The Wakulla girls and the Chiles boys split the team titles at the Panther Invitational

Southwood is only a corner of Tallahassee, Florida, but it has two high schools, and each of those schools hosts an invitational cross-country meet--the Florida State University School Invitational and Saint John Paul II Catholic High School's Panther Invitational. The sixth annual Panther Invitational was Saturday morning, 11 September 2021, and opened with Niya Coleman, a Florida State University School junior, winning the high school girls' 5K in 20:55. The Wakulla High girls took the team title in that race, scoring a mathematically unbeatable 26 points. The Chiles boys scored 23 points to win their race, led by the first place finish of Chiles senior Ben Kirbo.

Niya Coleman

Coleman had been Southwood's first meet in 2021, the FSUS Invitational. She had placed fourth in her race that day, finishing behind Liliana Lewis and Clara Alford. This time Coleman was over the line first, finishing ahead of both Wakulla runners. Chiles senior Kelly Davis was second in 21:27, and Wakulla frosh Isabella Laughton placed third in 21:30. Alford finished fourth in 21:35 and Lewis fifth in 21:50.


Wakulla also grabbed sixth when senior Marina Whitsell followed Lewis across the line in 21:50. Wakulla's fifth scorer was sophomore Taylor Pfeifer, eighth in 22:37. Once Pfeifer was home, the Wakulla girls had 26 points and first place.


Led by Davis, Chiles placed second with 66 points. FSUS and Niya Coleman put up 96 points, placing third.


John Paul II Catholic's 2021 Panther Invitational Team Standings, High School Girls

1. Wakulla, 26
2. Chiles, 66
3. Florida State, 96
4. Community Christian, 107
5. Maclay, 131
6. Lincoln, 140
7. Valdosta, 159

Top Ten High School Girls, John Paul II Catholic's 2021 Panther Invitational

1. 20:54.21, Niya Coleman (Florida State) 11
2. 21:26.01, Kelly Davis (Chiles) 12
3. 21:29.41, Isabella Laughton (Wakulla) 9
4. 21:34.29, Clara Alford (Wakulla) 12
5. 21:35.82, Liliana Lewis (Wakulla) 10
6. 21:49.15, Marina Whitsell (Wakulla) 12
7. 22:31.60, Teresa Meli (Community Christian) 11
8. 22:36.69, Taylor Pfeifer (Wakulla) 10
9. 22:44.72, Caroline Couch (Maclay) 8
10. 22:51.25, Leah Keller (Florida State) 10

There were a lot of Chiles uniforms at the front of the high school boys' 5K. After Ben Kirbo of Chiles had crossed the finish line in a winning 17:09, Chiles junior Wyatt Townsend took the runner-up spot in 17:14. Chiles senior Filippo Reina came home third in 17:44.


The remaining two scorers for Chiles also finished in the top ten--senior Tyler Canavan was eighth in 19:18 and junior Owen Franklin was ninth in 19:21. In cross-country, it's impossible to beat a score of 27 points or better, and the Chiles boys had 23, giving them the win.


Wakulla was second with 72 points behind their ace Jaden Callaghan (7th, 18:57), a junior. Valdosta, led by senior Parker Jackson (4th, 17:56), was third with 79 points.


John Paul II Catholic's 2021 Panther Invitational Team Standings, High School Boys

1. Chiles, 23
2. Wakulla, 72
3. Valdosta, 79
4. Maclay, 115
5. Community Christian, 159
6. Florida State, 163
7. Leon, 169
8. Rickards, 184
9. Saint John Paul II Catholic, 242
10. Lincoln, 265

Top Ten High School Boys, John Paul II Catholic's 2021 Panther Invitational

1. 17:08.02, Ben Kirbo (Chiles) 12
2. 17:13.98, Wyatt Townsend (Chiles) 11
3. 17:43.11, Filippo Reina (Chiles) 12
4. 17:55.74, Parker Jackson (Valdosta) 12
5. 18:46.55, Lucas Mauch (Maclay) 11
6. 18:46.91, Burnis Williams (Valdosta) 11
7. 18:56.18, Jaden Callaghan (Wakulla) 11
8. 19:17.04, Tyler Canavan (Chiles) 12
9. 19:20.51, Owen Franklin (Chiles) 11
10. 19:23.04, Kent Grayson (Brookwood) 9

On weekdays during the 2021 cross-country season, Montford seventh-grader Annabelle Wiktorski races for her school, but on Saturdays she races for the Red Hills Running Club. So on Tuesday, 7 September 2021, Wiktorski placed second in the girls' 3K at the Mustang Stampede Middle School Cross-Country Meet, wearing a Montford uniform. On Saturday, 11 September 2021, she was wearing Red Hills colors when she won the middle school girls' 3K at the Panther Invitational, running 13:02. Fifth-grader Charlotte Sikes, also competing for Red Hills, was a close second in 13:04. FSUS seventh-grader Leah Boutwell was third in 13:32.


Red Hills had three more athletes in the top ten--Seventh-grader Savannah Stanley was fifth in 13:40, eighth-grader Madeline Morris was sixth in 14:02, and seventh-grader Haley Heitmeyer was seventh in 14:04. Once the fifth Red Hills girl finished, the team had 21 points and first place.


Maclay was second with 54 points, led by the eighth-place, 14:16 performance of seventh-grader Ellie Mazziotta. Trinity Catholic took third with 91 points; the top Trinity runner was sixth-grader Genevieve Gillespie, fourteenth in 15:24.


