Ava Flaherty and David Keen were top cats at the Panther Invitational

279 athletes representing two dozen schools raced in Tallahassee, Florida's Southwood community on Saturday morning, 7 September 2019, at the Panther Invitational Cross-Country Meet, hosted by Saint John Paul II Catholic High School. South Walton sophomore Ava Flaherty won the high school girls' 5K, leading her team to a near-perfect score of nineteen points and first place. In the high school boys' 5K, North Florida Christian senior David Andrew Keen posted a winning 18:00, while Community Christian took the team title with 47 points.


South Walton High is in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, in a different time zone from Tallahassee. The Seahawks had never been to the Panther Invitational before, but they made their first visit a memorable one. Not only did Ava Flaherty win the girls' race in 21:10, but Seahwak junior Patasha Bryan was a close second in 21:20. Morgan Wilson, a sophomore at Tallahassee's Community Christian Academy, was third in 22:04.


Following Wilson, South Walton sophomore Heidi Scali was fourth in 23:12--the third of five Seahawks in the top ten. The remaining two Seahawk scorers were junior Aris Short (6th, 23:17) and frosh Dafne Lucero (9th, 23:53). With that, the South Walton girls had a mathematically unbeatable nineteen points and the Panther Invitational title. Morgan Wilson's Community Christian team took second with 56 points. Led by seniors Emma Romuald (13th, 24:24) and Rylee French (14th, 24:27), the Lincoln girls were third in the seven-team field with 74 points.


John Paul II Catholic's 2019 Panther Invitational Team Standings, High School Girls

1. South Walton, 19
2. Community Christian, 56
3. Lincoln, 74
4. Jefferson County, 113
5. Aucilla Christian, 114
6. Florida State University, 155
7. Marianna, 208

Top Ten High School Girls, John Paul II Catholic's 2019 Panther Invitational

1. 21:09.90, Ava Flaherty (South Walton) 10
2. 21:19.55, Patasha Bryan (South Walton) 11
3. 22:03.44, Morgan Wilson (Community Christian) 10
4. 23:11.91, Heidi Scali (South Walton) 10
5. 23:15.04, Clara Alford (Wakulla) 10
6. 23:16.47, Aris Short (South Walton) 11
7. 23:52.09, Amaya Jones (Godby) 11
8. 23:52.59, Sammi Drawdy (Aucilla Christian) 9
9. 23:52.59, Dafne Lucero (South Walton) 9
10. 24:04.19, Katherine Bouck (Community Christian) 10

David Andrew Keen's career as a high school cross-country runner has paralleled the history of the Panther Invitational. As a North Florida Christian frosh, Keen was at the very first Panther Invitational in 2016. He ran 18:51 in that inaugural meet, placing second in the high school boys' 5K. The 2017 Panther Invitational was delayed two weeks by Hurricane Irma, and neither North Florida Christian nor Keen made it to the rescheduled meet. NFC raced at the 2018 Panther Invitational, though, and Keen, a junior, was third in 18:37.


Keen was back in Southwood in 2019 for the fourth Panther Invitational. It was the senior's fastest performance at the meet, just under 18:00, and it was good for the win. Well behind Keen, Community Christian Nicholas Ciarlariello and Florida State senior Morgan Castano battled for second, with Ciarlariello getting the nod 18:57 to 18:58. Maclay senior Thomas Deison was fourth in 19:00, close enough to read the tag on Ciarlariello's racing vest.


Ciarlariello was joined in the top ten by a pair of his Charger teammates, sophomore Keelan Tidwell (6th, 19:10) and frosh Stephen Machado (9th, 20:16). Senior Gavin Payne (19th, 21:12) and junior Luke Aagaard (25th, 21:47) completed Community Christian's scoring, giving the Charger's 47 points and first in place among the nine high school boys' teams at the Invitational.


