail 3½M25:18, Dan Baur27:05, Katie Gorman133
June 4Oak Hammock Trail 5½M42:53, Eric Godin45:24, Katie Gorman123
July 9Red Bug Trail 4½M33:14, Dan Baur35:04, Katie Gorman130
July 30Cadillac Trail 5½M43:06, Paul Guyas42:29, Alyson Churchill95
2017June 10Munson Hills 6M36:45, Chris O'Kelley46:34, Emily Molen87
July 1Red Bug Trail 4½M37:34, Chris O'Kelley48:24, Emily Molen90
July 15Oak Hammock/Swamp Forest 5M33:35, Charles Biberg39:36, Kat Sack89
August 5Tom Brown Park 4½M32:40, Chris O'Kelley36:36, Jennifer Bayliss71
2018June 23Munson Hills 6M38:02, Vince Molosky45:10, Emily Molen124
July 7Phipps Park 4M30:49, Jim Schafer33:39, Kat Sack127
July 21Maclay Gardens 5M38:26, Brad Busboom44:39, Kat Sack110
August 4Tom Brown Park 4½M28:39, Brad Busboom32:29, Kat Sack109
2019June 22Red Bug Trail 4½M35:27, Zach DeVeau38:53, Rachel Durbin125
July 6Munson Hills 6M38:24, Zach DeVeau43:56, Rachel Durbin86
July 27Tom Brown Park 5M37:13, Bryan Gensits44:47, Rachel Durbin108
August 24Maclay Gardens 4½M39:00, Zach DeVeau43:00, Rachel Durbin91
2021June 12Cadillac Trail 5½M40:26, Daniel Wurgler46:21, Clifton Lewis107
July 10Swamp Forest Trail 4½M
July 24Magnolia Trail 4½M
August 28Red Bug Trail 4½M


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Posted by Herb Wills at 7:58 PM
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