The Wakulla girls and the Chiles boys split the team titles at the Panther Invitational

Southwood is only a corner of Tallahassee, Florida, but it has two high schools, and each of those schools hosts an invitational cross-country meet--the Florida State University School Invitational and Saint John Paul II Catholic High School's Panther Invitational. The sixth annual Panther Invitational was Saturday morning, 11 September 2021, and opened with Niya Coleman, a Florida State University School junior, winning the high school girls' 5K in 20:55. The Wakulla High girls took the team title in that race, scoring a mathematically unbeatable 26 points. The Chiles boys scored 23 points to win their race, led by the first place finish of Chiles senior Ben Kirbo.

Niya Coleman

Coleman had been Southwood's first meet in 2021, the FSUS Invitational. She had placed fourth in her race that day, finishing behind Liliana Lewis and Clara Alford. This time Coleman was over the line first, finishing ahead of both Wakulla runners. Chiles senior Kelly Davis was second in 21:27, and Wakulla frosh Isabella Laughton placed third in 21:30. Alford finished fourth in 21:35 and Lewis fifth in 21:50.


Wakulla also grabbed sixth when senior Marina Whitsell followed Lewis across the line in 21:50. Wakulla's fifth scorer was sophomore Taylor Pfeifer, eighth in 22:37. Once Pfeifer was home, the Wakulla girls had 26 points and first place.


Led by Davis, Chiles placed second with 66 points. FSUS and Niya Coleman put up 96 points, placing third.


John Paul II Catholic's 2021 Panther Invitational Team Standings, High School Girls

1. Wakulla, 26
2. Chiles, 66
3. Florida State, 96
4. Community Christian, 107
5. Maclay, 131
6. Lincoln, 140
7. Valdosta, 159

Top Ten High School Girls, John Paul II Catholic's 2021 Panther Invitational

1. 20:54.21, Niya Coleman (Florida State) 11
2. 21:26.01, Kelly Davis (Chiles) 12
3. 21:29.41, Isabella Laughton (Wakulla) 9
4. 21:34.29, Clara Alford (Wakulla) 12
5. 21:35.82, Liliana Lewis (Wakulla) 10
6. 21:49.15, Marina Whitsell (Wakulla) 12
7. 22:31.60, Teresa Meli (Community Christian) 11
8. 22:36.69, Taylor Pfeifer (Wakulla) 10
9. 22:44.72, Caroline Couch (Maclay) 8
10. 22:51.25, Leah Keller (Florida State) 10

There were a lot of Chiles uniforms at the front of the high school boys' 5K. After Ben Kirbo of Chiles had crossed the finish line in a winning 17:09, Chiles junior Wyatt Townsend took the runner-up spot in 17:14. Chiles senior Filippo Reina came home third in 17:44.


The remaining two scorers for Chiles also finished in the top ten--senior Tyler Canavan was eighth in 19:18 and junior Owen Franklin was ninth in 19:21. In cross-country, it's impossible to beat a score of 27 points or better, and the Chiles boys had 23, giving them the win.


Wakulla was second with 72 points behind their ace Jaden Callaghan (7th, 18:57), a junior. Valdosta, led by senior Parker Jackson (4th, 17:56), was third with 79 points.


John Paul II Catholic's 2021 Panther Invitational Team Standings, High School Boys

1. Chiles, 23
2. Wakulla, 72
3. Valdosta, 79
4. Maclay, 115
5. Community Christian, 159
6. Florida State, 163
7. Leon, 169
8. Rickards, 184
9. Saint John Paul II Catholic, 242
10. Lincoln, 265

Top Ten High School Boys, John Paul II Catholic's 2021 Panther Invitational

1. 17:08.02, Ben Kirbo (Chiles) 12
2. 17:13.98, Wyatt Townsend (Chiles) 11
3. 17:43.11, Filippo Reina (Chiles) 12
4. 17:55.74, Parker Jackson (Valdosta) 12
5. 18:46.55, Lucas Mauch (Maclay) 11
6. 18:46.91, Burnis Williams (Valdosta) 11
7. 18:56.18, Jaden Callaghan (Wakulla) 11
8. 19:17.04, Tyler Canavan (Chiles) 12
9. 19:20.51, Owen Franklin (Chiles) 11
10. 19:23.04, Kent Grayson (Brookwood) 9

