Patrick Koon wrecks the Dueling Summits 5K course record with a 15:40

You can find a cross-country race at any time of year, and there are pre-season cross-country meets, but in Tallahassee, Florida the high school cross-country season really doesn't begin until the Dueling Summits Meet is run in Phipps Park. That annual season opener happened for the sixteenth time on Saturday morning, 25 August 2023, with Chiles and Leon divvying up the team titles--Chiles taking first in the girls' race with 28 points, and Leon winning the boys' 5K with 30 points. Wakulla junior Isabella Laughton won the girls' 5K for the second year in a row, covering the hilly course in 20:21. Leon senior and two-time state champion Patrick Koon set a new course record in the boys' race with a winning 15:40.

The start of the 2022 Dueling Summits high school girls' 5K

Isabella Laughton has raced at Dueling Summits each of her first three years as a Wakulla War Eagle, placing fourth in the high school girls' race in 2021 and first in 2022. Laughton had to outkick two other athletes for that 2022 win. That wasn't part of the plot the next year. In the 2023 race, Laughton won by more than 200 meters, and her winning time of 20:21 was almost two minutes faster than she had run the previous year. Leon sophomore Clifton Lewis took the runner-up spot with a 21:15. At 21:27, Chiles frosh Kaia Ables came in third.


Ables was joined in the top ten by four other Chiles Timberwolves--frosh Haley Heitmeyer was seventh in 22:07, junior Sophia Youngberg eighth in 22:32, sophomore Maddy Morris ninth in 22:42, and frosh Savannah Stanley took tenth in 23:07. That gave the Chiles girls 28 points and the top spot in the team standings, the fifth Dueling Summits girls' title for the Timberwolves in the past seven meets.


Laughton and the Wakulla girls placed second in the twelve-team field with 50 points. Lincoln, led by junior NyAshia Wright (24th, 24:42) edged Community Christian for third, 139 to 143. Community Christians top athlete was Sarah Kate Costello, 23rd in 24:30.


Team Standings, High School Girls, 2023 Dueling Summits Cross-Country Meet

1. Chiles, 28
2. Wakulla, 50
3. Lincoln, 139
4. Community Christian, 143
5. Tift County, 154
6. Saint John Paul Catholic, 160
7. Thomas County Central, 172
8. Westover, 207
9. Fort White, 221
10. Altha, 235
11. Seminole County, 248
12. Blountstown, 347

Top Ten High School Girls, 2023 Dueling Summits Cross-Country Meet

1. 20:20.20, Isabella Laughton (Wakulla) 11
2. 21:14.90, Clifton Lewis (Leon) 10
3. 21:26.80, Kaia Ables (Chiles) 9
4. 21:35.80, Cadence Curnalia (Thomas County Central) 11
5. 21:47.20, Liliana Lewis (Wakulla) 12
6. 21:53.70, Madi Sims (Leon) 11
7. 22:06.50, Haley Heitmeyer (Chiles) 9
8. 22:31.90, Sophia Youngberg (Chiles) 11
9. 22:41.30, Maddy Morris (Chiles) 10
10. 23:06.60, Savannah Stanley (Chiles) 9

Let's be clear. Cross-country is not about time. It never has been. I understand that, but please indulge me for a moment. Prior to 2023, more than a few state cross-country champions have won the boys' race at Dueling Summits--Joseph Franklin, Patrick Swain, Sukhi Khosla, and Michael Phillips. Two of those had run sub-9:00 in the 3200--Sukhi Khosla (8:59.57) and Michael Phillips (8:54.62). None of those athletes ever broke 16:00 at Dueling Summits.


Patrick Koon, though, left the 16:00 minute mark far behind in the 2023 race. A hypothetical 16:00 runner wouldn't have been able to see Koon when he crossed the finish line in 15:40, winning his first and only Dueling Summits appearance. He wasn't exactly pushed, either. The next runner was about 450 meters back, still trudging up the hill from Lake Jackson, when Koon finished.