Junior Wyatt Stafford's (7th, 19:58) Aucilla Christian squad had ninety points, but so did the Lincoln team led by frosh Corey Stavres (15th, 20:55). Aucilla Christian took second on the tiebreaker, leaving Lincoln in third.


John Paul II Catholic's 2019 Panther Invitational Team Standings, High School Boys

1. Community Christian, 47
2. Aucilla Christian, 90
3. Lincoln, 90
4. Florida State University, 105
5. Saint John Paul II Catholic, 126
6. North Florida Christian, 133
7. Rickards, 151
8. Jefferson County, 180
9. Marianna, 212

Top Ten High School Boys, John Paul II Catholic's 2019 Panther Invitational

1. 17:59.54, David Andrew Keen (North Florida Christian) 12
2. 18:56.30, Nicholas Ciarlariello (Community Christian) 11
3. 18:57.85, Morgan Castano (Florida State University) 12
4. 18:59.21, Thomas Deison (Maclay School) 12
5. 19:04.18, Chadwick Phillips (South Walton) 11
6. 19:09.35, Keelan Tidwell (Community Christian) 10
7. 19:57.96, Wyatt Stafford (Aucilla Christian) 11
8. 20:05.46, Jalen Brownlee (Rickards) 11
9. 20:15.52, Stephen Machado (Community Christian) 9
10. 20:27.48, Shiquel Tucker (Godby) 8

The South Walton girls weren't the only dominating team from Santa Rosa Beach at the fourth annual Panther Invitational. The 2019 edition of the meet included a middle school race for the first time, and the girls' competition was all about the Emerald Coast Stingrays. Emerald Coast seventh-graders Annabelle Melberg and Madilynn Jersey went one-two in the girls' standings, running 12:46 and 12:55 for three kilometers. Leah Keller, a Florida State eighth-grader, was third in 13:43, but Emerald Coast took three of the next four places, with seventh-grader Claire Griner fourth in 13:48, eighth-grader Wren Hall fifth in 13:49, and seventh-grader Vivian Peele seventh in 15:04.


All together, Emerald Coast put six runners in the top ten. No other school put a scoring athlete in the top ten, so Emerald Coast tallied a perfect fifteen points, placing first among three teams. Led by sxith-grader Aubrey Recks (15th, 16:27), the Riversprings girls were second with 56 points. The Community Leadership girls were third at 74 points, behind the eighteenth place, 16:40 showing of eighth-grader Emma Stewart.


John Paul II Catholic's 2019 Panther Invitational Team Standings, Middle School Girls

1. Emerald Coast, 15
2. Riversprings, 56
3. Community Leadership, 74

Top Ten Middle School Girls, John Paul II Catholic's 2019 Panther Invitational

1. 12:45.23, Annabelle Melberg (Emerald Coast) 7
2. 12:54.86, Madilynn Jersey (Emerald Coast) 7
3. 13:42.51, Leah Keller (Florida State University) 8
4. 13:47.18, Claire Griner (Emerald Coast) 7
5. 14:22.71, Wren Hall (Emerald Coast) 8
6. 14:34.36, Maddie Manausa (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 8
7. 15:03.45, Vivian Peele (Emerald Coast) 7
8. 15:13.83, Kaitlyn Kristian (Montford) 8
9. 15:22.23, Kate Reichelderfer (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 7
10. 15:25.96, Reese Knowlton (Emerald Coast) 8

Just two days after throwing down a third-place finish in the middle school boys' 3K at the tenth annual Fort Braden Run, Jackson Rowe was racing again in the three-kilometer event at the Panther Invitational. The Montford eighth-grader wasn't third this time. Rowe ran 11:30 at Panther, taking first in the boys' standings. Community Leadership seventh-grader Noah Deem was right behind Rowe in second. Rowe and Deem had tangled three weeks earlier in another cross-country race, the Miller Landing Madness 3K, where Rowe had finished five seconds ahead of Deem. Deem was closer at the Panther Invite, running, 11:32, but Rowe still had the edge. Carter Ward, an eighth-grader racing for Emerald Coast, was third in 11:59.

