Patrick Koon rips a 15:45 5K at the Panther Cross-Country Meet

Saturday, 9 September 2023, was the morning of John Paul II Catholic High School's eighth annual Panther Invitational Cross-Country Meet, with four races on the school's campus in the Southwood neighborhood of Tallahassee, Florida. It was also the first time that Leon High entered the meet. The Lions made the most of their debut, with Leon junior Madi Sims winning the high school school girls' 5K in 20:13, and Leon senior Patrick Koon taking the high school boys' 5K in 15:45. Koon and the Leon boys grabbed first place in the team standings with 25 points, while the Chiles High girls' won the team title in their race with 23 points.

Patrick Koon and Madison Sims

The Panther Invitational was scheduled to start at 8:00 AM with the high school girls' 5K. At 8:00 AM there was no one on the starting line. The timer had overslept. When it was clear that the timing company was going to be quite tardy, the race director assembled a volunteer finish line crew, and the starter got the first race underway at 8:23 AM.


Maclay sophomore Caroline Couch, the defending champion and meet record holder in the high school girls' race, charged out to an early lead, ahead by five seconds after half a kilometer. By two kilometers, Couch had widened that gap to 45 seconds, and 1500 meters later her lead was well over a minute.

Start of the high school girls' race

Behind Couch, Leon's two entries--junior Madison Sims and sophomore Clifton Lewis--had started off more conservatively, tucked back in seventh and eighth position at the end of the first half kilometer. Steadily overtaking their competitors, Sims and Lewis had worked their way up to second and third with 1500 meters to go.


"We pretty much ran together and pushed each other," said Sims.

Madison Sims and Clifton Lewis

Less than 200 meters from the finish line, Couch dropped out of the race.


"I didn't know I was leading until someone told me at three miles," said Sims.


With Lewis a few steps back, Sims drove to the finish line, crossing in a winning 20:13. Lewis was second in 20:19. Chiles High frosh Kaia Ables took third in 20:28.

Chiles Girls

Ables was just the first of five Chiles Timberwolves in the top ten. The others were frosh Haley Heitmeyer (5th, 21:12), frosh Savannah Stanley (7th, 21:43), sophomore London Mellen (8th, 21:50), and frosh Andi Vilardo (10th, 22:23). With a mathematically unbeatable 23 points, the Timberwolf girls had won the Panther Invitational for the second year in a row.


With their top runner, junior Isabella Laughton, finishing fourth in 20:36, the Wakulla girls placed second in the team standings with 54 points. Florida State University School was third with 70 points, led by frosh Leah Boutwell (6th, 21:33).


John Paul II Catholic's 2023 Panther Invitational Team Standings, High School Girls

1. Chiles, 23
2. Wakulla, 54
3. Florida State University, 70
4. Saint John Paul II Catholic, 106
5. Community Christian, 126

Top Ten High School Girls, John Paul II Catholic's 2023 Panther Invitational

1. 20:12.20, Madi Sims (Leon) 11
2. 20:18.44, Clifton Lewis (Leon) 10
3. 20:27.80, Kaia Ables (Chiles) 9
4. 20:35.50, Isabella Laughton (Wakulla) 11
5. 21:11.30, Haley Heitmeyer (Chiles) 9
6. 21:32.20, Leah Boutwell (Florida State University) 9
7. 21:42.10, Savannah Stanley (Chiles) 9
8. 21:49.80, London Mellen (Chiles) 10
9. 21:52.60, Serafina Rietow (Saint John Paul II Catholic) 10
10. 22:22.80, Andi Vilardo (Chiles) 9

Patrick Koon

"The plan was to go out with the team for the first mile and then start accelerating," explained Patrick Koon, describing his script for the high school boys' 5K. Koon played the part as written, remaining tucked behind the leaders for the early part of the race before setting his own faster pace. At two kilometers he was already well out ahead of the rest of the field, with senior year teammates Will Winsor and Quinn Carrasquilla holding the second and third positions. The only thing that changed after that was Koon's lead, which only grew.


No athlete had ever broken 17:00 at the Panther Invitational before; Koon left that mark far behind, winning the race in 15:45. Leon's Winsor also cracked 17:00, finishing runner-up in 16:58. Carrasquilla placed third in 16:58.

Leon boys

After taking the top three places, the Lions also had a fourth athlete in the top ten--senior Walt Haber was tenth in 18:06. Leon's fifth scorer was junior Cadden Maxwell, eleventh in 18:23, after which the Lions had 25 points, putting them first out of seven boys' teams.


