Matt Ryan and Kate Drummond post hot times on a cold morning in 4A District 1

The last high school cross-country event at Apalachee Regional Park before Florida's state championship was the FHSAA 4A District 1 Championship Meet. Held on a chilly Saturday morning, 23 October 2022, the meet opened with Nease's Matt Ryan outkicking Tanner Simonds of Creekside for the win in the boys' 5K, 15:44 to 15:45. Simond's Creekside squad took the team title, though, scoring a a winning 37 points. In the girls' 5K, Buchholz senior Kate Drummond successfully defended her 2021 District title, taking first in 18:50. Drummond's win helped the Bobcats put up 31 points, good enough for first place in the team standings.

Matt Ryan and Tanner Simonds

Perhaps the leaders in the boys' 5K were huddled together for warmth. After all, it was 40 °F at 8:00 AM when the race started. But huddled they were, and it was a big huddle--nine athletes were in the pacesetting group at the halfway point. There were still eight in close contention heading into the homestretch, with juniors Matt Ryan and Tanner Simonds leading the charge. Nease's Ryan got the edge in the sprint to the finish, getting there in 15:44, just ahead of the 15:45 of Creekside's Ryan. Buchholz senior Emerson Miller was a close third in 15:47, arriving just a second before Bucholz's Mason Kawaja (4th, 15:48) and Chiles' Wyatt Townsend (5th, 15:48). Three more athletes cracked 16:00 that morning--Mandarin senior Gavin Nelson was sixth in 15:52, Creekside senior Hudson Finocchio was seventh in 15:53, and Creekside senior Jack Dravo was eighth in 15:58.


Another Creekside senior, Jacob Harvey, didn't quite break 16:00, but he did break into the top ten, placing ninth in 16:08. With Harvey across the finish line, Creekside had four scorers in the top ten, with the fifth Knight not far behind--senior Mac Williams took eleventh in 16:15. With Williams home, Creekside had 37 points and the 2022 team title in 4A District 1.

Boys' 5K leaders at halfway

Buchholz scored 93, placing second in the eighteen-team field. Niceville, led by junior Seamus Hodge (13th, 16:27), placed third with 93 points.


The top eight teams advanced to the 4A Region 1 Championship Meet, the semifinal round before the State Championship. Nease (4th, 107), Flagler Palm Coast (5th, 144), Mandarin (6th, 149), Chiles (7th, 152), and Bartram Trail (8th, 153) each qualified.


Boys' Team Standings, 2022 FHSAA 4A District 1 Cross-Country Championship

1. Creekside, 37 *
2. Buchholz, 93 *
3. Niceville, 99 *
4. Nease, 107 *
5. Flagler Palm Coast, 144 *
6. Mandarin, 149 *
7. Chiles, 152 *
8. Bartram Trail, 153 *
9. Pace, 260
10. Forest, 326
11. Fletcher, 371
12. Crestview, 380
13. Oakleaf, 402
14. West Port, 431
15. Navarre, 436
16. Atlantic Coast, 443
17. Tate, 514
18. Sandalwood, 592

* Team advances to the 4A Region 1 Championship


Top 10 Boys, 2022 FHSAA 4A District 1 Cross-Country Championship

1. 15:43.7, Matt Ryan (Nease) JR
2. 15:44.6, Tanner Simonds (Creekside) JR
3. 15:46.2, Emerson Miller (Buchholz) SR
4. 15:47.4, Mason Kawaja (Buchholz) SR
5. 15:47.8, Wyatt Townsend (Chiles) SR
6. 15:51.5, Gavin Nelson (Mandarin) SR
7. 15:52.3, Hudson Finocchio (Creekside) SR
8. 15:57.2, Jack Dravo (Creekside) SR
9. 16:07.7, Jacob Harvey (Creekside) SR
10. 16:11.6, Sam Myers (Nease) SR

Creekside frosh Alyson Johnson had a ten-meter lead after the first half of the 4A District 1 girls' 5K. But the second half of the race belonged to the defending champion, Kate Drummond. The Buccholz senior overtook the fading Johnson, then charged home in 18:50--her best mark yet on the Apalachee Regional Park course. Lucy Voss made it one-two for Buchholz; the Bobcat junior was runner-up in 18:54. Oakleaf senior Sierra Barrera took third in 18:59. Early leader Alyson Johnson was sixth in 19:27, overtaken just before the homestretch by Buchholz soph Eleanor Whisler (4th, 19:14) and Niceville senior Trinity Holland (5th, 19:20).