Will Winsor, a Holy Comforter eighth-grader, took fourth in 12:08. Winsor was just the first of four Crusaders in the top ten, the others were eighth-graders Will Springer (6th, 12:14) and Matthew Wilbourn (7th, 12:19) and seventh-grader Heny Fernandez (10th, 12:30). Sixth-grader Graham Resavage (20th, 13:53) completed Holy Comforter's scoring, giving the Crusaders 39 points and a win in their hometown.


Behind the third-place finish of Carter Ward, Emerald Coast was a close second with 42 points. Led by the fifth place, 12:12 finish of seventh-grader Jayden Catrett, Marianna placed third in the six-team field with 88 points.


John Paul II Catholic's 2019 Panther Invitational Team Standings, Middle School Boys

1. Holy Comforter Episcopal, 39
2. Emerald Coast, 42
3. Marianna, 88
4. Trinity Catholic, 97
5. Community Leadership, 118
6. Christ Classical, 152

Top Ten Middle School Boys, John Paul II Catholic's 2019 Panther Invitational

1. 11:29.39, Jackson Rowe (Montford) 8
2. 11:31.44, Noah Deem (Community Leadership) 7
3. 11:58.41, Carter Ward (Emerald Coast) 8
4. 12:07.56, Will Winsor (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 8
5. 12:11.99, Jayden Catrett (Marianna) 7
6. 12:13.14, Will Springer (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 8
7. 12:18.33, Matthew Wilbourn (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 8
8. 12:19.51, Kiernan Ganske (Emerald Coast) 7
9. 12:24.26, Reece Juno (Franklin County) 8
10. 12:29.26, Henry Fernandez (Holy Comforter Episcopal) 7

Panther Invitational Cross-Country Meet Winners, 2016 - 2019
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
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

Links

• Complete results of John Paul II Catholic's 2019 Panther Invitational from Miles & Minutes, LLC
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTW87ZuIxJt4l7uUfswLMljBiwrmU1XU0ZtQ9SzUvl4egUo4O46q4ZFBvnS0N2HfSfdvRt2jBpLL3GE/pubhtml
  
  
• 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
  
  

#2587

Tom Krick and Mitzi Woods take firsts at Tallahassee's Meridian Run

In 1821 the Spanish Empire ceded Florida to the United States. By 1824 the site of a new territorial capital, Tallahassee, had been selected, and the young nation began to survey its new possessions. The Initial Point of the survey was a swampy spot east of town, 30° 26′ 04.12″ N, 84° 16′ 37.59″ W. This was first marked by a wooden stake driven into the ground. Later, a one-ton limestone boulder was placed on the spot. The stake and the boulder eventually gave way to a concrete monument covered with metal plaques. That monument has recently been retired to the garden of the Florida Surveying and Mapping Society, and the Initial Point is the focus of a mosaic on the grounds of Cascades Park.


But if you walk north from the Initial Point following 84° 16′ 37.59″ W, you'll find yourself on Meridian Street. Wander farther north and you'll find Meridian Road a bit west of the true Tallahassee Meridian. Not quite four miles from the Initial Point, you'll find North Florida Christian School--home of the Meridian Run.


Since the inauguration of the Meridian Run in 2014, the race has included a 10K and a 5K. On Saturday morning, 16 February 2019, master runner Tom Krick won the longer race at the sixth annual Meridian Run, covering the 6.2 miles in 54:06. Mitzi Woods was the first woman and overall runner-up in the 10K, edging Ami Wheeler 54:26 to 54:27.


