Thursday, October 6, 2022

Charlotte Sikes and Jack Koon starred in the final act of LCS Cross-Country

On Wednesday evening, 5 October 2022, Apalachee Regional Park hosted the final act of Leon County Schools' middle school cross-country season--the League Championship Meet. The Deerlake girls capped a perfect season at the meet, winning the League title with 29 points. The first girl in that three-kilometer race was Charlotte Sikes; the Swift Creek sixth-grader ended an undefeated season with an 11:21 win. The Montford Mustangs took the boys' title with 36 points, while Fairview eighth-grader Jack Koon got his first win of the season when it counted most, running 10:16.


When the meet opened the air was dry, the sky was clear, and temperatures had dipped below 80 °F. The ground was firm and the grass had begun to die back. In short, conditions were excellent when the girls started racing at 6:00 PM. Charlotte Sikes was ahead almost immediately after the starting gun fired. Then she got further ahead. And further still.


From the finish line of the Apalachee Regional Park Cross-Country Course, you can see runner approaching from about 200 meters out. But when Sikes crossed that finish line, you couldn't see the next athlete. She was that far ahead. Her winning time, 11:21, was the fastest ever by a girl at the League Championship Meet. It was also Sikes' best time on the course.

Charlotte Sikes
Charlotte Sikes

"It was a lot better than I ran in August," said Sikes. "Like 15 seconds faster."


Behind Sikes, eighth-graders Kaia Ables and Haley Heitmeyer battled for second. Deerlake's Ables prevailed over Heitmeyer of Montford, 11:53 to 11:54. Another Montford eighth-grader, Savannah Stanley, placed fourth in 12:07.


AFter Stanley, though, it was the Deerlake show, with the next three runners wearing Buck green. Seventh-grader Chloe Molen was fifth in 12:12, sixth-grader Emma-Claire Tanenbaum was sixth in 12:14, and sixth-grader Grace Toulon was seventh in 12:40. Deerlake seventh-grader Allie Davenport finished ninth in 12:51, making five Bucks in the top ten and giving the Deerlake girls a winning total of 29 points.


Montford scored 47 points, placing second in the team standings. The Swift Creek girls were third with 79 points.


Girls' Team Standings, Leon County Schools 2022 Middle School Cross-Country Championship
  1. Deerlake, 29
  2. Montford, 47
  3. Swift Creek, 79
  4. Raa, 101
  5. Cobb, 136
  6. Fairview, 149
  7. Griffin, 207
  8. Nims, 233
  9. Fort Braden, NTS
    Woodville, NTS

Top Ten Girls, Leon County Schools 2022 Middle School Cross-Country Championship
  1. 11:20.39, Charlotte Sikes (Swift Creek) 6
  2. 11:52.24, Kaia Ables (Deerlake) 8
  3. 11:53.56, Haley Heitmeyer (Montford) 8
  4. 12:06.48, Savannah Stanley (Montford)
  5. 12:11.87, Chloe Molen (Deerlake) 7
  6. 12:13.10, Emma-Claire Tanenbaum (Deerlake) 6
  7. 12:39.43, Grace Toulon (Deerlake) 6
  8. 12:49.38, Sadie Blake (Swift Creek) 6
  9. 12:51.00, Allie Davenport (Deerlake) 7
  10. 12:52.18, Andi Vilardo (Montford) 8

The boys race started at 6:30, with Montford eighth-grader Salvatore Giove the early leader. He was soon overtaken by two other eighth-graders--Jack Koon of Fairview and Jonathan Kiros of Deerlake.


"We caught him near the Leon County logo," said Koon, referring to a design painted on the grass about 600 meters from the start. "Jonathan and I were going back and forth after that. The last place where the fans could all see us, I opened up."


That was about the two-kilometer mark. Over the final kilometer, Koon left Kiros and everyone else behind.


"I couldn't hear him back there, so I thought I had a good lead," said Koon.

Jack Koon
Jack Koon

Two weeks earlier, Giove had outkicked Koon to win the Falcon Invitational. A year earlier, Kiros had left Koon behind to win the 2021 League Championship race. In three years of Leon County Schools middle school cross-country, Koon hadn't won a race. That changed at the 2022 championship. After Koon's move with a kilometer to go, no one came back to challenge him, and he crossed the finish line a winner in 10:16, a good bit faster than the 10:53 he had run on the same course in August.


"I felt much better today," said Koon. "More relaxed."


Giove outkicked Kiros for second, both athletes clocked in 10:21. Montford eighth-graders grabbed the next two spots, with Gavin Poucher fourth in 10:40 and Trent Parsons fifth in 10:49.


Montford's remaining scorers were sixth-grader Jack Nottingham (11th, 11:29) and eighth-grader Connor Whitney (14th, 11:41), giving the Mustangs 36 points and the 2022 team title.


Deerlake was a close second with 41 points. The Fairview boys were third with 92 points.


