Joseph Visconti and Madlen Kappeler shine at NAIA Pre-Nationals in Tallahassee

On Saturday morning, 17 September 2022, Tallahassee’s Apalachee Regional Park was the venue for a Pre-National cross country meet—the third Pre-National in the past twelve months. This time it was the NAIA Pre-National Invitational, and the meet opened with Joseph Visconti winning the men's 8K in 25:53. The Valdosta State men claimed too team honors with 40 points. In the women's 5K, Florida Atlantic's Madlen Kappeler threw down a 18:24 for the win, leading the Owls to first place in the team standings with 46 points.

Joseph Visconti

The starting gun fired at 7:30 AM in Field #1, the shot announcing the opening of the meet and the beginning of the men's 8K. At the end of the first kilometer Joseph Visconti led the field, racing unattached and wearing his old high school colors from the Christ School in Arden, North Carolina. Later in the first half of the race, Brishen House of Valdosta State moved up into second. Visconti was farther ahead. By the end of the sixth kilometer, Logan Kraus of Valdosta State took over third. Visconti was farther ahead. Maintaining a 15-second gap over the final two kilometers, Visconti crossed the finish line first in 25:53. House took second in 26:08, and Kraus was third in 26:25.


Valdosta State's Charlie Eaton took ninth in 27:21, giving the Blazers three athletes in the top ten. Dalton Pender (14th, 27:30) and Adam Mastrobuono (20th, 27:51) wrapped up the scoring for the Blazers, giving the team 40 points and first place.

Brishen House

Led by Carson Philbin (5th, 27:07), Savannah College of Art and Design at Atlanta put up 60 points for second. Scoring 78, the Cumberlands Patriots placed third in the field of ten teams. Their top finisher was Noah McClellan, sixth in 27:07.


Men's Team Standings, 2022 NAIA Pre-Nationals

1. Valdosta State, 40
2. SCAD Atlanta, 60
3. Cumberlands, 78
4. SCAD Savannah, 83
5. Mobile, 129
6. Ave Maria, 154
7. Thomas, 199
8. Florida Atlantic, 203
9. Saint Thomas, 229
10. Webber, 292

2022 NAIA Pre-Nationals Men's 8K, Top Ten

1. 25:52.2, Joseph Visconti (Unattached)
2. 26:07.6, Brishen House (Valdosta State) SR-4
3. 26:24.5, Logan Kraus (Valdosta State) JR-3
4. 27:05.0, Preston Webb (Mobile) JR-3
5. 27:06.1, Carson Philbin (SCAD Savannah) JR-3
6. 27:06.4, Noah McClellan (Cumberlands) SO-2
7. 27:16.2, Jonathan Werble (Unattached)
8. 27:17.1, Bryce Derick (SCAD Atlanta) JR-3
9. 27:21.0, Charlie Eaton (Valdosta State) JR-3
10. 27:23.5, DeShawn Crowe (Cumberlands) SO-2

By the halfway point of the women's 5K, Madlen Kappeler was in command of the race. Kappeler, Florida Atlantic's junior from Germany, started the second half with a fifteen-second lead. Angela Cipriani, a Valdosta State assistant coach competing unattached, narrowed that gap during the second half, but couldn't catch Kappeler. Kappeler reached the finish line in a winning 18:24, with Cipriani second in 18:29. Montserrat De Santiago, a senior racing for the Savannah College of Art and Design at Savannah, held off Cumberlands frosh Emily Bird for third, 18:39 to 18:43.

Madlen Kappeler

Bird was one of three Cumberlands athletes in the top ten. But in addition to Kappeler, Florida Atlantic also had Casey O'Connor ((5th, 18:53) in the top ten, plus Erin Shannon (14th, 19:36), Jordan Stevens (16th, 19:38), and Holly Arrison (20th, 19:55) in the top twenty. Owl pushers Paige Saiz (23rd, 20:03) and Anabell Reumann (24th, 20:12) added two more points to the Cumberlands score, giving the Florida Atlantic women a 46 to 49 victory.


De Santiago and the SCAD-Savannah women placed third in the field of twelve teams, scoring 83 points.

Angela Cipriani

Thomas University of Thomasville, Georgia hosted the 2022 NAIA Pre-Nationals. Half Mile Timing chip-timed and scored the races.


