Saturday, May 20, 2023

Leonardo Canete and Averi Lewis lead a swarm of runners on the Red Bug Trail

In Tallahassee, Florida on Saturday evening, 20 May 2023, the heat wasn't excessive at Phipps Park, nor was the humidity extreme. The park wasn't plagued with voracious swarms of insects. In spite of the absence of those signs of a North Florida summer, it was nevertheless time for the first race in Gulf Winds Track Club's 2023 Summer Trail Series, the Red Bug Trail 7K. Tallahassee master runner Leonardo Canete won the race by more than 700 meters, finishing the rugged course in 33:26. Tallahassee triathlete Averi Lewis took the top spot in the women's standings, placing thirteenth overall in 40:05.

Leonardo Canete
Leonardo Canete

The race started from Forestmeadows Athletic Center, with race director Bobby York sending the athletes on their way right at 6:00 PM. Leonardo Canete was leading almost immediately, and had a sizeable lead by the time the runners made it into the trees. Canete ran alone through the woods.


"I saw a little snake on the trail," Canete recalled later. "A black racer."

Barry Drenkhahn
Barry Drenkhahn

That was the only racer he saw, as he finished the course unchallenged in a winning 33:26. Behind Canete, Barry Drenkhahn and master runner Jeremy Floyd had a back-and-forth battle for the runner-up spot. Drenkhahn ultimately prevailed, beating Floyd to the finish line 37:14 to 37:20.


Canete's win was his fifth in the Trail Series, going back to 2021. 2021 was also the first year that Averi Lewis raced the trail series. Lewis finished in the top five in each of the four races that year, including a third-place finish at Red Bug, where she ran 40:52. Lewis missed the Trail Series in 2022; she was busy at in Naperville, Illinois, where she was coaching the North Central College women's triathlon team to a national championship in NCAA Division III. Back in Tallahassee in 2023, she was also back in the Trail Series. Lewis lowered her Red Bug time to 40:05 and won the women's division, leading the distaff field from start to finish.

Averi Lewis
Averi Lewis

Ten-year-old Acadia Hassell nabbed second in the women's standings, placing fifteenth overall in 40:49. At 42:41, Alyssa Terry was the third woman in the race and nineteenth overall. Terry was the women's champ at the fourth and final trail series event of 2022, the Cadillac Trail Race.


Coming in 23rd and 24th overall, Melissa Sullivan edged Carrie Murphy for the fourth spot in the women's division, both athletes clocked in 44:11. Murphy was the first woman master in the race.

Acadia Hassell
Acadia Hassell

124 athletes finished the 2023 Red Bug Trail 7K. Gulf Winds Track Club chip-timed the event. Gulf Winds Track Club's Trail Series continues throughout the summer with the Maclay Gardens Trail Race on 10 June 2023, the Swamp Forest Trail Race on 8 July 2023, and the Cadillac Trail Race on 19 August 2023.


Top Ten Men, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2023 Red Bug Trail 7K
  1. 33:26, Leonardo Canete (M, 44)
  2. 37:14, Barry Drenkhahn (M, 39)
  3. 37:20, Jeremy Floyd (M, 46)
  4. 37:58, Hans Hassell (M, 40)
  5. 38:15, Paul Guyas (M, 45)
  6. 38:20, Will Hanley (M, 48)
  7. 38:21, Andrew Steinbrink (M, 37)
  8. 38:37, Travis Dorman (M, 39)
  9. 39:07, Jerome Roberts (M, 38)
  10. 39:15, Benjamin Goldsberry (M, 50)

Top Ten Women, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2023 Red Bug Trail 7K
  1. 40:05, Averi Lewis (F, 26)
  2. 40:49, Acadia Hassell (F, 10)
  3. 42:41, Alyssa Terry (F, 29)
  4. 44:11, Melissa Sullivan (F, 32)
  5. 44:11, Carrie Murphy (F, 51)
  6. 44:35, Signe Ulsamer (F, 45)
  7. 45:00, Sarrah Glassner (F, 40)
  8. 45:56, Laura Sellati (F, 44)
  9. 46:15, Meredith Strange (F, 43)
  10. 46:21, Deirdre McCarthy (F, 43)

