Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Pat Koon goes 15:25 and Lindy White 18:37 to take 3A Region 1 cross-country titles

For high school cross-country, the FHSAA has the schools sorted into four classifications and the state divided into four regions. In Region 1, roughly North Florida, the 2023 Regional Championship meets were held over three days. The third day was a Saturday, 11 November 2023, and the final meet was the 3A Region 1 Championship at Matanzas High in Palm Coast. Ponte Vedra snagged the team title for the third straight year in the girls' 5K, scoring a stunning 23 points in a race where Ponte Vedra senior Lindy White took first in 18:37. In the boys' 5K, Fleming Island put up a winning score of 58, while Leon senior Patrick Koon won for third time in four years, running 15:25.

Daisy Ross, Lindy White
Daisy Ross, Lindy White

It had rained the night before the meet, but that had only firmed up the flat, sandy course--a winding, two-lap tour of Matanzas High's athletic fields. The girls race started promptly at 9:00 AM. Before the end of the first kilometer, two Ponte Vedra Sharks were setting the pace for the field--senior Hilaree Vega and junior Daisy Ross. Another Shark senior, Lindy White, followed in a group of Fort Walton Beach, Saint Augustine, and Fleming Island harriers just behind the lead pair. Over the next two kilometers, White moved up to run with her teammates, while the rest of the pursuit fell back.


After leading for much of the first half of the race, Vega faded, leaving Ross and White. White stayed close to Ross till 300 meters to go, where she accelerated past the junior. White charged home in 18:37, adding a Region 1 title to her District 2 win from the week before. Ross was a close second in 18:41, and Vega third in 19:00.

Daisy Ross, Lindy White, Hilaree Vega
Daisy Ross, Lindy White, Hilaree Vega

A fourth Shark also cracked the top ten; senior Amelia Tackling was seventh in 19:38. Sophomore Ella McGowan completed the Shark's score, placing twelfth in 20:17. In cross-country, whenever your team scores less than 28 points, you don't have to look at the other team scores--mathematically, you're unbeatable. The Ponte Vedra girls' total was 23. The Sharks were Region champs.


Led by sophomore Brooke Reynolds (8th, 19:45), Fleming Island took second with 88 points. Fort Walton Beach was third with 107 points; their top runner was Viking junior Belicia O'Grady (9th, 19:45). The top eight teams in the field of sixteen earned a spot in the State Championships; the remaining qualifiers were Saint Augustine (4th, 129 points), Matanzas (5th, 135 points), Stanton (6th, 187 points), Gainesville (7th, 199 points), and Gulf Breeze (8th, 212 points).

Ponte Vedra Sharks girls' cross-country team
Ponte Vedra Girls

Team Standings, 2023 FHSAA 3A Region 1 Girls' Cross-Country Championships
  1. Ponte Vedra, 23
  2. Fleming Island, 88
  3. Fort Walton Beach, 107
  4. Saint Augustine, 129
  5. Matanzas, 135
  6. Stanton, 187
  7. Gainesville, 199
  8. Gulf Breeze, 212
  9. Menendez, 259
  10. Beachside, 267
  11. Lincoln, 309
  12. Choctawhatchee, 348
  13. Washington, 348
  14. Rickards, 388
  15. Mosley, 403
  16. Pine Forest, 416
* Team qualified to race in the State Championship


Top 15 Girls, 2023 FHSAA 3A Region 1 Cross-Country Championships
  1. 18:36.2, Lindy White (Ponte Vedra) 12
  2. 18:40.6, Daisy Ross (Ponte Vedra) 11
  3. 18:59.7, Hilaree Vega (Ponte Vedra) 12
  4. 19:08.7, Lauren Voutour (Saint Augustine) 11
  5. 19:20.1, Madi Sims (Leon) 11
  6. 19:23.9, Elyse Carmichael (Washington) 11
  7. 19:37.8, Amelia Tackling (Ponte Vedra) 12
  8. 19:44.2, Brooke Reynolds (Fleming Island) 10
  9. 19:44.7, Belicia O'Grady (Fort Walton Beach) 11
  10. 20:05.4, Isabel Harter (Choctawhatchee) 10
  11. 20:11.2, Reece Knowlton (Fort Walton Beach) 12
  12. 20:16.4, Ella McGowan (Ponte Vedra) 10
  13. 20:17.5, Reese Scott (Fleming Island) 12
  14. 20:20.1, Sierra Howard (Matanzas) 12
  15. 20:26.9, Rylan Holmquist (Saint Augustine) 12

After taking first in the boys' 5K at Matanzas High, Patrick Koon had three Region 1 cross-country titles. He also had three District cross-country titles, two State titles, and a chance at a third State title. His team, Leon, was taking a runner-up trophy back to Tallahassee. So the Leon senior was celebrating, right?


