Another win, another record for Leonardo Canete and Georgina Hernandez at the Chipola Challenge

The fourth annual Chipola Challenge 5K was the largest yet, with 143 athletes completing the 3.1-mile tour of the Marianna, Florida campus of Chipola College. Up front, it was also the fastest Chipola Challenge yet--Leonardo Canete won the race with a course record time of 17:19. There was a new course record on the women's side as well, where Georgina Hernandez went 21:32 for the win, placing fifth overall.


The record that Leonardo Canete broke was his own; the Tallahassee, Florida master runner had won the Chipola Challenge in 2024, setting a standard of 17:26. Behind Canete, second place came down to a showdown between two high school cross-country runners, Marianna High junior Travis Ephriam and Poplar Springs High junior David Baber. Both Ephriam and Baber were clocked in 18:25, but Ephriam got to the finish line just before his Poplar Springs rival and took second.


Like Canete, Georgina Hernandez had raced the Chipola Challenge in 2024. That year the Quincy, Florida athlete won the women's division with a 23:57. Her winning mark in 2026, 21:32, would have put her 300 meters ahead of an athlete running 23:57.


Alena Brobst, a Chipola College frosh and an athlete on the school's cross-country team, went 24:23 to grab second in the women's standings, coing in twelfth overall., Macy Benton of Dothan, Alabama was the third woman and fifteenth overall in 25:17. Cottondale, Florida's Jody Bontrager was the first woman master and fifteenth female finisher, 48th overall in 32:23.


Watch the February 2027 racing calendar for the fifth annual Chipola Challenge 5K!


Top Ten Men, 2026 Chipola Challenge 5K

1. 17:19, Leonardo Canete (M, 45-49) Tallahassee, FL
2. 18:25, Travis Ephriam (M, 15-19) Marianna, FL
3. 18:25, David Baber (M, 15-19) Graceville, FL
4. 20:12, Justin Varner (M, 10-14) Headland, AL
5. 22:21, D J Baggett (M, 15-19) Bonifay, FL
6. 22:35, Richard Hetmann (M, 25-29) Marianna, FL
7. 23:23, Ethan Burt (M, 15-19) Marianna, FL
8. 23:53, Logan Nguyen (M, 15-19) Marianna, FL
9. 23:58, Gabriel Halderson (M, 15-19) Bonifay, FL
10. 24:12, Keshawn Daniels (M, 20-24) Campbellton, FL

Top Ten Women, 2026 Chipola Challenge 5K

1. 21:32, Georgina Hernandez (F, 35-39) Quincy, FL
2. 24:23, Alena Brobst (F, 15-19) Clarksville, FL
3. 25:17, Macy Benton (F, 20-24) Dothan, AL
4. 25:30, Dixie Gilmore (F, 15-19) Clarksville, FL
5. 26:27, Madison McCloskey (F, 15-19) Graceville, FL
6. 27:04, Hailey Morrison (F, 10-14) Wewahitchka, FL
7. 27:17, Cassidy Langland (F, 15-19) Marianna, FL
8. 27:57, Amy Yates (F, 35-39) Panama City, FL
9. 28:42, Laura Knowles (F, 35-39) Marianna, FL
10. 29:50, Eloisa Hernandez (F, 30-34) Quincy, FL

Chipola Challenge 5K winners, 2023 - 2026
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
11 February 2023	19:48, Diego Nandho	25:59, Kirsten Jones	77
3 February 2024	17:26, Leonardo Canete	23:57, Georgina Hernandez	144
1 February 2025	17:48, Orinthal Striggles	24:00, Hannah Howell	98
7 February 2026	17:19, Leonardo Canete	21:32, Georgina Hernandez	143

Links

• Complete results of Chipola College's 2026 Chipola Challenge 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQ_Iw6yBKuZ9giCxP31wcUrIaPo4Zz9bb7uZbysxMoVcx2SdO9z1Kvw1Z79MSDrdq_DLp2Rom-gR_Y8/pubhtml
  
  
• 2025 story, “Orinthal Striggles and Hannah Howell conquer the Chipola Challenge”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2025/02/chipola-challenge-2025.html
  
  
• 2024 story, “Leonardo Canete and Georgina Hernandez took the Chipola Challenge”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2024/01/chipola-challenge-2024.html
  
  
• Course map for Chipola College's 2024 Chipola Challenge 5K
  https://app.box.com/s/xyb0g7wkrdjcsy5xilm9zxiwig291rgh
  
  
• Find your next race in the region on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#3213

Duane Evans and Georgina Hernandez gave 'em the runaround at Chattahoochee's River Runaround

Built on the bluffs overlooking the Flint and Apalachicola Rivers, Chattahoochee, Florida is 60 feet above sea level at its lowest and more than 250 feet above sea level at its highest. With that kind of topography, you'd think that any five-kilometer race you ran in that small town would feature a lot of up and down. But the athletes in the inaugural Chattahoochee River Runaround 5K on Saturday morning, 17 May 2025, were treated to a course that was almost level. Hugging the shore of the rivers, the Runaround so effectively avoided Chattahoochee's hills that the main challenge facing the field was the distance of the race. Master runner Duane Evans met that challenge best, covering the course in a winning 20:56. Georgina Hernandez was the first woman in the race, placing fifth overall in 23:29.


Master runner Richard Reesor took the runner-up spot, running 22:19. Thirteen-year-old Ian Bryner was third in 22:28.