The Chiles boys, led by frosh Jonathan Kiros (6th, 17:29), took second with 64 points. Wakulla was third with 108 points behind the fourth place 17:15 showing of sophomore Henry Lewis.


John Paul II Catholic's 2023 Panther Invitational Team Standings, High School Boys

1. Leon, 27
2. Chiles, 64
3. Community Christian, 89
4. Wakulla, 108
5. Florida State University, 120
6. Rickards, 138
7. North Florida Christian, 206

Top Ten High School Boys, John Paul II Catholic's 2023 Panther Invitational

1. 15:44.10, Patrick Koon (Leon) 12
2. 16:57.70, Will Winsor (Leon) 12
3. 17:06.50, Quinn Carrasquilla (Leon) 12
4. 17:14.50, Henry Lewis (Wakulla) 10
5. 17:27.90, Xavier England (Florida State University) 12
6. 17:28.10, Jonathan Kiros (Chiles) 9
7. 17:38.00, Jonah Blay (Chiles) 12
8. 17:45.50, Landon Reeves (Community Christian) 8
9. 17:57.70, Jeremy Collier (Community Christian) 10
10. 18:05.90, Walt Haber (Leon) 12

Florida State University School is quite literally across the street from John Paul II Catholic High, so FSUS seventh-grader Elin Quisenberry didn't have to travel far to win the middle school girls' race at the Panther Invitational. Quisenberry won the three-kilometer even by more than 60 meters, running 13:24. Holy Comforter sixth-grader MacKenzie McVay took second in 13:42, followed by two more Holy Comforter harriers--sixth-graders Madison McVay (3rd, 13:49) and Elaine Ungru (4th, 13:56).

Elin Quisenberry

Holy Comforter's two other scorers also made the top ten; Crusader eighth-grader Lillian Anway was seventh in 14:18 while her teammate, eighth-grader Harper McKee, was tenth in 14:58. With five Crusaders in the top ten, the Holy Comforter girls had an untouchable 26 points and first in the team standings.


Quisenberry and Florida State were second with 38 points. The Maclay girls, led by eighth-grader Mary Price (8th, 14:24), placed third with 80 points.


John Paul II Catholic's 2023 Panther Invitational Team Standings, Middle School Girls

1. Holy Comforter Episcopal, 26
2. Florida State University, 38
3. Maclay, 80
4. Trinity Catholic, 120
5. Marianna, 136
6. Cornerstone, 145

Top Ten Middle School Girls, John Paul II Catholic's 2023 Panther Invitational

1. 13:23.20, Elin Quisenberry (Florida State University) 7
2. 13:41.60, Mackenzie McVay (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 6
3. 13:48.40, Madison McVay (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 6
4. 13:55.60, Elaine Ungru (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 6
5. 14:03.20, Julia Robinson (Florida State University) 8
6. 14:09.30, Vera Vanlandingham (Florida State University) 6
7. 14:17.40, Lillian Anway (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 8
8. 14:23.20, Mary Price (Maclay) 8
9. 14:41.60, Olivia Gibson (Florida State University) 7
10. 14:57.70, Harper McKee (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 8

James Mogg ran away from the rest of the field in the middle school boys' 3K; the Trinity Catholic eighth-grader won the race by nearly 150 meters in 11:43. Florida State seventh-grader Lawson Phillips nabbed second with a 12:19. At 12:29, Marianna eighth-grader Aidan Glisson placed third.

James Mogg

Eighth-grader Asher McGrew took fourth place for Trinity Catholic in 12:30. Andrew Norby was the first finisher for Holy Comforter; the eighth-grader was fifth in 12:34. Norby was joined in the top ten by his teammate, sixth-grader Hudson Cheesborough, ninth in 13:00. The Holy Comforter's boys' next three scorers were seventh-grader Matthew Nowels (11th, 13:08), seventh-grader Beau May (12th, 13:09), and eighth-grader Gavin McVay (14th, 13:28), giving the Crusaders 38 points and the first place team.


Mogg's Trinity Catholic squad was a close second with 44 points, just better than the 46 points scored by third-place Maclay. Maclay's top finisher was eighth-grader Andrew Campbell, sixth in 12:49.