"I don't think we ran very well today," said Koon. "I think we could have won."

Patrick Koon
Patrick Koon

Well, you don't keep moving ahead by being content with where you are.


And where was Koon at the end of the first kilometer of the 3A Region 1 boys' race? Well back in the field, not even in the first ten, while Fort Walton Beach senior Grant Chastain set the pace. A kilometer later, Gulf Breeze frosh Andrew Beroset had taken over the lead. Koon was running in fourth position, just behind Chastain and Ponte Vedra junior Tanner Andrade Brisko.

Andrew Beroset
Andrew Beroset

"Going into the race I wanted to take it conservatively early and see who I felt," said Koon. "Mid-race I felt good, and if I was going to go for it, that was the time."


He went for it. The Leon senior hit three kilometers six seconds before Beroset, and that gap was widening. 300 meters from the finish line, Koon snuck a look back, but he needn't have bothered--no one was within 100 meters. He crossed the finish line on the Matanzas track more than twenty seconds before anyone else in the race. Beroset finished runner-up in 15:47, the only other runner to break 16:00 on the course that morning. Chastain was third in 16:06. Brinko edged Lincoln sophomore Matthew Hauser for fourth, both athletes clocked in 16:17.

Grant Chastain
Grant Chastain, Andrew Beroset

A pair of Fleming Island seniors took the next two places, with Graham Myers sixth and John Keester IV seventh, both in 16:27. Leon also had two athletes in the top ten, with Koon joined by senior teammate Quinn Carrasquilla, tenth in 16:40. But Fleming Island was the only squad with all five scorers in the top twenty, with junior Jacob Campbell twelfth in 16:43, senior Roman Mollicone fifteenth in 16:51, and sophomore Andrew Boyer eighteenth in 17:03. That was good enough to give the Angry Eagles 58 points and first place in Region 1. It was the second Region win in three years for Fleming Island.


Koon and Leon were second with 65 points, Tanner Andrade Brinko and the Ponte Vedra squad placed third with 77. Also qualifying for the State Championship Meet were Fort Walton Beach (4th, 140), Gulf Breeze (5th, 172), Lincoln (6th, 175), Menendez (7th, 195), and Saint Augustine (8th, 198).

Fleming Island Boys XC Team
Fleming Island Boys

The 2023 FHSAA Cross-Country State Championship Meet is scheduled for Friday, 17 November 2023, six days after the 3A Region 1 Meet. State will be contested on the Apalachee Regional Park Championship Cross-Country Course in Tallahassee, Florida, with the 3A girls racing at 9:25 AM and the 3A boys at 10:15 AM.


Team Standings, 2023 FHSAA 3A Region 1 Boys' Cross-Country Championships
  1. Fleming Island, 58
  2. Leon, 65
  3. Ponte Vedra, 77
  4. Fort Walton Beach, 140
  5. Gulf Breeze, 172
  6. Lincoln, 175
  7. Menendez, 195
  8. Saint Augustine, 198
  9. Mosley, 241
  10. Arnold, 258
  11. Stanton, 289
  12. Matanzas, 292
  13. Columbia, 353
  14. Beachside, 366
  15. Escambia, 427
  16. Milton, 456
* Team qualified to race in the State Championship


Top 15 Boys, 2023 FHSAA 3A Region 1 Cross-Country Championships
  1. 15:24.5, Patrick Koon (Leon) 12
  2. 15:47.0, Andrew Beroset (Gulf Breeze) 9
  3. 16:05.6, Grant Chastain (Fort Walton Beach) 12
  4. 16:16.1, Tanner Andrade Brinsko (Ponte Vedra) 11
  5. 16:16.3, Matthew Hauser (Lincoln) 10
  6. 16:26.5, Graham Myers (Fleming Island) 12
  7. 16:26.7, John Keester IV (Fleming Island) 12
  8. 16:29.2, Luke Ross (Ponte Vedra) 9
  9. 16:33.0, Cole Swesey (Saint Augustine) 10
  10. 16:39.2, Quinn Carrasquilla (Leon) 12
  11. 16:39.7, Will Winsor (Leon) 12
  12. 16:42.4, Jacob Campbell (Fleming Island) 11
  13. 16:46.0, Nicolas Waddell (Mosley) 12
  14. 16:49.5, Richard Circelli (Ponte Vedra) 12
  15. 16:50.8, Roman Mollicone (Fleming Island) 12