Women's Team Standings, 2022 NAIA Pre-Nationals

1. Florida Atlantic, 46
2. Cumberlands, 49
3. SCAD Savannah, 83
4. Dalton State, 113
5. Ave Maria, 118
6. Valdosta State, 157
7. Florida Gateway College, 207
8. Mobile, 244
9. Florida A&M, 264
10. St. Thomas (Fla.), 285
11. Tallahassee CC, 286
12. Webber, 338

2022 NAIA Pre-Nationals Women's 5K, Top Ten

1. 18:23.6, Madlen Kappeler (Florida Atlantic) JR-3
2. 18:28.7, Angela Cipriani (Unattached)
3. 18:38.2, Montserrat De Santiago (SCAD Savannah) SR-4
4. 18:42.3, Emily Bird (Cumberlands) FR-1
5. 18:52.7, Casey O'Connor (Florida Atlantic) SO-2
6. 18:56.0, Theresa Long (Ave Maria) JR-3
7. 18:58.6, Ashlyn Liddle (Cumberlands) FR-1
8. 19:00.0, Victoria Shedron (Cumberlands) SR-4
9. 19:06.9, Jane Eiselstein (Unattached)
10. 19:07.4, Caitlyn Koske (Valdosta State) SO-2

Links

• Complete results of the 2022 NAIA Pre-Nationals / Nighthawk Invitational
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSp1HpT65fZGITK2dljByouIM2bTnBW1shaccyjg2uRZxuiTpotC1qDCivBhDoXA0OGPSiMn73bGEF7/pubhtml
  
  
• More Trouble Afoot! photos of the collegiate races at the 2022 Thomas University Nighthawk Invitational
  
  • Men: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10119582106164123
    
  • Women: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10119582413438343
    
  
  
• Tallahassee area cross country meets in 2022
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2022/07/tallahassee-xc-2022.html
  
  
• Find your next race in the Tallahassee region on the Trouble Afoot! race calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2880

Braedyn Wormeck, Cassidy De Young, and Flagler Palm Coast own the Nighthawk Invitational

Apalachee Regional Park is in Tallahassee, Florida. Flagler Palm Coast High School is across the state in Palm Coast. It's well over a 200-mile drive between the two--a lot of geography. Neverthless, on Saturday morning, 17 September 2022, the Flagler Palm Coast Bulldog cross-country teams owned Apalachee Regional Park, sweeping the high school races at the Thomas University Nighthawk Invitational. Bulldog sophomore Braedyn Wormeck won the boys' 5K by more than 100 meters, running 16:52 and leading his team to a winning score of 26 points. In the girls' race, led by sophomore Cassidy De Young's 21:40 5K, Flagler Palm Coast athletes nabbbed the first seven places, putting up a perfect score of 15.

Braedyn Wormeck and Hayden Herndon

The first high school race of the morning was the boythe elventh place 18:05 performance of sopomore Landen Turley.s' 5K. Midway, a pair of Flagler Palm Coast athletes had taken over the race--sophomore Braedyn Wormeck and junior Hayden Herndon. The second half of the race belonged to Wormeck; he left Herndon and everyone else far behind. While Wormeck pulled away, Walker Elrod, a frosh from Grace Christian in nearby Bainbridge, overtook Herndon.


Wormeck cruised over the finish line in a winning 16:52. Herndon caught Elrod on the homestretch, kicking past the frosh to take second with a 17:16. Elrod, also clocked in 17:16, placed third.

Hayden Herndon and Walker Elrod

Senior Barak Olago nabbed fourth place for Flagler Palm Coast with a 17:21. The next five places, though, belonged to Steinbrenner High, led by sophomore Charles Clark, whose 17:25 was good for fifth place. But junior Justin Gillliam answered for the Bulldogs, taking tenth in 17:55. Flagler Palm Coast senior Brandon Kalasnik finished the scoring for the Bulldogs, placing twelfth in 18:20 and giving his team a mathematically unbeatable score of 26 points. Flagler Palm Coast had won the boys' 5K at the inaugural Nighthawk Invitational.


With five runners in the top ten, Steinbrenner put up 30 points, good for second place in the field of five teams. Saint Francis placed third with 86 points, led by the elventh place 18:05 performance of sopomore Landen Turley.