John Paul II Catholic's 2023 Panther Invitational Team Standings, Middle School Boys

1. Holy Comforter Episcopal, 38
2. Trinity Catholic, 44
3. Maclay, 46
4. Christ Classical, 120
5. Cornerstone, 146

Top Ten Middle School Boys, John Paul II Catholic's 2023 Panther Invitational

1. 11:42.90, James Mogg (Trinity Catholic) 8
2. 12:18.70, Lawson Phillips (Florida State University) 7
3. 12:28.40, Aidan Glisson (Marianna) 8
4. 12:29.30, Asher McGrew (Trinity Catholic) 8
5. 12:33.10, Andrew Nordby (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 8
6. 12:48.30, Andrew Campbell (Maclay) 8
7. 12:50.70, Henry Procter (Maclay) 8
8. 12:58.10, Leo Perez (Trinity Catholic) 8
9. 12:59.10, Hudson Cheesborough (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 6
10. 13:03.40, Christian Acree (Unattached) 7

The 2023 Panther Invitational was timed and scored by Miles and Minutes, LLC, of Tallahassee.

Panther Invitational Cross-Country Meet Winners, 2016 - 2023
High School Boys
Date	Team Champ	Individual Champ
9 September 2016	Lincoln, 38	18:18, Gatlin Nennstiel (Aucilla Christian) 12
23 September 2017	Wakulla, 15	18:17, Chris Porter (Wakulla) 11
8 September 2018	Maclay, 19	17:30, Junious Brown IV (Maclay) 11
7 September 2019	Community Christian, 47	18:00, David A. Keen (North Florida Christian) 12
12 September 2020	Maclay, 23	17:32, Jackson Yarbrough (Maclay) 11
11 September 2021	Chiles, 23	17:09, Ben Kirbo (Chiles) 12
10 September 2022	Chiles, 63	17:56, Lucas Mauch (Maclay) 12
9 September 2023	Leon, 27	15:45, Patrick Koon (Leon) 12
High School Girls
Date	Team Champ	Individual Champ
9 September 2016	Florida State, 41	21:52, Gianna Forte (Bishop Snyder) 10
23 September 2017	Community Christian, 29	22:31, Alyssa Langston (Wakulla) 11
8 September 2018	Maclay, 21	21:49, Ella Porcher (Maclay) 8
7 September 2019	South Walton, 17	21:10, Ava Flaherty (South Walton) 10
12 September 2020	Wakulla, 37	21:30, Morgan Wilson (Community Christian) 11
11 September 2021	Wakulla, 26	20:55, Niya Coleman (Florida State) 11
10 September 2022	Chiles, 35	20:13, Caroline Couch (Maclay) 9
9 September 2023	Chiles, 23	20:13, Madi Sims (Leon) 11

Links

• Complete results of John Paul II Catholic's 2023 Panther Invitational from Miles & Minutes, LLC
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vT5rHHgRir8Bi3B719FD2mXO6CI30_BNasWsl4zVFsiIrTi_4PpE7yLSPj2Gn2W55ZeYFRi47d6khmT/pubhtml
  
  
• More Trouble Afoot! photos of John Paul II Catholic's 2023 Panther Invitational
  • High School Girls: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10121284447683073
  • High School Boys: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10121284491540183
  • Middle School Girls: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10121284508985223
  • Middle School Boys: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10121284527548023
  
  
• 2021 story, “The Wakulla girls and the Chiles boys split the team titles at the Panther Invitational”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2021/09/panther-xc-2021.html
  
  
• 2020 story, “The engines were purring for Morgan Wilson and Jackson Yarbrough at the Panther Invitational”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2020/09/panther-xc-2020.html
  
  
• 2019 story, “Ava Flaherty and David Keen were top cats at the Panther Invitational”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/09/panther-xc-2019.html
  
  
• 2018 story, “Junious Brown and Ella Porcher lead a Maclay sweep of the Panther Invitational”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/09/panther-xc-2018.html
  
  
• 2017 story, “The Wakulla boys and the Community Christian girls prevail at the Panther Invitational”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/09/panther-xc-2017.html
  
  
• 2016 story, “Seminoles and Trojans triumph at the Panther Cross Country Invitational”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/09/panther-xc-2016.html
  
  
• 2018 Tallahassee Area Cross Country Schedule
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/07/tallahassee-xc-2018.html
  
  
• Upcoming cross country, road, trail, and track races in the Tallahassee region via Trouble Afoot!
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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