Thursday, October 14, 2021

Harriers Lillian Koeppel and Luke Meli lead their teams to wins at the Tallahassee Open

Tuesday, 12 October 2021, was a day for cross-country on the east side of Tallahassee, Florida. At least, the Holy Comforter Episcopal School Crusaders made it so, hosting their annual Tallahassee Open Middle School Cross-Country Meet. Maclay eighth-grader Lillian Koeppel won the girls' 3K in 11:40, leading the Marauders to the team title, their third in three years. Community Christian topped the team standings in the boys' 3K for the first time in the meet's history, led by the first-place finish of eighth-grader Luke Meli. Meli covered the three kilometers around the Holy Comforter grounds in 11:08.

Luke Meli
Luke Meli

Lillian Koeppel had been fifth in the Tallahassee Open as a sixth-grader, then second as a seventh-grader. 2021 was her final cross-country season as a middle school athlete, and she seized the opportunity to shine with her 11:40 win. Maclay eighth-graders swept the first three places, with Koeppel followed by Caroline Crouch, second in 12:01, and Nishi Bhanderi, third in 12:42. The line of Marauders was interrupted by Charlotte Sikes and Leah Boutwell. Running unattached, Sikes took fourth in 13:00. Boutwell, a Florida State seventh-grader, was fifth in 13:04.


Maclay's remaining scorers took the next two places. Marauder seventh-graders Ellie Mazziotta and Lilly Bell ran 13:09 and 12:11 for sixth and seventh. Once Bell crossed the finish line, the Maclay girls had seventeen points and a mathematically guaranteed win.


Community Leadership Academy, led by fifth-grader Eliza Moody (17th, 14:40), placed second with 78 points. Florida State and Boutwell were a close third with 80 points.


Girls' Team Standings, 2021 Tallahassee Open Middle School XC Championship
  1. Maclay, 17
  2. Community Leadership, 78
  3. Florida State, 80
  4. Riversprings, 101
  5. Trinity Catholic, 108
  6. Tallahassee Classical, 155

Top 10 Girls, 2021 Tallahassee Open Middle School XC Championship
  1. 11:39.40, Lillian Koeppel (Maclay) 8
  2. 12:00.02, Caroline Couch (Maclay) 8
  3. 12:41.47, Nishi Bhanderi (Maclay) 8
  4. 12:59.99, Charlotte Sikes (Unattached)
  5. 13:03.18, Leah Boutwell (Florida State) 7
  6. 13:08.41, Ellie Mazziotta (Maclay) 7
  7. 13:10.81, Lilly Bell (Maclay) 7
  8. 13:12.74, Addyson Paul (Franklin County) 7
  9. 13:18.22, Ryleigh Gunter (Florida State) 8
  10. 13:39.15, Mae Deison (Maclay) 8

Even though Luke Meli is an eighth-grader, he often doesn't get to run middle school races because he's busy racing for Community Christian's high school squad. Meli makes the most of the middle school events he runs, though. He won the middle school boys' 3K at the FSUS Pre-Season Invitational on 21 August 2021, and at the Big Bend Invitational on 4 September 2021. He picked up another victory at the Tallahassee Open, winning the boys' 3K in 11:08. Another Community Christian eighth-grader, Charles Wilson, finished runner-up in 11:15. Holy Comforter eighth-grader Luke Springer ran 11:18 for third. Two Trinity Catholic athletes duelled for fourth, with eighth-grader Mark Moore edging sixth-grader James Mogg, both clocked in 11:31.


After Meli and Wilson, Community Christian got scoring performances from eighth-grader Benjamin Reeves (13th, 12:08), sixth-grader Landon Reeves (14th, 12:09), and eighth-grader Jeremy Collier (19th, 12:53). With five Chargers home, Community Christian had 48 points and first place.


Maclay took second with 60 points, led by sixth-grader Logan Phipps. Phipps placed seventh overall in 11:32. Led by seventh-grader Randon Manausa, Holy Comforter was third with 69 points.


Miles and Minutes, LLC, of Tallahassee timed and scored the meet.


Boys' Team Standings, 2021 Tallahassee Open Middle School XC Championship
  1. Community Christian, 48
  2. Maclay, 60
  3. Holy Comforter Episcopal, 69
  4. Falcon Track Club, 84
  5. Trinity Catholic, 99
  6. Community Leadership, 144
  7. Florida State, 185
  8. Cornerstone, 232
  9. Christ Classical, 245

Top 10 Boys, 2021 Tallahassee Open Middle School XC Championship
  1. 11:07.83, Luke Meli (Community Christian) 8
  2. 11:14.12, Charles Wilson (Community Christian) 8
  3. 11:17.27, Luke Springer (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 8
  4. 11:30.42, Mark Moore (Trinity Catholic) 8
  5. 11:30.99, James Mogg (Trinity Catholic) 6
  6. 11:31.30, Randon Manausa (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 7
  7. 11:31.60, Logan Phipps (Maclay) 6
  8. 11:52.16, David Burton (Maclay) 7
  9. 11:56.08, Collins Dickson (Maclay) 8
  10. 11:57.30, Yoshi Hutt (Florida State) 8

Tallahassee Open winners, 2014 - 2021
Boys
DateTeam ChampIndividual Champ
23 October 2014Maclay, 189:42, Clayburn Milford (Maclay) 8
15 October 2015Holy Comforter, 2710:25, Jacob D'Aleo (Emerald Coast) 8
13 October 2016Holy Comforter, 1711:05, Jackson Yarbrough (Holy Comforter) 7
12 October 2017Holy Comforter, 3510:45, Thomas Ashby (Burns) 7
17 October 2018Fairview, 5311:11, Patrick Koon (Fairview) 7
8 October 2019Holy Comforter, 2111:10, William Springer (Holy Comforter) 8
6 October 2020Holy Comforter, 4510:50, Noah Deem (Community Leadership) 8
12 October 2021Community Christian, 4811:08, Luke Meli (Community Christian) 8
Girls
DateTeam ChampIndividual Champ
23 October 2014Holy Comforter, 2711:28, Katherine Resavage (Holy Comforter) 8
15 October 2015Holy Comforter, 2111:23, Emily Molen (Deerlake) 8
13 October 2016Maclay, 1711:35, Lindsay James (Maclay) 8
12 October 2017Holy Comforter, 2212:36, Mary Clayton Soto (Holy Comforter) 6
17 October 2018Maclay, 3112:10, Ella Porcher (Maclay) 8
17 October 2018Maclay, 1912:02, Susan Gracie Koeppel (Maclay) 8
6 October 2020Maclay, 1511:35, Clifton Lewis (Unattached) 7
12 October 2021Maclay, 1711:40, Lillian Koeppel (Maclay) 8


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Posted by Herb Wills at 11:58 AM
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