Is the Paul Hoover Memorial Freedom 5K a cross-country race?That's not a straightforward question. The race starts and finishes on pavement, but most of the 3.1-mile course is unpaved. The competitors don't dash across meadows or leap streams or slog through mud, but they do race along trails in Wakulla Springs State Park, circle a sinkhole, and test their footing on sand and gravel. The race is hosted by the Wakulla High Cross-Country Boosters and named in memory of Wakulla High cross-country coach Paul Hoover. Additionally, on Saturday morning, 24 June 2023, the top honors at the tenth annual Freedom 5K went to cross-country runner Tyler Godwin. Godwin, who has been racing cross-country for three years at Bluffton High, won the race in 17:13. Megan Churchill, about to start her junior year as a harrier for the Flagler College Saints, was the first woman in the race, placing eleventh overall in 20:32.
Right behind Godwin at 17:29, another harrier was runner-up--Henry Lewis, a rising junior at Wakulla High and the ace of his school's cross-country team. Leonardo Canete of Tallahassee was the first master runner in the race, coming in third overall in 17:36.
Megan Churchill's two years as a Flagler Saint weren't her only cross-country experience. As a schoolgirl in Tallahassee, Churchill had put in two seasons of racing in middle school and four more years in high school. There was one gap in her resume, though.
"It was my first time racing the Paul Hoover 5K," said Churchill. "I'm glad I got to do it!"
Nevertheless, Churchill's 20:32 put her across the finish line before more than a few Freedom 5K veterans. For instance, women's runner-up Brittney Barnes had been the seventh woman in the 2018 Freedom 5K. In 2023 Barnes was seventeenth overall in 21:14. Behind Barnes, Isabella Laughton, a rising junior on the Wakulla high cross-country squad, was third in the women's standings and eighteenth overall in 21:27. The women's runner-up in the 2022 race, Laughton was racing in her fourth Freedom 5K. Ruffian Tyner was the first woman master and the eighth female finisher, 35th overall in 24:01.
182 athletes finished the Wakulla High Cross-Country Boosters' tenth annual Paul Hoover Freedom 5K. Gulf Winds Track Club of Tallahassee chip-timed the race.
Top Ten Men, 2023 Freedom 5K
- 17:12.80, Tyler Godwin (M, 17)
- 17:28.60, Henry Lewis (M, 16)
- 17:35.80, Leonardo Canete (M, 44)
- 18:41.10, Ryan Truchelut (M, 37)
- 19:26.90, Michael Nesius (M, 38)
- 19:35.20, Mickey Moore (M, 53)
- 19:40.60, Andrew Nix (M, 18)
- 19:41.20, Elliot Butler (M, 32)
- 20:15.00, Joshua Roberson (M, 17)
- 20:29.40, Josiah Friddle (M, 16)
Top Ten Women, 2023 Freedom 5K
- 20:31.60, Megan Churchill (F, 21)
- 21:13.10, Brittney Barnes (F, 35)
- 21:26.20, Isabella Laughton (F, 15)
- 21:52.10, Liliana Lewis (F, 16)
- 22:11.20, Taylor Pfeifer (F, 17)
- 22:51.10, Elizabeth Sweeney (F, 37)
- 23:05.70, Serafina Rieton (F, 15)
- 24:01.00, Ruffian Tyner (F, 47)
- 24:06.10, Nancy Proctor (F, 62)
- 24:19.50, Lecia Ferrell (F, 18)
| Paul Hoover Freedom 5K winners, 2013 - 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Men | Women | Finishers |
| 29 June 2013 | 17:33, Stanley Linton | 21:12, Madison Harris | 107 |
| 28 June 2014 | 19:23, Reikan Lin | 20:12, Madison Harris | 82 |
| 27 June 2015 | 17:36, Zack DeVeau | 19:51, Katie Sherron | 173 |
| 25 June 2016 | 17:48, Wright Calhoun | 20:00, Madison Harris | 138 |
| 24 June 2017 | 16:32, Justin Keefe | 21:52, Haleigh Martin | 183 |
| 30 June 2018 | 18:21, Ryan Truchelut | 19:10, Amy Hines | 213 |
| 29 June 2019 | 18:31, Daniel Wiedeman | 21:18, Meg Ogle | 183 |
| 26 June 2021 | 17:07, Brock Granberg | 21:12, Liliana Lewis | 111 |
| 25 June 2022 | 17:17, Chris O'Kelley | 18:35, Katie Sherron | 159 |
| 24 June 2023 | 17:13, Tyler Godwin | 20:32, Megan Churchill | 182 |
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Links
- Complete results of the Wakulla HS Cross-Country Boosters' 2023 Paul Hoover Freedom 5K
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQVE0uufmvO4Cu8nYsrLtaXB1wPrJ7_lD4mnaNfmNWGa98AxRS3wEHNdiAYTreMURi6AyYKULNwmgcJ/pubhtml
- 2022 story, “Chris O'Kelley and Katie Sherron ran great on the gravel at the Freedom 5K”
https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2022/06/freedom-2022.html
- 2021 story, “Brock Granberg and Liliana Lewis roll at a rocky Freedom 5K”
https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2021/06/freedom-2021.html
- 2019 story, “Harriers Daniel Wiedeman and Meg Ogle run away with the Paul Hoover 5K”
https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/06/freedom-2019.html
- 2018 story, “Ryan Truchelut and Amy Hines were swift on the sand at the Paul Hoover 5K”
https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/06/freedom-2018.html
- 2017 story, “It's Justin Keefe with a new course record at the Paul Hoover Freedom 5K”
https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/06/freedom-2017.html
- 2016 story, “Calhoun and Harris are first in the Freedom 5K”
https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/06/freedom-2016.html
- 2015 story, “A little rain didn't slow down either DeVeau or Sherron at the Freedom Run 5K”
https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/06/freedom-2015.html
- 2014 story, “Lin and Harris post Freedom 5K wins”
https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/06/freedom-2014.html
- 2013 story, “Linton and Harris break loose at Freedom 5K”
https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/06/freedom-2013.html
- Find another upcoming race supporting scholastic cross country on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
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