Top Five Men, 2019 Meridian Run 10K

1. 54:05.80, Tom Krick (M, 56)
2. 55:41.60, Brian Telesz (M, 33)
3. 56:13.40, Robert Wigen (M, 53)
4. 56:57.20, Darren Robinette (M, 50)
5. 68:54.00, Matt Ayer (M, 46)

Top Five Women, 2019 Meridian Run 10K

1. 54:25.90, Mitzi Woods (F, 42)
2. 54:26.20, Ami Wheeler (F, 45)
3. 55:41.50, Bethanie Telesz (F, 32)
4. 56:00.40, Corrie Melton (F, 52)
5. 56:19.70, Gingy Sampson (F, 54)

David Andrew Keen, a junior-year cross-country athlete on the high school cross-country team at North Florida Christian School, won the 5K race at the Meridian Run, going the distance in 18:34. Michael Niezgoda took second in 19:21, and Joe Carter was third in 22:55.


Cricket Wood was the first woman in the 5K as well as the top master runner, placing sixth overall in 26:44. It was Wood's second year in a row as the Meridian Run 5K women's champ. In tight competition for the runner-up spot in the women's standings, Tara Bragg edged Holly Gorham, both runners clocked in 34:06. Bragg and Gorham were tenth and eleventh overall.


Miles and Minutes, LLC, of Tallahassee timed both the 10K and the 5K at the 2019 Meridian Run.


Top Ten Men, 2019 Meridian Run 5K

1. 18:33.10, David Keen (M, 17)
2. 19:20.30, Michael Niezgoda (M, 30)
3. 22:54.80, Joe Carter (M, 30)
4. 23:34.50, Marco Rosa (M, 31)
5. 25:50.40, Carson Hayes (M, 26)
6. 27:14.40, Ryan Fitzgerald (M, 39)
7. 27:23.10, David Royal (M, 25)
8. 29:29.80, Kellen Hartsfield (M, 15)
9. 34:19.40, Conner Holmes (M, 8)
10. 36:44.10, Landon Hartsfield (M, 13)

Top Ten Women, 2019 Meridian Run 5K

1. 26:44.00, Cricket Wood (F, 50)
2. 34:05.70, Tara Bragg (F, 39)
3. 34:05.80, Holly Gorham (F, 43)
4. 34:19.60, Kate Holmes (F, 30)
5. 34:33.80, Carmen Shui (F, 32)
6. 34:44.00, Chelsea Royal (F, 26)
7. 37:28.70, Lisa Trone (F, 45)
8. 38:55.70, Patricia Scarboro (F, 35)
9. 61:50.10, Helena Mavridoglou (F, 15)
10. 61:55.20, April Mavridojlou (F, 43)

Meridian Run winners, 2014 - 2019
Date	Distance	Men	Women	Finishers
26 April 2014	10K	36:34, Roger Schmidt	45:57, Laura McDermott
	5K	19:56, Aaron Taylor	26:16, Liz Ruba
25 April 2015	10K	45:12, Michael Kennett	52:11, Mona Schortmann	41
	5K	20:14, Duane Evans	22:45, Sherez Mohamed	78
23 April 2016	10K	39:03, Paul Guyas	55:09, Beth Connolly
	5K	18:54, Dan Bauer	28:13, Tiffany Starke
22 April 2017	10K	42:14, Zack Scharlepp	46:56, Kate Chunka	14
	5K	19:37, John Davis	19:02, QuanDra Shanks	25
22 April 2017	10K	42:43, Zachary Grossman	52:46, Sarah Beasley	22
	5K	18:40, Michael Niezgoda	27:54, Cricket Wood	19
16 February 2019	10K	54:06, Tom Krick	54:26, Mitzi Woods	10
	5K	18:33, David Keen	26:44, Cricket Wood	28

Links

• Complete results of the 2019 Meridian Run
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSltUqtOtKO3kOuTS1VLIylM8GHNbH16zOJQI0VAKqK-klbMw1ZvTIsZZKvFIvem2nC75WNdy_-Vfif/pubhtml
  
  
• 2017 story, “Scharlepp and Chunka navigate the Meridian Run”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/04/meridian-2017.html
  
  
• Find upcoming races of geographic significance on the Trouble Afoot! racing calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2435