High School Boys' Team Standings, 2022 Nighthawk Invitational

1. Flagler Palm Coast, 26
2. George Steinbrenner, 30
3. Saint Francis, 86
4. Leon, 101
5. Colquitt County, 139

Top Ten Boys, 2022 Nighthawk Invitational

1. 16:51.1, Braedyn Wormeck (Flagler Palm Coast) 10
2. 17:15.2, Hayden Herndon (Flagler Palm Coast) 11
3. 17:15.4, Walker Elrod (Grace Christian)
4. 17:20.7, Barak Olago (Flagler Palm Coast) 12
5. 17:24.7, Charles Clark (George Steinbrenner) 10
6. 17:30.4, Brady Peifer (George Steinbrenner) 10
7. 17:38.7, Ethan Russ (George Steinbrenner) 11
8. 17:41.2, Joaquin Abanses (George Steinbrenner) 10
9. 17:43.1, Nicholas Pugh (George Steinbrenner) 11
10. 17:54.8, Justin Gilliam (Flagler Palm Coast) 11

Cassidy De Young, a Flagler Palm Coast sophomore, took the lead in the girls' 5K almost immediately after the starting gun fired. At the halfway point of the race De Yong was already half a minute ahead of the next runner. No one closed that gap to challenge her. In fact, De Young only got farther ahead on her way to the finish line, which she crossed in a winning 21:40.

Cassidy De Young

Two more Flagler Palm Coast runners dueled for second, with senior Genesis Epstein edging frosh Arianna Slaughter for that runner-up spot, 22:23 to 22:24.


Likewise, a pair of athletes from Flagler Palm Coast were in a close race for fourth. Senior Arianna Slaughter inched ahead of sophomore Annabelle Moore to decide that battle, both clocked in 22:59. With that, the Bulldogs had taken the first five places, tallying fifteen points--the lowest possible score in cross-country. Another first-place team trophy was going back to Palm Coast.

Arianna Slaughter and Genesis Epstein

Port Saint Joe eighth-grader RJ Gerlach was the first non-Bulldog to finish. Gerlach took eighth in 24:34, leading her team to second place with 56 points. Colquitt County was third with 69 points; their top runner was senior Mattie Rigsby, fourteenth in 26:31.


High School Girls' Team Standings, 2022 Nighthawk Invitational

1. Flagler Palm Coast, 15
2. Port Saint Joe, 56
3. Colquitt County, 69

Top Ten Girls, 2022 Nighthawk Invitational

1. 21:39.7, Cassidy De Young (Flagler Palm Coast) 10
2. 22:22.2, Genesis Epstein (Flagler Palm Coast) 12
3. 22:23.9, Arianna Slaughter (Flagler Palm Coast) 9
4. 22:58.6, Kayleigh Johnson (Flagler Palm Coast) 12
5. 22:58.8, Annabelle Moore (Flagler Palm Coast) 10
6. 23:07.1, Lexie Shupe (Flagler Palm Coast) 11
7. 23:56.0, Ma'Shuyn Jeffers (Flagler Palm Coast) 12
8. 24:33.2, RJ Gerlach (Port Saint Joe) 8
9. 24:48.8, Molly Partin (Port Saint Joe) 8
10. 25:08.9, Taylor Novak (Flagler Palm Coast) 10

Links

• Complete high school results, 2022 Thomas University Nighthawk Invitational Cross-Country Meet
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRkqxsVvIxfAopWrNVpS2JJ9FvK0XQ15LEuZcwP-lkr0eUCVUV_bG3V9qcuYCNZ0r1FOkwF9VXZ3uXC/pubhtml
  
  
• More Trouble Afoot! photos of the high school races at the 2022 Thomas University Nighthawk Invitational
  
  • Boys: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10119570542597603
    
  • Girls: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10119570615276953
    
  
  
• Tallahassee area cross country meets in 2022
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2022/07/tallahassee-xc-2022.html
  
  
• Find your next race in the Tallahassee region on the Trouble Afoot! race calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2879

Charlotte Sikes and Caio Zacchi each pick up a third conference win at the Mustang Stampede

The middle school harriers of Leon County Schools were at Montford Middle School on Tuesday, 6 September 2022, for the tenth annual Mustang Stampede Cross-Country Meet. Deerlake swept the team titles, with the girls putting up a winning 28 points and the boys' squad scoring 49. But the individual titles went to other school--Swift Creek sixth-grader Charlotte Sikes won the girls' 3K in 12:29, and Nims eighth-grader Caio Zacchi took first in the boys' 3K with a 10:55.

Charlotte Sikes

The meet opened at 6:00 PM with the start of the girls' 3K. A few seconds later, Charlotte Sikes was leading the field around the grounds of Montford. Haley Heitmeyer, a Montford eighth-grader, led the pursuit for most of the race, but no one was ever close enough to challenge Sikes; the Swift Creek sixth-grader had a lead of more than 80 meters when she crossed the finish line first in 12:29. Deerlake eighth-grader Kaia Ables passed Heitmeyer on the homestretch to take second in 12:47. Heitmeyer was third in 12:49.