On weekdays during the 2021 cross-country season, Montford seventh-grader Annabelle Wiktorski races for her school, but on Saturdays she races for the Red Hills Running Club. So on Tuesday, 7 September 2021, Wiktorski placed second in the girls' 3K at the Mustang Stampede Middle School Cross-Country Meet, wearing a Montford uniform. On Saturday, 11 September 2021, she was wearing Red Hills colors when she won the middle school girls' 3K at the Panther Invitational, running 13:02. Fifth-grader Charlotte Sikes, also competing for Red Hills, was a close second in 13:04. FSUS seventh-grader Leah Boutwell was third in 13:32.


Red Hills had three more athletes in the top ten--Seventh-grader Savannah Stanley was fifth in 13:40, eighth-grader Madeline Morris was sixth in 14:02, and seventh-grader Haley Heitmeyer was seventh in 14:04. Once the fifth Red Hills girl finished, the team had 21 points and first place.


Maclay was second with 54 points, led by the eighth-place, 14:16 performance of seventh-grader Ellie Mazziotta. Trinity Catholic took third with 91 points; the top Trinity runner was sixth-grader Genevieve Gillespie, fourteenth in 15:24.


John Paul II Catholic's 2021 Panther Invitational Team Standings, Middle School Girls

1. Red Hills Running Club, 21
2. Maclay, 54
3. Trinity Catholic, 91
4. Florida State, 97
5. Community Leadership, 117
6. Riversprings, 139
7. Cornerstone, 169
8. Wakulla, 173

Top Ten Middle School Girls, John Paul II Catholic's 2021 Panther Invitational

1. 13:01.82, Annabelle Wiktorski (Red Hills Running Club) 7
2. 13:03.96, Charlotte Sikes (Red Hills Running Club) 5
3. 13:31.86, Leah Boutwell (Florida State) 7
4. 13:40.08, Ryleigh Gunter (Florida State) 8
5. 13:59.85, Savannah Stanley (Red Hills Running Club) 7
6. 14:01.28, Madeline Morris (Red Hills Running Club) 8
7. 14:03.36, Haley Heitmeyer (Red Hills Running Club) 7
8. 14:15.52, Ellie Mazziotta (Maclay) 7
9. 14:21.20, Lilly Bell (Maclay) 7
10. 14:59.59, Mae Deison (Maclay) 8

Like Wiktorski, Deerlake seventh-grader Jonathan Kiros had also been a runner-up at the Mustang Stampede, finishing second in the boys' 3K. And like Wiktorski, Kiros was a winner at the Panther Invitational. Competing for Red Hills, Kiros threw down a 12:00 in the middle school boys' 3K, taking first. Mark Moore, a Trinity Catholic eighth-grader, was second in 12:07. A step behind him, Trinity Catholic sixth-grader James Mogg finished third in 12:08.


The Maclay boys won the team title with a winning score of 54. Contributing to that total were sixth-graders Logan Phipps (7th, 12:50) and Peter Fernandez (11th, 13:11), together with seventh-graders David Burton (12th, 13:14), Connor Thumm (13th, 13:14), and Max Colon (22nd, 1:16). Trinity Catholic was a close second with 59 points. Marianna placed third with 69 points. Marianna first runner was seventh-grader Maxwell Wester, eighth in 13:00.


