Sunday, November 6, 2022

State Championship Titles of Tallahassee & Leon County High School Cross-Country Teams, 1947-2022

You'd think that there would be a year that I wouldn't have to update this. But as long as Tallahassee high school cross-country teams keep making it the State Meet, and as long as those athletes keep winning honors, I'm going to be busy. This time around, two local harriers cut into my nap time. Leon senior Lillee Tang took first in the high school girls' 5K at the FHSAA State Championship Cross-Country Meet in Tallahassee on Saturday morning, 5 November 2022, running 17:53.7 on the Apalachee Regional Park course. Later that morning, Leon junior Patrick Koon successfully defended his 2021 title in the 3A boys's race, going 14:56.7. It was the fourth time that an area school had swept the individual titles at State--Leon's Jessica Scafidi and Ray Carter had both won in 1988, then both repeated in 1989; while Chiles' Ana Wallace and Michael Phillips both won in 2017.

Lillee Tang
Lillee Tang, Malissa Underwood, and Ashley Fitzgerald

Competition started at 7:50 AM with the 1A girls' race. The Capital City was represented in that race by Tallahassee Community Christian and the storied Maclay program. The Maclay girls put up 108 points to take third, with performances from junior Susan Koeppel (13th, 19:06.1), frosh Lillian Koeppel (15th, 19:13.0), frosh Caroline Couch (19th, 19:27.4), sophomore Kassidy Moninger (32nd, 19:54.0), junior Mary Clayton Soto (51st, 20:26.7), Payton Thumm (61st, 20:45.6), and frosh Nishi Banderi (161st, 23:29.2).. Community Christian took 30th in the field of 32 teams; the Crusader 762 points were scored by senior Teresa Meli (66th, 20:56.1), frosh Hannah Joyner (175th, 23:42.0), junior Riza Johnson (179th, 23:44.8), junior Sarah Kate Costello (185th, 23:51.5), and junior Morgan Crews (212th, 25:31.1).


Tallahassee neighbors Wakulla High had a team in the 2A girls' race, second on the schedule with an 8:15 AM start. The Eagles scored 591 points, placing 25th out of 32 teams. Sophomore Isabella Laughton (42nd, 19:54.7), junior Taylor Pfeifer (86th, 20:56.5), junior Analecia Ferrell (125th, 21:47.2), junior Liliana Lewis (162nd, 22:25.8), sophomore Danielle Lewis (218th, 24:46.5), and senior Trista Heffren (228th, 25:38.5) raced in Wakulla colors.


The 1A boys' 5K was third on the program with a starting time of 8:40. Maclay and Community Christian each had a team in that race, with Maclay placing sixteenth with 435 points and Community Christian 27th with 682 points. Maclay's athletes were senior Clayton Knox (39th, 17:11.6), senior Lucas Mauch (42nd, 17:16.1), frosh Charles Wilson (103rd, 18:07.3), sophomore Logan Price (147th, 19:01.2), sophomore Lucas Gomez (148th, 19:01.3), junior Charlie Rust (154th, 19:10.5), and frosh Collins Dickson (177th, 19:39.8). Community Christian's runners were junior Carson Freeland (98th, 18:01.9), senior Stephen Machado (156th, 19:16.1), sophomore Bryan Meli (159th, 19:20.8), frosh Luke Meli (162nd, 19:22.7), junior Caleb Lindsey (167th, 19:28.8), seventh-grader Landon Reeves (170th, 19:32.0), and junior Joshua Bouck (208th, 20:55.9).


9:05 rolled around; time for the 3A girls' 5K. The first trip up the wall whittled down the lead group to a trio of runners at 2400 meters--American Heritage junior Ashley Fitzgerald, Rockledge junior Malinda Underwood, and Leon senior Lillee Tang. Tang made her moved at 3200 meters, opening a gap. Fitzgerald gave pursuit, but couldn't catch Tang. The Leon senior took the title in 17:53.7; Fitzgerald was runner-up in 17:56.0. It was the first time a Leon girl had won a State Championship cross-country race since 1990, when Jessica Scaffidi took first. Tang's win led the Leon girls to a fourth-place showing in the team standings with 196 points. The other Lions were senior Lily Moore (17th, 19:02.3), senior Mallory Robinson (45th, 20:03.5), senior Stella Lewis (60th, 20:16.6), sophomore Madi Sims (93rd, 20:55.1), and frosh Clifton Lewis (96th, 20:57.9).