Kate Drummond

Buchholz sophmore Ashley Hamilton took tenth in 20:00, making it four Bobcats in the top ten. The fifth Bobcat scorer was junior Emma White, finishing fourteenth in 20:07 and giving Buchholz 31 points and the team title.


The Niceville girls were second with 45 points. Creekside took third in the field of seventeen teams with 98 points.

Lucy Voss

Five more teams qualified for the 4A Region 1 meet by placing in the top eight--Mandarin was fourth with 139 points, Nease was fifth with 177 points, Bartram Trail was sixth with 182 points, Flagler Palm Coast was seventh with 184 points, and Chiles was eighth with 222 points.


Buccholz will host the FHSAA 4A Region 1 Cross-Country Championship Meet at Sante Fe College in Gainesville, Florida on Saturday morning, 29 October 2022. The top eight teams in each Regional race will advance to the State Championship at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida on Saturday mornning, 5 November 2022.

Buchholz Girls

Miles and Minutes, LLC, of Tallahassee timed and scored the 2022 FHSAA 4A District 1 Cross-Country Championship Meet.


Girls' Team Standings, 2022 FHSAA 4A District 1 Cross-Country Championship

1. Buchholz, 31 *
2. Niceville, 45 *
3. Creekside, 98 *
4. Mandarin, 139 *
5. Nease, 177 *
6. Bartram Trail, 182 *
7. Flagler Palm Coast, 184 *
8. Chiles, 222 *
9. Oakleaf, 281
10. Fletcher, 288
11. Pace, 292
12. West Port, 309
13. Crestview, 353
14. Navarre, 362
15. Forest, 437
16. Sandalwood, 472
17. Tate, 542

* Team advances to the 4A Region 1 Championship


Top 10 Girls, 2022 FHSAA 4A District 1 Cross-Country Championship

1. 18:49.5, Kate Drummond (Buchholz) SR
2. 18:53.2, Lucy Voss (Buchholz) JR
3. 18:59.0, Sierra Barrera (Oakleaf) SR
4. 19:13.3, Eleanor Whisler (Buchholz) SO
5. 19:20.0, Trinity Holland (Niceville) SR
6. 19:26.3, Alyson Johnson (Creekside) FR
7. 19:46.0, Cassidy De Young (Flagler Palm Coast) SO
8. 19:54.1, Rayne Mendez (Niceville) JR
9. 19:55.1, Hailey Holtery (Niceville) JR
10. 19:59.5, Ashley Hamilton (Buchholz) SO

Links

• Complete results of the 2022 FHSAA 4A District 1 Cross-Country Championship Meet
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vT0cz7bUGY_mM9ckLGiFaeQFYK7NwIxjzdTa811mf_Vwyxkd4elZ63Gus17GIGRnNKmz-uR4Qly-hjp/pubhtml
  
  
• More Trouble Afoot! photos of the 2022 FHSAA 4A District 1 Cross-Country Championship
  
  • Boys: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10119703572205203
    
  • Girls: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10119703070864893
    
  
  
• 2020 story, “Lillian Holtery and Niceville, Nathan Reffitt and Chiles claim 4A District 1 cross-country crowns”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2020/10/fhsaa-4a-district-1-2020.html
  
  
• 2019 story, “New classifications, new District titles for Chiles, Bartram Trail, Caitlin Wilkey, and Bradley Ball”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/10/fhsaa-4a-district-1-2019.html
  
  
• Find your next race--road, track, or trail--on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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