John Paul II Catholic's 2021 Panther Invitational Team Standings, Middle School Boys

1. Maclay, 54
2. Trinity Catholic, 59
3. Marianna, 69
4. Holy Comforter Episcopal, 87
5. Red Hills Running Club, 102
6. Valdosta, 166
7. Cornerstone, 195
8. Christ Classical, 195

Top Ten Middle School Boys, John Paul II Catholic's 2021 Panther Invitational

1. 11:59.98, Jonathan Kiros (Red Hills Running Club) 7
2. 12:06.88, Mark Moore (Trinity Catholic) 8
3. 12:07.82, James Mogg (Trinity Catholic) 6
4. 12:25.95, Gavin Poucher (Red Hills Running Club) 7
5. 12:27.21, Henry Lewis (Unattached) 8
6. 12:36.69, Luke Springer (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 8
7. 12:49.43, Logan Phipps (Maclay) 6
8. 12:59.64, Maxwell Wester (Marianna) 7
9. 13:01.80, Yoshi Hutt (Florida State) 8
10. 13:04.78, Trent Parsons (Red Hills Running Club) 7

Panther Invitational Cross-Country Meet Winners, 2016 - 2021
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
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

Links

• Complete results of John Paul II Catholic's 2021 Panther Invitational from Miles & Minutes, LLC
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vR4G6nzBVCvliv5w-SfNK_orLD8NOUUODedUAc3hCJ9cQzCMp2fukKiJtpBfdmzHylrUgF7DmiDxuZg/pubhtml
  
  
• 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
  
  

#2774

Paige Churchill and Ben Kirbo were head of the herd at the Mustang Stampede

If you're old enough, you might remember the 1960s when there were junior high schools in Leon County. If you're not quite that old, you might remember the 1970s when the junior highs became middle schools, and those middle school didn't have interscholastic sports. If you're not even that old, you might remember the 1980s, when cross-country as an interscholastic sport came to the Leon County middle schools.

Paige Churchill

Leon County middle schools are still part of the landscape in Tallahassee, Florida and so is middle school cross-country. The sport has a short season, though, with only five meets including the Leon Country Schools Championship. The last meet before the championship, the fourth of the season, was the Mustang Stampede at Montford Middle School on Thursday evening, 28 September 2017. Swift Creek seventh-grader Paige Churchill won the girls' two-mile race in 13:12, leading her team to a first-place score of 20 points. Montford eighth-grader Ben Kirbo won the boys' two mile in 11:15, while the Deerlake boys scored 42 points to take the team title.


The girls' two mile opened the meet, starting just after 6:00 PM. Several different athletes optimistically tried leading early, but by half a mile into the race Paige Churchill. the defending champion, was setting the pace for the field. The runners plunged into a pine forest. When they emerged half a mile later, Churchill had broken the race open. 30 meters behind her, Swift Creek eighth-grader Elise Ferguson and Deerlake seventh-grader Maya Tang were fighting for second. Churchill widened the gap during the rest of the run, racing home in a winning 13:12. Ferguson took second in 13:31 and Tang third in 13:38.

Elise Ferguson

Swift Creek put three more girls in the top ten--sixth-grader Ava Jones was fourth in 13:50, seventh-grader Stella Lewis was fifth in 13:54, and seventh-grader Alima Hemenway was eighth in 14:03. Together with Churchill and Ferguson, that gave Swift Creek 20 points, mathematically unbeatable in the low-sccore-wins world of cross-country. Deerlake was second in the eight-team field with 32 points, and Montford was third with 84 points.


It wasn't the home course for Churchill, but as the 2016 Stampede winner, she was familiar with the course. She also had her three sisters at the meet to cheer her on.

Maya Tang

"It's really cool! I'm glad that they can come out to be at the races," said Churchill. "I like the shade on course even though there are a few hills."


2017 Mustang Stampede Team Standings, Girls

1. Swift Creek, 20
2. Deerlake, 42
3. Montford, 84
4. Raa, 132
5. Fairview, 154
6. Cobb, 175
7. Fort Braden, 179
8. Nims, 229

Top 10 Girls, 2017 Montford Mustang Stampede Two Mile

1. 13:11.58, Paige Churchill (Swift Creek) 7
2. 13:30.43, Elise Ferguson (Swift Creek) 8
3. 13:37.42, Maya Tang (Deerlake) 7
4. 13:49.05, Ava Jones (Swift Creek) 6
5. 13:53.11, Stella Lewis (Swift Creek) 7
6. 13:54.69, Nicole Kelly (Deerlake) 7
7. 14:01.14, Parker Matherne (Cobb) 7
8. 14:02.16, Alima Hemenway (Swift Creek) 7
9. 14:11.16, Kendall Meyer (Deerlake) 8
10. 14:13.00, Leah Kiros (Deerlake) 6

Early in the second half of the boys' two mile, Deerlake runners Filippo Reina and Wyatt Townsend were sharing the lead. Less than twenty meters back, though, they were being stalked by Ben Kirbo and Fairview sixth-grader Patrick Koon. Kirbo and Koon ran the leaders down, then Kirbo kept going, winning the race in 11:15. Koon took second in 11:24. Reina edged Swift Creek seventh-grader Connor Edwards for third, 11:33 to 11:34.

