Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Guess which team swept the decks at the Buccaneer Bash

North Bay Haven High School BuccaneersTalk Like A Pirate Day, the holiday nobody knew that they wanted, was 19 September 2023. In Panama City, Florida high school harriers got an early taste of piracy on Saturday morning, 16 September 2023, at the seventh annual Buccaneer Bash Cross-Country Meet. North Bay Haven hosted, but it was Fort Walton Beach that swept the team titles, the girls' squad putting up a winning 29 points and the boys scoring 21. North Bay Haven junior Margaret Bartlow was the first athlete in the girls' 5K, covering the course at Bay Dunes Golf Club in 18:20. Grant Chastain, a Fort Walton Beach senior, won the boys' 5K in 15:53.


Margaret Bartlow had placed second in the 2022 Buccaneer Bash, but she wasn't about to let that happen again in the 2023 race. Hammering an 18:20, Bartlow won the girls' 5K by 200 meters--on a track, her competition would have still been on the backstretch when she crossed the finish line. South Walton frosh Scarlett Griffin was runner-up to Bartlow and the only other girl to break 20:00 that morning, running 19:07. Fort Walton Beach athletes took the next two places, with junior Belicia O'Grady third in 20:09 and senior Reece Knowlton fourth in 20:46.


Fort Walton Beach's three remaining scorers also placed in the top ten, with sophomore Sara Cass Napa sixth in 21:42, junior Charity Lobzun seventh in 22:01, and frosh Leilani Lichlyter ninth in 22:06. Add up the numbers and you'll see that the girls from Fort Walton Beach had 29 points, the best score in the seven-team field. It was the first time Fort Walton Beach had won the Buccaneer Bash.


South Walton, led by Scarlett Griffin's runner-up finish, took second with 46 points. Bartlow and North Bay Haven, the hosts and 2022 Buccaneer Bash champs, were third with 76 points.


Team Standings, 2023 Buccaneer Bash High School Girls' 5K
  1. Fort Walton Beach, 29
  2. South Walton, 46
  3. North Bay Haven, 76
  4. Mosley, 97
  5. Port Saint Joe, 114
  6. Rutherford, 177
  7. Wewahitchka, 204

Top Ten, 2023 Buccaneer Bash High School Girls' 5K
  1. 18:19.10, Margaret Bartlow (North Bay Haven) 11
  2. 19:06.90, Scarlett Griffin (South Walton) 9
  3. 20:08.10, Belicia O'Grady (Fort Walton Beach) 11
  4. 20:45.40, Reece Knowlton (Fort Walton Beach) 12
  5. 21:18.20, Grace Petty (South Walton) 10
  6. 21:41.50, Sara Cass Napa (Fort Walton Beach) 10
  7. 22:00.10, Charity Lobzun (Fort Walton Beach) 11
  8. 22:04.00, Diana Garcia (South Walton) 10
  9. 22:05.20, Leilani Lichlyter (Fort Walton Beach) 9
  10. 22:21.10, Mary Pickford (North Bay Haven) 7

Grant Chastain didn't have to spend much time looking back in the boys' 5K. If he did, he wouldn't have seen much. Running 15:53, the Fort Walton Beach senior ended up winning the race by more than 170 meters. Walker Elrod, a sophomore from Grace Christian Academy in Bainbridge, Georgia, took second in 16:27. Mosley senior Nicolas Waddell, making his first appearance at the Bash since 2020, was third in 16:46.


Fort Walton Beach Vikings took the next three places. Sophomore Nathan Jucha grabbed fourth with a 17:11, senior Curran O'Grady was fifth in 17:24, and sophomore Slayde Diaz-Poole was sixth in 17:25. Connor Rising completed the scoring for the Vikings; the junior was ninth in 17:32. With all five scorers in the top ten, Fort Walton Beach tallied a mathematically unbeatable 21 points. The Vikings had taken first in a field of nine boys' teams.


Arnold, led by sophomore Remi Kepran (8th, 17:28), placed second in the team standings with 67 points. Waddell and Mosley put up 78 points to place third.


Miles and Minutes, LLC of Tallahassee, Florida timed and scored the 2023 Buccaneer Bash.


Team Standings, 2023 Buccaneer Bash High School Boys' 5K
  1. Fort Walton Beach, 21
  2. Arnold, 67
  3. Mosley, 78
  4. North Bay Haven, 91
  5. Rocky Bayou Christian, 118
  6. Bay, 173
  7. Port Saint Joe, 211
  8. Wewahitchka, 238
  9. Chipley, 240

Top Ten, 2023 Buccaneer Bash High School Boys' 5K
  1. 15:52.70, Grant Chastain (Fort Walton Beach) 12
  2. 16:26.90, Walker Elrod (Grace Christian) 10
  3. 16:45.30, Nicolas Waddell (Mosley) 12
  4. 17:10.50, Nathan Jucha (Fort Walton Beach) 10
  5. 17:23.10, Curran O'Grady (Fort Walton Beach) 12
  6. 17:24.50, Slayde Diaz-Poole (Fort Walton Beach) 10
  7. 17:24.90, Aidan Little (Mosley) 12
  8. 17:28.00, Remi Kepran (Arnold) 10
  9. 17:31.30, Connor Rising (Fort Walton Beach) 11
  10. 17:37.00, Alexander Tunnell (Ace Charter) 11

Buccaneer Bash Cross-Country Meet Winners, 2017 - 2023
High School Boys
DateTeam ChampIndividual Champ
26 August 2017Choctawhatchee, 3318:05, Blake Turner (Arnold) 12
25 August 2018Arnold, 3818:27, Mason Bennett (Arnold) 12
24 August 2019Niceville, 3514:48, Todd Wendel (Niceville) 11
3 October 2020Arnold, 3118:40, Eddie Kepran (Arnold) 10
18 September 2021Leon, 2616:10, Patrick Koon (Leon) 10
18 September 2022North Bay Haven, 4716:32, Kaleb Hollins (Choctawhatchee) 12
17 September 2023
Fort Walton Beach, 2115:53, Grant Chastain (Fort Walton Beach) 12
High School Girls
DateTeam ChampIndividual Champ
26 August 2017Choctawhatchee, 4619:53, Marisa Ashley (Arnold) 9
25 August 2018Port Saint Joe, 3525:36, Autumn Kotelman (Port Saint Joe) 10
24 August 2019Niceville, 2716:55, Kambry Smith (Fort Walton Beach) 11
3 October 2020North Bay Haven, 3222:08, Lakyn Carmichael (North Bay Haven) 10
18 September 2021Leon, 3319:40, Lillee Tang (Leon) 11
18 September 2022North Bay Haven, 3219:15, Charleen Elizondo (North Bay Haven) 12
17 September 2023
Fort Walton Beach, 2918:20, Margaret Bartlow (North Bay Haven) 11


Links
#2982
Bookmark and Share
Posted by Herb Wills at 12:17 PM
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)