Lincoln's Matthew Hauser had run 19:59 at the 2022 Dueling Summits, his debut performance in the meet. Returning as a sophomore, Hauser threw down a 17:14 in the 2023 race, good for second place. Quinn Carrasquilla, a Leon sophomore, took third with a 17:28, just ahead of his teammate, junior Cadden Maxwell, fourth in 17:32.


Walt Haber, a senior, gave Leon another runner in the top ten, placing tenth in 18:27. The Lions' two remaining scorers were frosh Theo McDonald (12th, 18:33) and senior Yi'en Liu (15th, 18:40), giving the Leon boys 30 points and the top spot in a field of seventeen boys' teams. It was the fifth time a Leon boys team had won Dueling Summits.


The Chiles boys, led by senior Kasey Mick (5th, 17:34) and junior Gabriel Edwards (6th, 17:35), scored 48 points for second in the team standings. Lincoln was third with 95 points.


Team Standings, High School Boys, 2023 Dueling Summits Cross-Country Meet

1. Leon, 30
2. Chiles, 48
3. Lincoln, 95
4. Community Christian, 124
5. Tift County, 138
6. Bainbridge, 226
7. Wakulla, 226
8. Rickards, 248
9. Thomas County Central, 252
10. Westover, 320
11. Saint John Paul Catholic, 336
12. Blountstown, 337
13. Cairo, 353
14. Seminole County, 360
15. Grace Christian, 431
16. North Florida Christian, 469
17. Altha, 507

Top Ten High School Boys, 2023 Dueling Summits Cross-Country Meet

1. 15:39.10, Patrick Koon (Leon) 12
2. 17:13.60, Matthew Hauser (Lincoln) 10
3. 17:27.50, Quinn Carrasquilla (Leon) 12
4. 17:31.10, Cadden Maxwell (Leon) 11
5. 17:34.00, Kasey Mick (Chiles) 12
6. 17:34.40, Gabriel Edwards (Chiles) 11
7. 17:44.50, Josh Hicks (Chiles) 10
8. 18:10.80, Jahlae Sapp (Bainbridge) 12
9. 18:18.80, Blair Golden (Tift County) 12
10. 18:27.00, Walt Haber (Leon) 12

Dueling Summits Cross-Country Meet High School Winners 2006 - 2023
Girls
Date	Team Champ	Individual Champ
16 September 2006	Maclay, 23	20:44, Laura Hempel (Rickards)
10 September 2007	Maclay, 18	20:36, Jana Stolting (Maclay)
15 September 2008	Maclay, 39	20:18, Jana Stolting (Maclay)
14 September 2009	Maclay, 43	21:05, Stefanie Kurgatt (Maclay)
2 October 2010	West Florida Tech, 27	19:23, Stefanie Kurgatt (Maclay)
8 October 2011	Lincoln, 49	21:16, Savana Osterbye (FSUS)
2012	No meet held in 2012
31 August 2013	Leon, 27	20:35, Madison Harris (Wakulla)
6 September 2014	Leon, 44	21:09, Haleigh Martin (Wakulla)
29 August 2015	Fort Walton Beach, 24	21:16, Caroline Willis (Maclay)
27 August 2016	Chiles, 40	18:47, Alyson Churchill (Lincoln)
26 August 2017	Chiles, 80	18:29, Elizabeth Funderburk (Colquitt County)
25 August 2018	Chiles, 27	19:42, Abigail Schrobilgen (Chiles) 12
24 August 2019	Chiles, 39	18:52, Alyson Churchill (Chiles) 12
28 August 2021	Wakulla, 25	21:23, Kelly Davis (Chiles) 12
27 August 2022	Wakulla, 35	22:17, Isabella Laughton (Wakulla) 10
26 August 2023	Chiles, 28	20:21, Isabella Laughton (Wakulla) 11
Boys
Date	Team Champ	Individual Champ
16 September 2006	Lincoln, 42	16:56, Joseph Franklin (Godby)
10 September 2007	Maclay, 23	17:18, Whitney Strickland (NFCS)
15 September 2008	Niceville, 36	17:02, Whitney Strickland (NFCS)
14 September 2009	Maclay, 47	17:27, Patrick Swain (Maclay)
2 October 2010	Lincoln, 52	16:10, Jacob Slupecki (Lincoln)
8 October 2011	Lincoln, 63	16:55, Stanley Linton (Wakulla)
2012	No meet held in 2012
31 August 2013	Leon, 34	16:47, Sukhi Khosla (Leon)
6 September 2014	Leon, 15	16:42, Sukhi Khosla (Leon)
29 August 2015	Leon, 52	16:38, Adam Wallenfelsz (Leon)
27 August 2016	Chiles, 32	16:44, Michael Phillips (Chiles)
26 August 2017	Chiles, 23	16:42, Michael Phillips (Chiles)
25 August 2018	Chiles, 32	17:01, Connor Phillips (Chiles) 12
24 August 2019	Leon, 28	17:11, Jackson Yarbrough (Leon) 10
28 August 2021	Chiles, 20	16:32, Wyatt Townsend (Chiles) 11
27 August 2022	Lowndes, 42	18:10, Isaac Chambers (Lowndes) 11
26 August 2023	Leon, 30	15:40, Patrick Koon (Leon) 12