Ben Kirbo

After Reina, Deerlake got scoring performances from Townsend (6th, 11:47) and eighth-graders William Wilkerson (7th, 11:53), Matt Reynolds (10th, 12:01), and Grant Gallagaer (16th, 12:21), giving Deerlake 42 points and the team title. Led by Edwards, Swift Creek was second with 52 points. Kirbo's Montford team scored 86 to take third.


As a Montford student, Kirbo goes to class next the Mustang Stampede course every day. "That definitely helped," he said. "But it wasn't like we run it every day. Because of the hurricane there were a lot of trees down and we couldn't train out there till a day or two ago.


"I love this course."

Patrick Koon

Following the Mustang Stampede, Leon County Schools middle school cross-country season concludes on Wednesday evening, 4 October 2017, with the championship meet at Apalachee Regional Park. Churchill will be going for her second straight county title. Kirbo will be trying for his first.


"I'm probably going to be nervous for the next one," said Churchill. "I only have one more practice with the team. That's going to be sad."

Filippo Reina & Wyatt Townsend

"I'm going to try to keep doing what works," said Kirbo. "Stay with the fast guys and hope I do well."


2017 Mustang Stampede Team Standings, Boys

1. Deerlake, 42
2. Swift Creek, 52
3. Montford, 86
4. Cobb, 101
5. Raa, 113
6. Fairview, 142
7. Fort Braden, 237
8. Nims, 250
9. Griffin, 257

Top 10 Boys, 2017 Montford Mustang Stampede Two Mile

1. 11:14.84, Ben Kirbo (Montford) 8
2. 11:23.90, Patrick Koon (Fairview) 6
3. 11:32.43, Filippo Reina (Deerlake) 8
4. 11:33.95, Connor Edwards (Swift Creek) 7
5. 11:34.31, Justin Moore (Cobb) 8
6. 11:46.76, Wyatt Townsend (Deerlake) 7
7. 11:52.54, William Wilkerson (Deerlake) 8
8. 11:53.40, Eric Stillman (Swift Creek) 7
9. 11:56.61, James Fygetakis-Gollo (Raa) 8
10. 12:00.82, Matt Reynolds (Deerlake) 8

Mustang Cross-Country Stampede Champions 2013 - 2017
Girls' Two Mile
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
Boys' Two Mile
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

Links

• Complete results of the 2017 Mustang Stampede Cross-Country Meet courtesy of Brian Corbin Timing
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRHR707ZMf2Gs3ucyAU41XIlIb5QyDeO-qGsOA5JSd0d8Cd7gR6uZt1LXPffl13d5W6PHBHD8RcGmwy/pubhtml
  
  
• More photos of Montford Middle School's 2017 Mustang Stampede cross-country meet
  
  • Girls:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10110620825861683.1073742318.5215641&type=1&l=2f1d7c0eb1
  • Boys:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10110620987143473.1073742319.5215641&type=1&l=24de458f4f
  
  
• The 2017 LCS middle school cross-country season
  
  • Swift Creek Invitational https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/09/swift-creek-2017.html
    
  • Fort Braden Run https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/09/fort-braden-2017.html
    
  • Everhart Invitational https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/09/owl-run-2017.html
    
  • Mustang Invitational https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/09/mustang-2017.html
    
  • LCS Championship [ Coming on 4 October 2017 ]
    
  
  
• Leon County Schools' 2017 middle school cross country schedule
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/06/lcs-xc-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
  
  

#2091

Paige Churchill and Ben Kirbo get their first Everhart Invitational wins

The middle school cross-country teams of Leon County Schools gathered at Gretchen Everhart School on Thursday morning, 21 September 2017, for the 31st Everhart Invitational. In the girls' two-mile, Swift Creek seventh-grader Paige Churchill picked up her third win this season, while Ben Kirbo, a Montford eighth-grader, won the boys' two-mile race. In the team competition, the Swift Creek girls got their second win in a row and the Deerlake boys remained perfect on the season, picking up their third win in three outings.

