Charlotte Sikes and Emari Thomas trot to victory at the Mustang Stampede

Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region on 30 August 2023. Schools in Leon County were closed that day and the next, so that the second meet of the county's middle school cross-country season, the Fort Braden Run, had to be rescheduled for 20 September 2023. Tallahassee's middle school harriers were back in action the following week at the eleventh annual Mustang Stampede Cross-Country Meet at Montford Middle School on Tuesday evening, 5 September 2023. Swift Creek seventh-grader Charlotte Sikes won the girls' 3K at Montford for the second year in a row, but it was the Deerlake girls who took the team title, scoring a winning 28 points. Eighth-grader Emari Thomas of Fairview went 11:32 for the win in the boys' 3K, while the Raa boys were team champs at the Stampede for the first time in school history, scoring 42 points and beating Montford on a tiebreaker.

Charlotte Sikes

In the future, Montford Middle School may be able to use Leon County's Northeast Park and the Welaunee Greenway for cross-country running. Neither of those existed in 2023, however, so Montford hosted the Mustang Stampede on their excellent course on the school campus. Going into the Stampede, you'd have to say that Charlotte Sikes was the favorite in the girls' 3K. The Swift Creek athlete had gone undefeated in the 2022 Leon County Schools cross-country season, winning six races, and she had extended that winning streak to seven at the ARPXC Invitational, the opening meet of the 2023 campaign. Sikes made it eight in a row at the Stampede, finishing first in 12:00 with a lead of 120 meters. Deerlake eighth-grader Chloe Molen was runner-up in 12:29. Alexis Mayfield, a Swift Creek eighth-grader, edged Deerlake seventh-grader Emma-Claire Tanenbaum for third, 12:36 to 12:37.


After the first four athletes finished, Swift Creek was up two points on Deerlake. But if Sikes had been the individual favorite in the race, Deerlake was the team favorite with a winning streak that started in 2020. After Tanenbaum took fourth for the Bucks, Deerlake eighth-grader Honesty Daniel placed fifth in 13:25, Deerlake seventh-grader Yuejong Lee was eighth in 13:42, and Deerlake eighth-grader Allie Davenport was ninth in 13:45. Deerlake had all five scorers across the line before any other team had more than two. The Bucks also had 28 points and the team title.


Sikes and Swift Creek were second with 71 points. Raa, led by seventh-grader Brixton Hernandez (6th, 13:32), placed third with 71 points.


2023 Mustang Stampede Team Standings, Girls

1. Deerlake, 28
2. Swift Creek, 46
3. Raa, 71
4. Montford, 100
5. Cobb, 160
6. Fairview, 190
7. Fort Braden, 214
8. Griffin, 215
9. Woodville, NTS
   Nims, NTS

Top 10 Girls, 2023 Montford Mustang Stampede 3K

1. 11:59.08, Charlotte Sikes (Swift Creek) 7
2. 12:28.04, Chloe Molen (Deerlake) 8
3. 12:35.30, Alexis Mayfield (Swift Creek) 8
4. 12:36.26, Emma-Claire Tanenbaum (Deerlake) 7
5. 13:24.05, Honesty Daniel (Deerlake) 8
6. 13:31.01, Brixton Menendez (Raa) 7
7. 13:32.08, Reagan Kingsley (Raa) 7
8. 13:41.97, Yujeong Lee (Deerlake) 7
9. 13:43.36, Allie Davenport (Deerlake) 8
10. 14:02.75, Morgan Lord (Deerlake) 7

Eighth-grader Emari Thomas, Fairview's ace, had won a close race in the season opener at the ARPXC Invitational on 23 August 2023, finishing five seconds before Montford's Jack Nottingham. At the Mustang Stampede, Thomas won an even closer contest. This time he came out on top by just three seconds, beating the runner-up, Raa eighth-grader Carson Weiss, to the finish line 11:32 to 11:35. Just behind Weiss, Deerlake seventh-grader Jacob Hassell was third in 11:36, and Jack Nottingham fourth in 11:37.

Emari Thomas

Montford, racing on their home course, had three more athletes in the top ten--eighth-grader Johannes Hassell (8th, 12:16), sixth-grader Chase Sims (9th, 12:23), and sixth-grader Isaiah Renn (10th, 12:25). When Montford's eighth-grader Blake Swanson (11th, 12:29) had finished, the Mustang boys had 42 points. But Raa's scorers--Carson Weiss, seventh-grader Emerson Gandy (6th, 11:53), eighth-grader Alden Weiss (7th, 12:02), seventh-grader Connor Cherry (13th, 12:41), and sixth-grader Fife Duncan--put up and identical 42 points. The meet would be decided on a tiebreaker. In Leon County, the middle schools use the National Federation of High Schools rule for tie scores--the sixth runner determines the winner. Raa's sixth was seventh-grader Christian Acree, and Acree placed fifteenth in 12:44--just ahead of Montford's sixth, eighth-grader Jack Spicer, sixteenth in 12:53. With the faster sixth runner, Raa had won the meet.

Deerlake, led by Jacob Hassell, scored 67 points, placing third in the eight-team field.


The 2023 Mustang Stampede was timed and scored by Brian Corbin.