Seven days earlier, in a different Tallahassee park, Acadia Hassell had won the women's division in the Cadillac Trail 9K. The fifth grader was back on the trails at Dueling Summits, winning the middle school girls' 3K in 12:46. Mackenzie McVay, a Holy Comforter sixth-grader, was a close second in 12:51. Another Holy Comforter sixth-grader, Madison McVay, took third in 13:29.

Acadia Hassell

Holy Comforter had four more Crusaders in the top ten--sixth-grader Elaine Ungru was fifth in 13:49, eighth-grader Lillian Anway was eighth in 14:21, eighth-grader Allie Winsor was ninth in 14:34, and eighth-grader Kynley Cheesborough finished tenth in 14:44. All those top ten performances gave the Crusader girls a mathematically unbeatable score of 22 points, placing them first out of nine middle school girls' teams.


Tift eighth-grader Jovia Burke took fourth in 13:41, leading the Tift girls to a second-place showing with 68 points. The Bainbridge girls edged Maclay for fourth, 99 to 103. Bainbridge's first finisher was eighth-grader Jada Anderson, sixth in 13:44, while the first Maclay Marauder was third-grader Tessa Beaven, fifteenth in 15:15.


Team Standings, Middle School Girls, 2023 Dueling Summits Cross-Country Meet

1. Holy Comforter Episcopal, 22
2. Tift, 68
3. Bainbridge, 99
4. Maclay, 103
5. Thomas County, 117
6. Trinity Catholic, 155
7. Cornerstone, 182
8. Whigham, 216
9. Spring Creek Charter, 230

Top Ten Middle School Girls, 2023 Dueling Summits Cross-Country Meet

1. 12:45.20, Acadia Hassell (Unattached) 5
2. 12:50.60, Mackenzie McVay (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 6
3. 13:28.70, Madison McVay (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 6
4. 13:40.80, Jovia Burke (Tift) 8
5. 13:48.10, Elaine Ungru (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 6
6. 13:54.30, Jada Anderson (Bainbridge) 8
7. 14:14.50, Katherine Currie (Tift) 7
8. 14:20.80, Lillian Anway (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 8
9. 14:33.80, Allie Winsor (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 8
10. 14:43.70, Kynley Cheesborough (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 8

On a Saturday morning exactly two weeks before the Dueling Summits, James Mogg had raced the Miller Landing Madness 3K in Phipps Park, placing third. At Dueling Summits, on a different 3000-meter course, Mogg was second to no one. The Trinity Catholic eighth-grader took first in 11:000. Fairview eighth-grader Emari Thomas was second in 11:06. Three days earlier, Thomas had won the boys' 3K at the ARPXC Middle School Cross-Country Invitational.