Paige Churchill & Maya Tang

As a sixth-grader, in 2016 Paige Churchill had won three of the four races in her first Leon County Schools cross-country season. Those victories had included the girls' County Championship race. The one event she didn't win was the girls' two-mile at the Everhart Invitational, the oldest middle school meet in Tallahassee if not in the entire state of Florida. In 2017 she was back for a second try.


The race started just after 10:30 AM. It wasn't Churchill setting the early pace for the field, though. Another seventh-grader, Deerlake's Maya Tang, was up front.

Maya Tang & Paige Churchill

"She was pretty much leading the whole race," said Churchill. "I just tried to stay with her and kick at the end. She's a good runner."


Through the schoolyard and onto the streets around Gretchen Everhart School, Churchill trailed Tang. Finally, Churchill made her move.


"It was right before the finish coming up the hill," recalled Churchill.

Elise Ferguson

That was back in the schoolyard, going up a grassy slope with 400 meters to go in the race. Churchill put some daylight between herself and Tang at the base of the hill, then widened the margin during the climb. 200 meters from the finish the course turned back downhill, and Churchill scampered home with a 13:45 win. Tang took second in 13:56. Swift Creek eighth-grader Elise Ferguson was third in 14:03, and Montford seventh-grader Livia Rose Clark placed fourth in 14:11.


Swift Creek had two more girls in the top ten--sixth-grader Ava Jones was sixth in 14:39 and seventh-grader Stella Lewis placed seventh in 14:41. Swift Creek's fifth scorer was seventh-grader Alima Hemenway, giving the team 28 points and first place out of the eight schools in the race. Deerlake placed second with 37 points and Montford was third with 75 points.


2017 Everhart Invitational Team Standings, Girls

1. Swift Creek, 28
2. Deerlake, 37
3. Montford, 75
4. Raa, 134
5. Cobb, 163
6. Fairview, 168
7. Fort Braden, 169
8. Griffin, 213

Top Ten Girls, 2017 Everhart Invitational

1. 13:44.32, Paige Churchill (Swift Creek) 7
2. 13:55.30, Maya Tang (Deerlake) 7
3. 14:02.71, Elise Ferguson (Swift Creek) 8
4. 14:10.46, Livia Rose Clark (Montford) 7
5. 14:33.19, Nicole Kelly (Deerlake) 7
6. 14:38.09, Ava Jones (Swift Creek) 6
7. 14:40.44, Stella Lewis (Swift Creek) 7
8. 14:53.26, Kendall Meyer (Deerlake) 8
9. 14:53.85, Leah Kiros (Deerlake) 6
10. 14:54.17, Skye Williams (Montford) 6

As a seventh-grader, Churchill is in her second year of middle school cross-country on the Leon County Schools circuit. Although Ben Kirbo is an eighth-grader with some cross-country experience, 2017 is his first year racing in the Leon County Schools league.

Ben Kirbo

"I ran for Holy Comforter last year," explained Kirbo.


Holy Comforter Episcopal School isn't in the Leon County Schools system, but the school has one of the hilliest three-kilometer cross-country courses in town. Kirbo has done a lot of running on that course.


"Last year training on hills helped me a lot," said Kirbo. "I developed a strategy for hills, and now that's my strength."

Wyatt Townsend

Half a mile into the race, Kirbo was running in sixth place. At the mile mark, Deerlake seventh-grader Wyatt Townsend had the lead, with Fairview sixth-grader Patrick Koon in second and Kirbo running third. But at the mile mark the course started heading uphill, taking the runners past a water table on their way to a U-turn. Kirbo made a move going up the slope.