Including Ables, all of the Deerlake scorers were in the top ten. Sixth-grader Emma-Claire Tanenbaum was fourth in 13:19, seventh-grader Chloe Molen was fifth in 13:23, seventh-grader Katie Webb was eighth in 14:20, and sixth-grader Yujeong Lee was ninth in 14:21. That gave the Deerlake girls 28 points and first place in the eight-team field. It was the fourth year in a row that the Buck girls had won the Mustang Stampede.

Haley Heitmeyer leading Kaia Ables

Heitmeyer and the Montford girls put up 41 points to place second in the team standings. Sikes and Swift Creek edged the Raa girls for third, 92 to 95.


2022 Mustang Stampede Team Standings, Girls

1. Deerlake, 28
2. Montford, 41
3. Swift Creek, 92
4. Raa, 95
5. Cobb, 130
6. Fairview, 166
7. Nims, 212
8. Griffin, 231
9. Fort Braden, NTS
   Woodville, NTS

Top 10 Girls, 2022 Montford Mustang Stampede 3K

1. 12:28.86, Charlotte Sikes (Swift Creek) 6
2. 12:46.90, Kaia Ables (Deerlake) 8
3. 12:48.95, Haley Heitmeyer (Montford) 8
4. 13:18.75, Emma-Claire Tanenbaum (Deerlake) 6
5. 13:22.25, Chloe Molen (Deerlake) 7
6. 13:31.22, Savannah Stanley (Montford) 8
7. 13:34.33, Andi Vilardo (Montford) 8
8. 14:19.69, Katie Webb (Deerlake) 7
9. 14:20.89, Yujeong Lee (Deerlake) 6
10. 14:21.37, Andrea Jimenez (Montford) 6

By the end of the first kilometer of the boys' 3K, Caio Zacchi, wearing Nims Middle School black, was the clear leader. A trio of eighth-graders were a few seconds back--Jack Koon of Fairview, Jonathan Kiros of Deerlake, and Gavin Poucher of Montford. During the second kilometer Koon pulled away from Kiros and Poucher, but lost a few more steps to Zacchi. Zacchi maintained his lead through the final kilometer, finishing first in 10:55. Koon was second in 11:03. Kiros dropped Poucher on the homestretch to take third, 11:07 to 11:11.

Caio Zacchi

Ten schools had boys' teams in the Mustang Stampede, the most ever in the ten-year history of the annual meet. Montford, the host school, were defending champions; the Mustangs put Gavin Poucher and eighth-grader Trent Parsons (7th, 11:40) in the top ten. But Deerlake also had two runners in the top ten, Kiros and and sixth-grader Jack Hassell (6th, 11:37). Sixth-grader Nicholas Hassell (11th, 12:24) and eighth-graders Hagen Perdue (13th, 12:25) and Camden Williams (16th, 12:45) complete Deerlake's scoring, giving the Bucks 49 points and first place--their school's fifth Mustang Stampede boys' team title in the last six years.


Poucher and Montford tallied 58 points to take second. Koon and Fairview placed third with 89 points.

Jack Koon, Gavin Poucher, Jonathan Kiros

With the Mustang Stampede in the books, the fourth meet on the schedule of Leon County Schools' 202s middle school cross-country season is the Everhart Invitational at Gretchen Everhart School on Wednesday morning, 14 September 2022. The season coninues with the Falcon Invitational at the North Florida Fairgrounds on 22 September 2025, the Mabry Invitational at the FSU Rec Sportsplex on 30 September 2022, and the LCS League Championship Meet at Apalachee Regional Park on 5 October 2025.


2022 Mustang Stampede Team Standings, Boys

1. Deerlake, 49
2. Montford, 58
3. Fairview, 89
4. Raa, 116
5. Swift Creek, 124
6. Cobb, 152
7. Nims, 214
8. Fort Braden, 215
9. Griffin, 232
10. Woodville, 293

Top 10 Boys, 2022 Montford Mustang Stampede 3K

1. 10:54.82, Caio Zacchi (Nims) 8
2. 11:02.28, Jack Koon (Fairview) 8
3. 11:06.99, Jonathan Kiros (Deerlake) 8
4. 11:10.48, Gavin Poucher (Montford) 8
5. 11:35.90, Emari Thomas (Fairview) 7
6. 11:36.45, Jacob Hassell (Deerlake) 6
7. 11:39.63, Trent Parsons (Montford) 8
8. 11:40.44, Antonio Clements (Cobb) 7
9. 11:48.44, Cooper Rideout (Swift Creek) 8
10. 12:13.06, Ethan Nicholson (Fairview) 8