Boys' Team Standings, Leon County Schools 2022 Middle School Cross-Country Championship
  1. Montford, 36
  2. Deerlake, 41
  3. Fairview, 92
  4. Raa, 101
  5. Swift Creek, 135
  6. Cobb, 167
  7. Fort Braden, 194
  8. Griffin, 251
  9. Woodville, 271
  10. Nims, 280

Top Ten Boys, Leon County Schools 2022 Middle School Cross-Country Championship
  1. 10:15.51, Jack Koon (Fairview) 8
  2. 10:20.20, Salvatore Giove (Montford) 8
  3. 10:20.93, Jonathan Kiros (Deerlake) 8
  4. 10:39.75, Gavin Poucher (Montford) 8
  5. 10:48.89, Trent Parsons (Montford) 8
  6. 10:59.38, Jacob Hassell (Deerlake) 6
  7. 11:02.98, Nicholas Hassell (Deerlake) 6
  8. 11:07.07, Cooper Rideout (Swift Creek) 8
  9. 11:22.44, Emari Thomas (Fairview) 7
  10. 11:25.29, Antonio Clements (Cobb) 7

Leon County Schools had scheduled seven middle school meets for the 2022 cross-country season. The September 30 event, the Mabry Invitational, was canceled due to hurricane fears, but with the League Championship, the full season of six events was in the books. What's next?


"I'm just going to train as much as I can for track season," said Sikes.


"I'm pointing for the State Championships in Lakeland," said Koon. "After that I'll just keep training for track season."


2022 Leon County Schools
Middle School Cross-Country Season Summary
Girls
MeetTeam ChampIndividual Champ
ARPXC (Story)
24 August 2022		Deerlake, 2911:34, Charlotte Sikes (Swift Creek) 6
Fort Braden (Story)
31 August 2022		Deerlake, 3311:44, Charlotte Sikes (Swift Creek) 6
Mustang (Story)
6 September 2022		Deerlake, 2812:29, Charlotte Sikes (Swift Creek) 6
Everhart (Story)
14 September 2022		Deerlake, 3111:52, Charlotte Sikes (Swift Creek) 6
Falcon (Story)
22 September 2022		Deerlake, 3210:59, Charlotte Sikes (Swift Creek) 6
SportsPlex
30 September 2022		Canceled
Championship (Story)
5 October 2022		Deerlake, 2911:21, Charlotte Sikes (Swift Creek) 6
Boys
MeetTeam ChampIndividual Champ
ARPXC (Story)
24 August 2022		Deerlake, 4810:30, Caio Zacchi (Nims) 8
Fort Braden (Story)
31 August 2022		Montford, 4210:19, Caio Zacchi (Nims) 8
Mustang (Story)
6 September 2022		Deerlake, 4910:55, Caio Zacchi (Nims) 8
Everhart (Story)
14 September 2022		Montford, 3610:39, Caio Zacchi (Nims) 8
Falcon (Story)
22 September 2022		Montford, 379:56, Salvatore Giove (Montford) 8
SportsPlex
30 September 2022		Canceled
Championship (Story)
5 October 2022		Montford, 3610:16, Jack Koon (Fairview) 8


Leon County Schools Middle School Cross-Country Championships
Apalachee Regional Park, 2010 - 2022
Girls
DateTeam ChampIndividual Champ
6 October 2010Raa, 3213:34, Rebecca Clendinen (Raa) 8
28 September 2011Swift Creek, 3113:24, Zoe Sheldon (Swift Creek) 7
26 September 2012Swift Creek, 3612:49, Audrey Dogan (Raa) 8
2 October 2013Swift Creek, 4313:00, Ana Wallace (Deerlake) 8
1 October 2014Deerlake, 3612:12, Lawton Campbell (Deerlake) 8
7 October 2015Swift Creek, 3512:08, Emily Molen (Deerlake) 8
5 October 2016Montford, 4413:33, Paige Churchill (Swift Creek) 6
4 October 2017Swift Creek, 2713:14, Paige Churchill (Swift Creek) 7
4 October 2018Swift Creek, 2812:04, Paige Churchill (Swift Creek) 8
3 October 2019Deerlake, 3612:17, Kyra Swart (Deerlake) 6
28 October 2020Deerlake, 2712:22, Sophia Youngberg (Montford) 8
7 October 2021Deerlake, 2311:58, Annabelle Wiktorski (Montford) 7
5 October 2022Deerlake, 2911:21, Charlotte Sikes (Swift Creek) 6
Boys
DateTeam ChampIndividual Champ
6 October 2010Raa, 2411:35, Wil Luca (Raa) 8
28 September 2011Raa, 5811:42, Evan Francis (Raa) 8
26 September 2012Montford, 5611:49, Matthew Cashin (Raa) 8
2 October 2013Montford, 3711:19, Jacob Dodson (Raa) 8
1 October 2014Fairview, 4411:59, Tavaris King (Griffin) 8
7 October 2015Montford, 5011:34, Nile Bryant (Raa) 8
5 October 2016Swift Creek, 4411:38, Weston Blake (Swift Creek) 8
4 October 2017Deerlake, 5011:31, Ben Kirbo (Montford) 8
4 October 2018Deerlake, 3810:07, Wyatt Townsend (Deerlake) 8
3 October 2019Fairview, 3310:08, Patrick Koon (Fairview) 8
28 October 2020++
7 October 2021Swift Creek, 4410:46, Jonathan Kiros (Deerlake) 7
5 October 2022Montford, 3610:16, Jack Koon (Fairview) 8
Note: LCS held middle-school cross-country championships before 2010.
This table summarizes the history of the championship at ARPXC.

The races were two miles from 2010 to 2017 and 3 km afterwards.


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Posted by Herb Wills at 10:03 PM
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