"Everyone was slowing down for the water table, but my coach had told me not take on any water so I gained on them," said Kirbo. "At the turnaround I moved into first. And stayed there."

Patrick Koon & Ben Kirbo

Koon was still with Kirbo with half a mile to go, but over the next quarter mile Kirbo broke contact, re-entering the schoolyard in command of the race. Kirbo finished strong over the last quarter mile, racing across the finish line in a winning 11:41. It was the fastest time on the Everhart course since the 2010 race, when Wil Luca of Raa also ran 11:41. Townsend overtook Koon on the homestretch to take second in 11:55. Koon was third in 11:56, and Swift Creek seventh-grader Connor Edwards was fourth in 12:10. Deerlake eighth-grader Filippo Reina, winner of the previous week's Fort Braden Run, placed fifth in 12:11.


Townsend and Reina were joined in the top ten by Deerlake eighth-graders William Wilkerson (8th, 12:36) and Matt Reynolds (9th, 12:39). Another Deerlake eighth-grader, Grant Gallagaer, placed sixteenth in 13:07, giving Deerlake 40 points and first place out of nine teams. The 2016 champs, Swift Creek, were second with 57 points. Montford took third with 80 points.

Fillippo Reina, Connor Edwards, & James Fygetakis-Gollop

After the Everhart Invitational, Leon County Schools middle school cross-country runners head to Montford Middle School for the fifth annual Mustang Stampede on Thursday evening, 28 September 2017. Only six days after that, on Wednesday evening, 4 October 2017, the season closes with the Leon County Schools Middle School Cross-Country Championship at Apalachee Regional Park. The championship had originally been scheduled for Thursday, 5 October 2017.


2017 Everhart Invitational Team Standings, Boys

1. Deerlake, 40
2. Swift Creek, 57
3. Montford, 80
4. Raa, 105
5. Cobb, 108
6. Fairview, 147
7. Fort Braden, 226
8. Griffin, 256
9. Nims, 265

Top Ten Boys, 2017 Everhart Invitational

1. 11:40.33, Ben Kirbo (Montford) 8
2. 11:54.32, Wyatt Townsend (Deerlake) 7
3. 11:55.27, Patrick Koon (Fairview) 6
4. 12:09.74, Connor Edwards (Swift Creek) 7
5. 12:10.21, Filippo Reina (Deerlake) 8
6. 12:10.85, James Fygetakis-Gollop (Raa) 8
7. 12:19.24, Eric Stillman (Swift Creek) 7
8. 12:36.00, William Wilkerson (Deerlake) 8
9. 12:38.66, Matt Reynolds (Deerlake) 8
10. 12:39.78, Nate Thompson (Montford) 7

