Sunday, July 25, 2021

Jonathan Stern and Clifton Lewis pluck wins at Maclay Gardens

On Saturday morning, 24 July 2021, Jonathan Stern was in a hurry. He was in a hurry to get into the lead of the Maclay Gardens Trail Race. He was in a hurry to finish the nine-kilometer course through the Overstreet Tract of Maclay Gardens State Park, north of Tallahassee, Florida. But when he had finished, Stern had won the third race in Gulf Winds Track Club's Summer Trail Race Series, running 37:48. Thirteen-year-old Clifton Lewis was first in the women's division, placing eighth overall in 44:06.

Jonathan Stern
Jonathan Stern

It had been a dry year in Tallahassee. On the morning of the race, there was no water at all in the creek that carried overflow from Lake Overstreet. Nevertheless, there had been enough recent rain that the air was heavy with humidity, typical of July in Florida's Big Bend. The grass was dew-covered, and the ground itself was moist. Those were the conditions when the race got started, just a few minutes after 8:00 AM.


And just a few seconds after that start, Jonathan Stern was setting the pace for the field. A former cross-country and track athlete at Lake Forest College, Stern was closely followed by master runner Leonardo Canete. Two weeks earlier Canete had won the second event of this years Gulf Winds Trail Series, the Swamp Forest Trail Race. But the Maclay Gardens Race belonged to Stern. Stern continued to lead and took first in 37:48, finishing well over 200 meters ahead of the next runner. Tristan Lanasa ran 38:58 for second, his best placing yet in this year's Trail Series. Michael Nesius was third in 39:22. Canete was the first master runner in the race, coming in fourth overall in 39:34.

Clifton Lewis
Clifton Lewis

The Maclay Gardens Trail Race was Stern's debut on the Summer Trail Race circuit as well as his first Trail Series win. The first three Trail Series events in 2021 had three different male winners--Daniel Wurgler in the Tom Brown Park Trail Race, Leonardo Canete in the Swamp Forest Trail Race, and now Stern in the Maclay Gardens Trail Race. The women, on the other hand, had a repeat winner in Clifton Lewis. Lewis got her first win of the 2021 circuit at the Tom Brown Trail Race, then added a second victory at the Maclay Gardens Trail Race with a winning 44:06.


Amelia Bryant was second in the women's standings, finishing ninth overall in 44:55. Bryant had been the first woman in the Swamp Forest Trail Race. Hannah Hosay, an alum of the Maclay School cross-country team, was the third woman and tenth overall in 45:06. Ruffian Tyner was the first woman master and seventh female finisher, 29th overall in 53:19.

Amelia Bryant
Amelia Bryant

111 athletes finished the 2021 Maclay Gardens Trail Race. Gulf Winds Track Club chip-timed the run.


Top Ten Men, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2021 Maclay Gardens 5½-Mile Trail Race
  1. 37:48, Jonathan Stern (M, 25)
  2. 38:58, Tristan Lanasa (M, 28)
  3. 39:22, Michael Nesius (M, 36)
  4. 39:34, Leonardo Canete (M, 42)
  5. 40:51, Brad Busboom (M, 33)
  6. 41:11, Ryan Kunz (M, 38)
  7. 43:56, Levon Hoomes (M, 32)
  8. 45:27, Will Hanley (M, 46)
  9. 45:36, Paul Guyas (M, 43)
  10. 45:46, Andrew Steinbrink (M, 35)

Top Ten Women, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2021 Maclay Gardens 5½-Mile Trail Race
  1. 44:06, Clifton Lewis (F, 13)
  2. 44:55, Amelia Bryant (F, 32)
  3. 45:06, Hannah Hosay (F, 19)
  4. 48:28, Averi Lewis (F, 24)
  5. 50:45, Maggie Fleming (F, 26)
  6. 51:34, Tricia Gundersen (F, 30)
  7. 53:19, Ruffian Tyner (F, 45)
  8. 54:18, Tsige Tadesse-Kiros (F, 53)
  9. 55:30, Joi Savery (F, 40)
  10. 55:45, Laura Sellati (F, 42)

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 5M29:07, Leonardo Canete34:24, Amelia Bryant104
July 24Maclay Gardens 5M37:48, Jonathan Stern44:06, Clifton Lewis111
August 28Red Bug Trail 4½M
Multiple wins by men: Zach DeVeau (6), Kevin Sullivan (3), Charn McAllister (3), Chris O'Kelley (3), Dan Baur (2),
      Brad Busboom (2)
Multiple wins by women: Alyson Churchill (5), Emily Molen (5), Kat Sack (4), Rachel Durbin (4),
      Stephanie Liles-Weyant (3), Katie Gorman (3), Brook Pace (2), Clifton Lewis (2)


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Posted by Herb Wills at 11:30 AM
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