Gulf Winds Track Club's Summer Trail Series race winners, 2013 - 2023
YearDateRaceTop MaleTop FemaleFinishers
2013June 22Cadillac Trail 5½M37:38, Kevin Sullivan45:07, Stephanie Liles-Weyant121
July 13Swamp Forest Trail 4½M30:19, Kevin Sullivan34:12, Micah Adriani124
July 27Magnolia Trail 3½M21:44, Kevin Sullivan24:45, Stephanie Liles-Weyant114
August 3Red Bug Trail 4½M33:31, Bryce Van Dam43:46, Stephanie Liles-Weyant92
2014June 21Red Bug Trail 4½M38:30, Charn McAllister42:02, Brook Pace114
July 12Swamp Forest Trail 4½M29:06, Charn McAllister33:13, Brook Pace109
July 26Magnolia Trail 3½M26:03, Charn McAllister30:16, Emily Molen108
August 2Cadillac Trail 5½M41:38, Brian Molen48:25, Emily Molen88
2015May 30Cadillac Trail 5½M39:15, Zach Deveau42:51, Alyson Churchill158
June 13Oak Hammock Trail 5M32:59, Zach Deveau35:10, Alyson Churchill129
July 18Coon Bottom Trail 4M28:42, Zach Deveau29:14, Alyson Churchill112
August 1Red Bug Trail 4½M35:14, Greg Bargo35:24, Alyson Churchill112
2016May 21Magnolia Trail 3½M25:18, Dan Baur27:05, Katie Gorman133
June 4Oak Hammock Trail 5½M42:53, Eric Godin45:24, Katie Gorman123
July 9Red Bug Trail 4½M33:14, Dan Baur35:04, Katie Gorman130
July 30Cadillac Trail 5½M43:06, Paul Guyas42:29, Alyson Churchill95
2017June 10Munson Hills 6M36:45, Chris O'Kelley46:34, Emily Molen87
July 1Red Bug Trail 4½M37:34, Chris O'Kelley48:24, Emily Molen90
July 15Oak Hammock/Swamp Forest 5M33:35, Charles Biberg39:36, Kat Sack89
August 5Tom Brown Park 4½M32:40, Chris O'Kelley36:36, Jennifer Bayliss71
2018June 23Munson Hills 6M38:02, Vince Molosky45:10, Emily Molen124
July 7Phipps Park 4M30:49, Jim Schafer33:39, Kat Sack127
July 21Maclay Gardens 5M38:26, Brad Busboom44:39, Kat Sack110
August 4Tom Brown Park 4½M28:39, Brad Busboom32:29, Kat Sack109
2019June 22Red Bug Trail 4½M35:27, Zach DeVeau38:53, Rachel Durbin125
July 6Munson Hills 6M38:24, Zach DeVeau43:56, Rachel Durbin86
July 27Tom Brown Park 5M37:13, Bryan Gensits44:47, Rachel Durbin108
August 24Maclay Gardens 4½M39:00, Zach DeVeau43:00, Rachel Durbin91
2021June 12Cadillac Trail 5½M40:26, Daniel Wurgler46:21, Clifton Lewis107
July 10Swamp Forest Trail 5M29:07, Leonardo Canete34:24, Amelia Bryant104
July 24Maclay Gardens 5M37:48, Jonathan Stern44:06, Clifton Lewis111
August 28Red Bug Trail 4½M34:23, Leonardo Canete38:10, Clifton Lewis72
2022May 28Swamp Forest Trail 4½M28:08, Jonathan Stern38:29, Andi Vilardo141
June 19Red Bug Trail 4½M32:19, Jonathan Stern44:01, Andi Vilardo111
July 16Maclay Gardens 5½M38:28, Leonardo Canete52:14, Andi Vilardo120
August 20Cadillac Trail 5½M37:18, Leonardo Canete48:39, Alyssa Terry98
2023May 20Red Bug Trail 4½M33:26, Leonardo Canete40:05, Averi Lewis124
June 19Maclay Gardens 5½M
July 16Swamp Forest Trail 4½M
August 20Cadillac Trail 5½M
Multiple wins by men: Zach DeVeau (6), Leonardo Canete (5), Kevin Sullivan (3), Charn McAllister (3), Chris O'Kelley (3),
       Jonathan Stern (3), Dan Baur (2), Brad Busboom (2)
Multiple wins by women: Alyson Churchill (5), Emily Molen (5), Kat Sack (4), Rachel Durbin (4),
      Stephanie Liles-Weyant (3), Katie Gorman (3), Clifton Lewis (3), Andi Vilardo (3), Brook Pace (2)


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Posted by Herb Wills at 3:09 PM
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