Everhart Invitational Champions, 1988 - 2017
Date	Boys	Girls
21 September 2017	Ben Kirbo (Montford) 11:41	Paige Churchill (Swift Creek) 13:45
22 September 2016	Weston Blake (Swift Creek) 11:47	Amaya Jones (Raa) 13:51
17 September 2015	Spencer Amsellem (Deerlake) 12:17	Emily Molen (Deerlake) 12:16
18 September 2014	Tavaris King (Griffin) 12:04	Lawton Campbell (Deerlake) 12:41
19 September 2013	Jacob Dodson (Raa) 11:46	Ana Wallace (Deerlake) 13:13
20 September 2012	Matthew Cashin (Raa) 12:01	Saige Kemeny (Montford) 13:19
22 September 2011	Evan Francis (Raa) 11:56	Zoe Sheldon (Swift Creek) 13:43
30 September 2010	Wil Luca (Raa) 11:41	Rebecca Clendinen (Raa) 13:57
1 October 2009	Cade Zimmerman (Deerlake) 11:33	Cece Williams (Deerlake) 13:26
25 September 2008	Will Henderson (Raa) 11:42	Cece Williams (Deerlake) 11:56
27 September 2007	Will Henderson (Raa) 12:11	Carly Thomas (Raa) 12:27
28 September 2006	Will Stanford (Raa) 10:59	Summer Shepherd (Raa) 12:59
29 September 2005	Kurt Dietrich (Swift Creek) 12:07	Jana Stolting (Deerlake) 13:26
30 September 2004	Graham Hawkes (Cobb) 11:51	Mallory Alonzo (Raa) 14:01
2 October 2003	Joe Franklin (Griffin) 11:38	Charlotte Murrell (Cobb) 14:17
3 October 2002	Bryan Miletich (Deerlake) 11:51	Julia Bryant (Deerlake) 14:06
4 October 2001	Kevin Bryant (Raa) 12:33	Karen Devick (Raa) 13:58
4 October 2000	Danny Sass (Deerlake) 13:04	LaShaunta Arnold (Fairview) 14:50
1 October 1999	Logan Wolcott (Raa) 12:52	LaShaunta Arnold (Fairview) 14:30
13 October 1998	Matt Varn (Swift Creek) 12:31	Allie Hunter (Swift Creek) 14:27
1997	Anthony Washington (Bellevue) 12:26	Allie Hunter (Swift Creek) 15:00
1996
6 October 1995	Bryan Hendricks (Cobb) 8:15*	Meredith Warren (Raa) 10:36*
6 October 1994	Kevin Anderson (Deerlake) 8:10*	Meredith Warren (Raa) 9:56*
20 October 1993
20 October 1992	Mark Roehl (Raa) 8:40*	Brianne Pla (Cobb) 9:33*
22 October 1991	Michael Rodriguez (Raa) 8:38*	Holly Skinner (Cobb) 10:15*
10 October 1990	Tim Bolton (Cobb) 8:44*	Christy Weinberger(Bellevue)10:17*
24 May 1990	Wayne McDaniel (Raa) 6:58†	Cynthia Costin (Griffin) 8:06†
23 May 1989	Wayne McDaniel (Raa) 7:09†	Tonia Jackson (Nims) 8:13†
10 May 1988	Bobby Jessup (Griffin) †	Tonia Jackson (Raa) †
* 1-1/2 mile race at Gretchen Everhart School † 2 km race at Florida State University

Links

• Complete results, 2017 Everhart Invitational Middle School Cross-Country Meet
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQJ77IN-TOhq609RNclVKBzOxEr_5I9i_E12LYzPMKphflyec2QtFLINvf_7xnnOQnidDgRT6lelFrK/pubhtml
  
  
• More photos of the 2017 Everhart Invitational Middle School Cross-Country Meet
  
  • Girls' 2 mi.: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10110576545724433.1073742308.5215641&type=1&l=1d7114e08e
  • Boys' 2 mi.: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10110577832575573.1073742309.5215641&type=1&l=79bfaf195b
  
  
• The 2017 LCS middle school cross-country season
  
  • Swift Creek Invitational https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/09/swift-creek-2017.html
    
  • Fort Braden Run https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/09/fort-braden-2017.html
    
  • Everhart Invitational https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/09/owl-run-2017.html
    
  • Mustang Invitational [ Coming on 28 September 2017 ]
    
  • LCS Championship [ Coming on 4 October 2017 ]
    
  
  
• Leon County Schools' 2017 middle school cross country schedule
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/06/lcs-xc-2017.html
  
  
• 2016 story, “Homestretch sprints pay off for Amaya Jones and Wes Blake at Everhart”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/09/owl-run-2016.html
  
  
• 2015 story, “Emily Molen runs faster than everyone at the Everhart Invitational”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/09/owl-run-2015.html
  
  
• 2014 story, “Tavaris King and Lawton Campbell can't be caught at Everhart”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/09/owl-run-2014.html
  
  
• 2013 story, “Dodson and Wallace win at Everhart; Swift Creek sweeps the team titles”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/09/owl-run-2013.html
  
  
• 2012 story, “Owl Run is almost all-Montford”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/09/owl-run-2012.html
  
  
• 2011 story, “Nothing damp about Sheldon and Francis's Owl Run victories”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/09/owl-run-2011.html
  
  
• 2010 story, “Luca and Clendinen conquer the Owl Run”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/09/owl-run-2010.html
  
  
• Get out and run! Find a nearby race on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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