2023 Mustang Stampede Team Standings, Boys

1. Raa, 42
2. Montford, 42
3. Deerlake, 67
4. Fairview, 117
5. Swift Creek, 124
6. Cobb, 171
7. Fort Braden, 212
8. Griffin, 230
9. Nims, NTS
   Woodville, NTS

Top 10 Boys, 2023 Montford Mustang Stampede 3K

1. 11:31.49, Emari Thomas (Fairview) 8
2. 11:34.44, Carson Weiss (Raa) 8
3. 11:35.84, Jacob Hassell (Deerlake) 7
4. 11:36.99, Jack Nottingham (Montford) 7
5. 11:50.87, Nicholas Hassell (Deerlake) 7
6. 11:52.09, Emerson Gandy (Raa) 7
7. 12:01.85, Alden Weiss (Raa) 8
8. 12:15.62, Johannes Hassell (Montford) 8
9. 12:22.43, Chase Sims (Montford) 6
10. 12:24.96, Isaiah Renn (Montford) 6

Mustang Cross-Country Stampede Champions 2013 - 2022
Girls
Date	Team Champ	Individual Champ
27 September 2013	Swift Creek, 37 points	13:42, Saige Kemeny (Montford) 7
10 September 2014	Swift Creek, 34	12:46, Lawton Campbell (Deerlake) 8
30 September 2015	Swift Creek, 43	12:25, Emily Molen (Deerlake) 8
28 September 2016	Montford, 43	13:12, Paige Churchill (Swift Creek) 6
28 September 2017	Swift Creek, 20	13:12, Paige Churchill (Swift Creek) 7
20 September 2018	Montford, 40	11:45, Paige Churchill (Swift Creek) 8
19 September 2019	Deerlake, 40	13:03, Kyra Swart (Deerlake) 6
14 October 2020	Deerlake, 18	12:50, Kyra Swart (Deerlake) 7
7 September 2021	Deerlake, 22	11:55, Abbey Griffin (Deerlake ) 8
6 September 2022	Deerlake, 28	12:29, Charlotte Sikes (Swift Creek) 6
5 September 2023	Deerlake, 28	12:00, Charlotte Sikes (Swift Creek) 7
Boys
Date	Team Champ	Individual Champ
27 September 2013	Montford, 56 points	11:56, Jacob Dodson (Raa) 8
10 September 2014	Swift Creek, 66	12:14, Tavaris King (Griffin) 8
30 September 2015	Deerlake, 43	11:56, Weston Blake (Swift Creek) 7
28 September 2016	Swift Creek, 39	11:28, Weston Blake (Swift Creek) 7
28 September 2017	Deerlake, 42	11:15, Ben Kirbo (Montford) 8
20 September 2018	Deerlake, 34	9:43, Wyatt Townsend (Deerlake) 8
19 September 2019	Deerlake, 36	10:54, Patrick Koon (Fairview) 8
14 October 2020	Deerlake, 43	11:31, Danny Mauldin (Deerlake) 8
7 September 2021	Montford, 45	11:02, Asa Swope (Swift Creek ) 8
6 September 2022	Deerlake, 49	10:55, Caio Zacchi (Nims) 8
5 September 2023	Raa, 42	11:32, Emari Thomas (Fairview) 8
From 2013 to 2017, the race distance at the Mustang Stampede was two miles. In 2018 the distance was changed to three kilometers.

Links

• Complete results of the 2023 Mustang Stampede Cross-Country Meet, courtesy of Brian Corbin
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQ6iyCQ_73hKv1ldm-Wjv2vL4hD_KdMLy9hB6m0huOy_2WPqGZzWdDOBNe3f4SWB3mddyotWmzAmarJ/pubhtml
  
  
• The 2023 LCS middle school cross-country season
  
  • ARPXC Invitational https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2023/08/swift-creek-2023.html
    
  • Fort Braden Run [ Coming on 31 August 2023 ]
  • Mustang Stampede https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2023/09/mustang-2023.html
  • Everhart Invitational [ Coming on 13 September 2023 ]
  • Fort Braden Run [ Coming on 20 September 2023 ]
  • FSU Invitational [ Coming on 29 September 2023 ]
  • LCS Championship [ Coming on 5 October 2023 ]
  
  
• Leon County Schools' 2023 middle school cross country schedule
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2023/08/lcs-xc-2023.html
  
  
• 2022 story, “Charlotte Sikes and Caio Zacchi each pick up a third conference win at the Mustang Stampede”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2022/09/mustang-2022.html
  
  
• 2021 story, “Abbey Griffin and Asa Swope race like thoroughbreds at the Mustang Stampede”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2021/09/mustang-2021.html
  
  
• 2020 story, “Kyra Swart and Danny Mauldin win while Deerlake sweeps the Mustang Stampede”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2020/10/mustang-2020.html
  
  
• 2019 story, “Kyra Swart and Patrick Koon saddle up at the Mustang Stampede Cross-Country Meet”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/09/mustang-2019.html
  
  
• 2018 story, “Paige Churchill and Wyatt Townsend gallop into the winner's circle at the Mustang Stampede”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/09/mustang-2018.html
  
  
• 2017 story, “Paige Churchill and Ben Kirbo were head of the herd at the Mustang Stampede”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/09/mustang-2017.html
  
  
• 2016 story, “Paige Churchill and Weston Blake lead the Stampede at Montford”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/09/mustang-2016.html
  
  
• 2015 story, “Molen and Blake lead the stampede at the Mustang Invitational”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/10/mustang-2015.html
  
  
• 2014 story, “Swift Creek rides again at the Mustang Stampede”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/09/mustang-2014.html
  
  
• 2013 story, “Swift Creek girls and Montford boys keep winning at the Mustang Invitational”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/09/mustang-2013.html
  
  
• Find your next road race or cross-country run in the Tallahassee region
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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