John Paul II Catholic's 2021 Panther Invitational Team Standings, Middle School Girls

1. Red Hills Running Club, 21
2. Maclay, 54
3. Trinity Catholic, 91
4. Florida State, 97
5. Community Leadership, 117
6. Riversprings, 139
7. Cornerstone, 169
8. Wakulla, 173

Top Ten Middle School Girls, John Paul II Catholic's 2021 Panther Invitational

1. 13:01.82, Annabelle Wiktorski (Red Hills Running Club) 7
2. 13:03.96, Charlotte Sikes (Red Hills Running Club) 5
3. 13:31.86, Leah Boutwell (Florida State) 7
4. 13:40.08, Ryleigh Gunter (Florida State) 8
5. 13:59.85, Savannah Stanley (Red Hills Running Club) 7
6. 14:01.28, Madeline Morris (Red Hills Running Club) 8
7. 14:03.36, Haley Heitmeyer (Red Hills Running Club) 7
8. 14:15.52, Ellie Mazziotta (Maclay) 7
9. 14:21.20, Lilly Bell (Maclay) 7
10. 14:59.59, Mae Deison (Maclay) 8

Like Wiktorski, Deerlake seventh-grader Jonathan Kiros had also been a runner-up at the Mustang Stampede, finishing second in the boys' 3K. And like Wiktorski, Kiros was a winner at the Panther Invitational. Competing for Red Hills, Kiros threw down a 12:00 in the middle school boys' 3K, taking first. Mark Moore, a Trinity Catholic eighth-grader, was second in 12:07. A step behind him, Trinity Catholic sixth-grader James Mogg finished third in 12:08.


The Maclay boys won the team title with a winning score of 54. Contributing to that total were sixth-graders Logan Phipps (7th, 12:50) and Peter Fernandez (11th, 13:11), together with seventh-graders David Burton (12th, 13:14), Connor Thumm (13th, 13:14), and Max Colon (22nd, 1:16). Trinity Catholic was a close second with 59 points. Marianna placed third with 69 points. Marianna first runner was seventh-grader Maxwell Wester, eighth in 13:00.


John Paul II Catholic's 2021 Panther Invitational Team Standings, Middle School Boys

1. Maclay, 54
2. Trinity Catholic, 59
3. Marianna, 69
4. Holy Comforter Episcopal, 87
5. Red Hills Running Club, 102
6. Valdosta, 166
7. Cornerstone, 195
8. Christ Classical, 195

Top Ten Middle School Boys, John Paul II Catholic's 2021 Panther Invitational

1. 11:59.98, Jonathan Kiros (Red Hills Running Club) 7
2. 12:06.88, Mark Moore (Trinity Catholic) 8
3. 12:07.82, James Mogg (Trinity Catholic) 6
4. 12:25.95, Gavin Poucher (Red Hills Running Club) 7
5. 12:27.21, Henry Lewis (Unattached) 8
6. 12:36.69, Luke Springer (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 8
7. 12:49.43, Logan Phipps (Maclay) 6
8. 12:59.64, Maxwell Wester (Marianna) 7
9. 13:01.80, Yoshi Hutt (Florida State) 8
10. 13:04.78, Trent Parsons (Red Hills Running Club) 7

Panther Invitational Cross-Country Meet Winners, 2016 - 2021
High School Boys
Date	Team Champ	Individual Champ
9 September 2016	Lincoln, 38	18:18, Gatlin Nennstiel (Aucilla Christian) 12
23 September 2017	Wakulla, 15	18:17, Chris Porter (Wakulla) 11
8 September 2018	Maclay, 19	17:30, Junious Brown IV (Maclay) 11
7 September 2019	Community Christian, 47	18:00, David A. Keen (North Florida Christian) 12
12 September 2020	Maclay, 23	17:32, Jackson Yarbrough (Maclay) 11
11 September 2021	Chiles, 23	17:09, Ben Kirbo (Chiles) 12
High School Girls
Date	Team Champ	Individual Champ
9 September 2016	Florida State, 41	21:52, Gianna Forte (Bishop Snyder) 10
23 September 2017	Community Christian, 29	22:31, Alyssa Langston (Wakulla) 11
8 September 2018	Maclay, 21	21:49, Ella Porcher (Maclay) 8
7 September 2019	South Walton, 17	21:10, Ava Flaherty (South Walton) 10
12 September 2020	Wakulla, 37	21:30, Morgan Wilson (Community Christian) 11
11 September 2021	Wakulla, 26	20:55, Niya Coleman (Florida State) 11

Links

• Complete results of John Paul II Catholic's 2021 Panther Invitational from Miles & Minutes, LLC
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vR4G6nzBVCvliv5w-SfNK_orLD8NOUUODedUAc3hCJ9cQzCMp2fukKiJtpBfdmzHylrUgF7DmiDxuZg/pubhtml
  
  
• 2020 story, “The engines were purring for Morgan Wilson and Jackson Yarbrough at the Panther Invitational”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2020/09/panther-xc-2020.html
  
  
• 2019 story, “Ava Flaherty and David Keen were top cats at the Panther Invitational”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/09/panther-xc-2019.html
  
  
• 2018 story, “Junious Brown and Ella Porcher lead a Maclay sweep of the Panther Invitational”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/09/panther-xc-2018.html
  
  
• 2017 story, “The Wakulla boys and the Community Christian girls prevail at the Panther Invitational”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/09/panther-xc-2017.html
  
  
• 2016 story, “Seminoles and Trojans triumph at the Panther Cross Country Invitational”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/09/panther-xc-2016.html
  
  
• 2018 Tallahassee Area Cross Country Schedule
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/07/tallahassee-xc-2018.html
  
  
• Upcoming cross country, road, trail, and track races in the Tallahassee region via Trouble Afoot!
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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