Four runners scrambled for third place, but Landon Heitmeyer, a fourth-grader racing for Red Hills Running Club, grabbed the spot with an 11:32. Raa seventh grader Emerson Gandy was right behind him, fourth in 11:33, followed by Thomas County seventh-grader Holten Dennard (5th, 11:34) and Holy Comforter eighth-grader Joshua Butera (6th, 11:34).


Butera was joined in the top ten by his fellow Crusader, seventh-grader Matthew Nowels (7th, 11:52). Holy Comforter's other three scorers were eighth-grader Andrew Norby (15th, 12:14), sixth-grader Hudson Cheesborough (18th, 12:19), and eighth-grader Gavin McVay (26th, 12:34), totaling a winning 48 points for the Crusader boys.


The Maclay boys were second out of twelve teams, scoring 56 points behind the eleventh-place, 12:03 showing of eighth-grader Henry Proctor. Led by Mogg, Trinity Catholic placed third with 78 points.


Team Standings, Middle School Boys, 2023 Dueling Summits Cross-Country Meet

1. Holy Comforter Episcopal, 48
2. Maclay, 56
3. Trinity Catholic, 78
4. Tift, 131
5. Thomas County, 146
6. Grace Christian, 151
7. Christ Classical, 189
8. Whigham, 212
9. Bainbridge, 244
10. Cornerstone, 268
11. Spring Creek Charter, 314
12. Community Leadership, 332

Top Ten Middle School Boys, 2023 Dueling Summits Cross-Country Meet

1. 10:59.70, James Mogg (Trinity Catholic) 8
2. 11:06.00, Emari Thomas (Unattached) 8
3. 11:31.40, Landon Heitmeyer (Red Hills Running Club) 4
4. 11:32.70, Emerson Gandy (Unattached) 7
5. 11:33.90, Holten Dennard (Thomas County Central) 7
6. 11:34.00, Joshua Butera (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 8
7. 11:52.00, Matthew Nowels (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 7
8. 11:55.40, Lincoln Eisenberg (Community Christian) 8
9. 12:00.70, Connor Stephens (Thomas County Central) 8
10. 12:01.20, Owen Hunt (Southwest Georgia) 8

Links

• Complete results of the 2023 Dueling Summits Cross-Country Meet
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQJ20o2PGriCINHkBHEtoT59uJqBn6ReDb1mgoWDxjWIWQoCLd8DGesT5RnmhEqGmR9sP-MAIZIBDMj/pubhtml
  
  
• 2022 story, “Isabella Laughton and Isaac Chambers were swift to the summit at Dueling Summits”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2022/08/cougar-xc-2022.html
  
  
• 2021 story, “Kelly Davis and Wyatt Townsend win their duels at Dueling Summits”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2021/08/kelly-davis-and-wyatt-townsend-win.html
  
  
• 2019 story, “Jackson Yarbrough and Alyson Churchill were the winning duo at Dueling Summits”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/08/cougar-xc-2019.html
  
  
• 2017 story, “Chiles sweeps, Phillips repeats, and Funderburk sets a record at the Cougar Challenge”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/08/cougar-xc-2017.html
  
  
• 2016 story, “Alyson Churchill meets the Challenge, runs 18:47”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/08/cougar-xc-2016.html
  
  
• 2014 story, “Leon and Khosla repeat at Cougar Challenge”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/09/cougar-xc-2014.html
  
  
• 2013 story, “Harris and Khosla take on all challengers at the Challenge”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/09/cougar-xc-2013.html
  
  
• 2010 story, “The 2010 Cougar Challenge belongs to Kurgatt and Slupecki”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/10/cougar-xc-2010.html
  
  
• 2009 story, “Cougar Challenge opens cross-country season in Tallahassee”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2009/09/cougar-challenge-opens-cross-country.html
  
  
• Choose an upcoming race in the region from the selection on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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