Mustang Cross-Country Stampede Champions 2013 - 2022
Girls
Date	Team Champ	Individual Champ
27 September 2013	Swift Creek, 37 points	13:42, Saige Kemeny (Montford) 7
10 September 2014	Swift Creek, 34	12:46, Lawton Campbell (Deerlake) 8
30 September 2015	Swift Creek, 43	12:25, Emily Molen (Deerlake) 8
28 September 2016	Montford, 43	13:12, Paige Churchill (Swift Creek) 6
28 September 2017	Swift Creek, 20	13:12, Paige Churchill (Swift Creek) 7
20 September 2018	Montford, 40	11:45, Paige Churchill (Swift Creek) 8
19 September 2019	Deerlake, 40	13:03, Kyra Swart (Deerlake) 6
14 October 2020	Deerlake, 18	12:50, Kyra Swart (Deerlake) 7
7 September 2021	Deerlake, 22	11:55, Abbey Griffin (Deerlake ) 8
6 September 2022	Deerlake, 28	12:29, Charlotte Sikes (Swift Creek) 6
Boys
Date	Team Champ	Individual Champ
27 September 2013	Montford, 56 points	11:56, Jacob Dodson (Raa) 8
10 September 2014	Swift Creek, 66	12:14, Tavaris King (Griffin) 8
30 September 2015	Deerlake, 43	11:56, Weston Blake (Swift Creek) 7
28 September 2016	Swift Creek, 39	11:28, Weston Blake (Swift Creek) 7
28 September 2017	Deerlake, 42	11:15, Ben Kirbo (Montford) 8
20 September 2018	Deerlake, 34	9:43, Wyatt Townsend (Deerlake) 8
19 September 2019	Deerlake, 36	10:54, Patrick Koon (Fairview) 8
14 October 2020	Deerlake, 43	11:31, Danny Mauldin (Deerlake) 8
7 September 2021	Montford, 45	11:02, Asa Swope (Swift Creek ) 8
6 September 2022	Deerlake, 49	10:55, Caio Zacchi (Nims) 8
From 2013 to 2017, the race distance at the Mustang Stampede was two miles. In 2018 the distance was changed to three kilometers.

Links

• Complete results of the 2022 Mustang Stampede Cross-Country Meet, courtesy of Brian Corbin
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQte4G7sJnrYAZTN7zcl-ZAuTUp2afi6Gi1iT2VvHCiL1DHJo3NCIWP8gvuQYDU1SJ-16KlqGCHralX/pubhtml
  
  
• More Trouble Afoot! photos of Montford Middle School's 2022 Mustang Stampede Cross-Country Meet
  
  • Girls: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10119537239093093
  • Boys: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10119537316932103
  
  
• The 2022 LCS middle school cross-country season
  
  • ARPXC Invitational https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2022/08/swift-creek-2022.html
    
  • Fort Braden Run https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2022/08/fort-braden-2022.html
    
  • Mustang Stampede https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2022/09/mustang-2022.html
    
  • Everhart Invitational [ Coming on 14 September 2022 ]
    
  • Falcon Invitational [ Coming on 22 September 2022 ]
    
  • Mabry Invitational [ Coming on 30 September 2022 ]
    
  • LCS Championship [ Coming on 5 October 2022 ]
    
  
  
• Leon County Schools' 2022 middle school cross country schedule
  
  
  
• 2021 story, “Abbey Griffin and Asa Swope race like thoroughbreds at the Mustang Stampede”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2021/09/mustang-2021.html
  
  
• 2020 story, “Kyra Swart and Danny Mauldin win while Deerlake sweeps the Mustang Stampede”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2020/10/mustang-2020.html
  
  
• 2019 story, “Kyra Swart and Patrick Koon saddle up at the Mustang Stampede Cross-Country Meet”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/09/mustang-2019.html
  
  
• 2018 story, “Paige Churchill and Wyatt Townsend gallop into the winner's circle at the Mustang Stampede”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/09/mustang-2018.html
  
  
• 2017 story, “Paige Churchill and Ben Kirbo were head of the herd at the Mustang Stampede”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/09/mustang-2017.html
  
  
• 2016 story, “Paige Churchill and Weston Blake lead the Stampede at Montford”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/09/mustang-2016.html
  
  
• 2015 story, “Molen and Blake lead the stampede at the Mustang Invitational”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/10/mustang-2015.html
  
  
• 2014 story, “Swift Creek rides again at the Mustang Stampede”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/09/mustang-2014.html
  
  
• 2013 story, “Swift Creek girls and Montford boys keep winning at the Mustang Invitational”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/09/mustang-2013.html
  
  
• Find your next road race or cross-country run in the Tallahassee region
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2879