FHSAA 3A Region 1 Cross-Country Champions, 2005 - 2023
Boys
DateTeam ChampsIndividual Champs
5 November 2005Chiles, 3515:53, Jonathan Blocker (Chiles) 12
4 November 2006Chiles, 5015:40, Eric Larson (Washington) 11
10 November 2007Leon, 3715:19, Eric Larson (Washington) 12
15 November 2008Leon, 2615:45, Matt Mizereck (Leon) 11
14 November 2009Leon, 6215:27, Matt Mizereck (Leon) 12
13 November 2010Washington, 4815:26, William Clark (Creekside) 12
12 November 2011Fort Walton Beach, 9015:30, Thomas Howell (Niceville) 10
10 November 2012Fort Walton Beach, 4915:26, Thomas Howell (Niceville) 11
2 November 2013Chiles, 7815:39, Sukhi Khosla (Leon) 11
8 November 2014Leon, 3514:53, Sukhi Khosla (Leon) 12
31 October 2015Creekside, 4516:07, Matthew Cashin (Leon) 11
29 October 2016Chiles, 6115:51, Michael Phillips (Chiles) 11
4 November 2017Chiles, 4515:49, Michael Phillips (Chiles) 12
3 November 2018Chiles, 6915:43, Connor Phillips (Chiles) 12
2 November 2019Leon, 4816:10, Lewis Benitez-Chaparro (Vanguard) 12
7 November 2020Ponte Vedra, 5416:19, Patrick Koon (Leon) 9
6 November 2021Fleming Island, 9815:44, Patrick Koon (Leon) 10
29 October 2022Ponte Vedra, 4215:41, Graham Myers (Fleming Island) 11
11 November 2023Fleming Island, 5815:25, Patrick Koon (Leon) 12
Girls
DateTeam ChampsIndividual Champs
5 November 2005Chiles, 4719:09, Julia Bryant (Chiles) 11
4 November 2006Chiles, 4019:11, Julia Bryant (Chiles) 12
10 November 2007Chiles, 4219:29, Lauren Day (Crestview) 10
15 November 2008Chiles, 1519:02, Carly Thomas (Chiles) 9
14 November 2009Chiles, 3418:30, Lilly Williams (Chiles) 10
13 November 2010Chiles, 4518:07, Lily Williams (Chiles) 11
12 November 2011Chiles, 4317:50, Lilly Williams (Chiles) 12
10 November 2012Fort Walton Beach, 7018:33, Susan Givens (Chiles) 12
2 November 2013Pace, 8718:45, Emma Rudman (Fort Walton Beach) 10
8 November 2014Creekside, 4018:18, Kelly Aponte (Saint Augustine) 11
31 October 2015Niceville, 6318:45, Claire Mortiz (Ponte Vedra) 10
29 October 2016Niceville, 4017:56, Alyson Churchill (Lincoln) 9
4 November 2017Chiles, 3218:08, Ana Wallace (Chiles) 12
3 November 2018Chiles, 4317:53, Claire Openshaw (Creekside) 11
2 November 2019Saint Augustine, 4018:45, Emily Culley (Chiles) 12
7 November 2020Leon, 7018:45, Kambry Smith (Fort Walton Beach) 12
6 November 2021Ponte Vedra, 3718:24, Sofia Bushkell (Ponte Vedra) 9
29 October 2022Ponte Vedra, 3718:08, Lillee Tang (Leon) 12
11 November 2023Ponte Vedra, 2318:37, Lindy White (Ponte Vedra) 12
The 3A Region 1 meet was run at Ridgeview High in Orange Park in 2005.
The meet was run at the Miccosukee Greenway in Tallahassee in 2006, 2007, and 2008.
The meet was run at Sunnyhill Farms near Tallahassee in 2009, 2010, 2012,
and 2014.
The meet was run at Alligator Lake in Lake City in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2020.
The meet was run at Sante Fe College in Gainesville in 2016 and 2022.
The meet was run at New World Golf in Jacksonville in 2018.
The meet was held at The Oaks Equestrian Park in Lake City in 2017 and 2019.
The meet was at Bay Dunes Golf Course in Panama City in 2021.
The meet was at Matanzas High School in Palm Coast in 2023.


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Posted by Herb Wills at 3:25 PM
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