Patrick Koon
Patrick Koon

Joshua Ruiz went out hard in the 3A boys' 5K, which started at 10:20 AM. The Belen Jesuit junior hammered a 4:38.6 first mile. Leon's Patrick Koon, the defending champion in the race, was content to follow Ruiz for the first two kilometers. During the third kilometer, Koon buried Ruiz, opening an 80-meter gap. By the finish line that gap had grown to well over 200 meters, and Koon had a first-place finish in the State Cross-Country Championship--his second, the eleventh by a Leon boy, and the nineteenth by a Tallahassee boy. Behind Koon, the Lions scored 168 points, taking fourth. Koon's teammates were junior William Springer (25th, 16:39.5), junior Quinn Carrasquilla (48th, 17:07.3), junior William Winsor (50th, 17:10.3), sophomore Cadden Maxwell (69th, 17:26.9), frosh Luke Springer (145th, 18:37.4), and junior Walt Haber (158th, 18:53.0). Lincoln High's Trojans also represented Tallahassee in the 3A boys' race, placing 17th with 489 points. The Trojans at State were senior Joseph McLeod (97th, 17:52.3), junior Enijah Thomas (109th, 17:57.4), junior Dillon Brewer (110th, 17:57.7), frosh Matthew Hauser (124th, 18:13.2), senior Jordan Dougherty (133rd, 18:18.3), and junior Olatunde Wright (181st, 19:18.7).


The meet concluded with the 4A boys' 5K at 10:45 AM. Chiles placed eleventh with 368 points, marking the 23rd straight appearance by the Timberwolf boys at State. This year's Wolves were senior Wyatt Townsend (21st, 16:10.5), senior Colin Dunphy (62nd, 17:06.5), junior Jackson Rowe (99th, 17:31.1), senior Calvin Wheatley (104th, 17:36.5), junior Kasey Mick (117th, 17:42.1), senior Owen Franklin (128th, 17:50.9), and senior Joseph Garner (151st, 18:12.6).


So the following lists of titles just keep getting longer.


CHILES HIGH SCHOOLChiles TimberWolf

Team Titles

Boys:
FHSAA 3A State Champions, 2003
FHSAA 3A State Champions, 2005
FHSAA 3A State Champions, 2006
FHSAA 3A State Champions, 2014

Girls:
FHSAA 3A State Champions, 2008
FHSAA 3A State Champions, 2009
FHSAA 3A State Champions, 2010
FHSAA 3A State Champions, 2015
FHSAA 3A State Champions, 2017
FHSAA 3A State Champions, 2018


Individual Titles

Boys:
2003 Alex Miletich, 3A State Champion
2016 Michael Phillips, 3A State Champion
2017 Michael Phillips, 3A State Champion

Girls:
2009 Carly Thomas, 3A State Champion
2012 Rachel Givens, 3A State Champion
2017 Ana Wallace, 3A State Champion


GODBY HIGH SCHOOLGodby Cougar

Individual Titles

Boys:
2007 Joe Franklin, 2A State Champion




LEON HIGH SCHOOLLeon Lion

Team Titles

Boys:
FHSAA 2A State Champions, 1969
FHSAA 3A State Champions, 2007
FHSAA 3A State Champions, 2008
FHSAA 3A State Champions, 2009

Girls:
FHSAA 3A State Champions, 1977
FHSAA 3A State Champions, 1978
FHSAA 3A State Champions, 1986
FHSAA 3A State Champions, 1987
FHSAA 3A State Champions, 1988


Individual Titles:

Boys:
1976 Herb Wills, 4A State Champion
1986 Doug Dickinson, 3A State Champion
1988 Ray Carter, 3A State Champion
1989 Ray Carter, 3A State Champion
2007 Matt Mizereck, 3A State Champion
2008 Matt Mizereck, 3A State Champion
2009 Matt Mizereck, 3A State Champion
2013 Sukhi Khosla, 3A State Champion
2014 Sukhi Khosla, 3A State Champion
2021 Patrick Koon, 3A State Champion
2022 Patrick Koon, 3A State Champion

Girls:
1979 Rosemary Desloge, 3A State Champion
1988 Jessica Scafidi, 3A State Champion
1989 Jessica Scafidi, 3A State Champion
1990 Jessica Scafidi, 3A State Champion
2022 Lillee Tang, 3A State Champion


LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOLLincoln Trojan

Individual Titles

Girls:
1991 Kathy Ward, 4A State Champion
1992 Kathy Ward, 4A State Champion
2016 Alyson Churchill, 3A State Champion



MACLAY SCHOOLMaclay Marauder

Team Titles

Boys:
FHSAA 2A State Champions, 1998
FHSAA 1A State Champions, 1999
FHSAA 1A State Champions, 2000
FHSAA 1A State Champions, 2001
FHSAA 1A State Champions, 2002


Girls:
FHSAA 2A State Champions, 1997
FHSAA 2A State Champions, 1998
FHSAA 1A State Champions, 1999
FHSAA 1A State Champions, 2001
FHSAA 1A State Champions, 2005


Individual Titles

Boys:
2002 Ryan Deak, 1A State Champion
2008 Patrick Swain, 1A State Champion
2009 Patrick Swain, 1A State Champion


NORTH FLORIDA CHRISTIAN SCHOOLNorth Florida Christian School

Individual Titles

Boys:
1989, Robert Boyd, 1A State Champion






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Posted by Herb Wills at 10:53 PM
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