Megan Orcutt was the first woman master and second female finisher, coming in sixth overall in 23:47. Hillary Powell took third in the women's standings, placing seventh overall in 24:20.


89 athletes finished the 2025 Chattahaoochee River Runaround 5K. Ultimate Racing, Inc., of Saint Augustine, Florida timed and scored the race.


Top Ten Men, 2025 Chattahaoochee River Runaround 5K

1. 20:56, Duane Evans (M, 57)
2. 22:19, Richard Reesor (M, 63)
3. 22:28, Ian Bryner (M, 13)
4. 22:57, Devin Ferrell (M, 31)
5. 24:29, David Braswell (M, 54)
6. 24:54, Michael Kennett (M, 51)
7. 25:08, Will Nettles (M, 26)
8. 25:33, Roman Hill (M, 17)
9. 25:52, Ryan Burk (M, 53)
10. 26:47, Douglas Gorton (M, 66)

Top Ten Women, 2025 Chattahaoochee River Runaround 5K

1. 23:29, Georgina Hernandez (F, 35)
2. 23:47, Megan Orcutt (F, 40)
3. 24:25, Hillary Powell (F, 40)
4. 25:46, Caitlin Ubilla (F, 35)
5. 27:31, Emma Stubblefield (F, 10)
6. 27:50, Jasmine Hartin (F, 28)
7. 30:25, Melissa Potter (F, 45)
8. 31:02, Traci Hall (F, 46)
9. 31:19, Amber Stubblefield (F, 42)
10. 31:36, Eloisa Hernandez (F, 31)

Links

• Complete results of Chattahoochee's 2025 River Runaround 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQbzXrMl2vJpLUvV0wRx4ExMykxLgzLiBiO5n5EpCy4VmBSOKkQS2AU_B8fZaG0tqc6QoNI0w2aJTkl/pubhtml
  
  
• Upcoming races in Chattahoochee and elsewhere in the region on the Trouble Afoot calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#3191

Jeremy Collier and Georgina Hernandez were the fastest at The Farm in the NeSmith Way 5K

On Saturday morning, 10 May 2025, cross-country running made its yearly return to The Farm north of Tallahassee, Florida in the form of the sixth annual NeSmith Way 5K. Jeremy Collier won the 3.1-mile run through the fields and forests of The Farm, running 18:04--the fastest time ever in the six-year history of the race. Georgina Hernandez was the first woman in the 5K, finishing fifteenth overall in 24:38.


Collier, who finished more than 200 meters ahead of the next runner, is no stranger to cross-country running. In his junior year at Community Christian School, Collier has been racing for the school's cross-country team for the last six seasons. Jackson Rowe, second to Collier in 18:54, is likewise an experienced harrier. Rowe spent the 2024 cross-country season racing for the George Mason University Patriots after years of running for Chiles High and Montford Middle School. Abel Adams, Abel Adams, a frosh on the Leon High cross-country team, took third in 19:41. Duane Evans was the first master runner in the 5K, coming in seventh overall in 22:11.


Abigail Stephens was second in the women's division, coming in 24th overall in 27:42. Stephens is an eighth-grader and distance runner at Maclay School, just across Meridian Road from The Farm. A step or two behind Stephens, Kiersten Kinsley was the first woman master and third female finisher in the race, placing 25th overall in 27:44.


52 athletes finished the 2025 Nesmith Way 5K. Gulf Winds Track Club of Tallahassee chip-timed the race.


Top Ten Men, 2025 Nesmith Way 5K

1. 18:04, Jeremy Collier (M, 17)
2. 18:54, Jackson Rowe (M, 19)
3. 19:41, Abel Adams (M, 15)
4. 19:53, Fife Duncan (M, 13)
5. 21:05, Eder Juarez (M, 23)
6. 21:28, Landon Heitmeyer (M, 11)
7. 22:11, Duane Evans (M, 57)
8. 23:42, Ben Lawson (M, 15)
9. 24:03, Warren Rosenberg (M, 15)
10. 24:04, Noah NeSmith (M, 14)

Top Ten Women, 2025 Nesmith Way 5K

1. 24:38, Georgina Hernandez (F, 35)
2. 27:42, Abigail Stephens (F, 14)
3. 27:44, Kiersten Kinsley (F, 50)
4. 29:19, Lacey Nichols (F, 38)
5. 30:50, Sarah Lester (F, 49)
6. 30:50, Scarlett Rassweiler (F, 8)
7. 31:45, Brandi Keels (F, 50)
8. 31:47, Debbie Peters (F, 64)
9. 31:53, Tara Stafford (F, 43)
10. 33:20, Lydia Kennett (F, 14)

Nesmith Way 5K winners, 2019 - 2025
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
11 May 2019	18:47, Brad Busboom	25:53, Brandi Campbell	45
17 July 2021	23:00, Anthony Walker	24:38, Alexa Poage	45
30 April 2022	18:37, Leonardo Canete	24:27, Alexa Poage	38
29 April 2023	29:11, Leonardo Canete	37:36, Alexis Mayfield	47
27 April 2024	18:18, Leonardo Canete	20:41, Stephanie Liles-Weyant	108
17 May 2025	18:04, Jeremy Collier	24:38, Georgina Hernandez	52

Links

• Complete results of the 2025 Nesmith Way 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vS2b9aQx4RQIN9guCclKIFwVzCBY9ncQ55LV1jUuU_iMl6pnTKnh-1IsAyGD2ghHEYvnAfTw_c8bkYv/pubhtml
  
  
• 2024 story, “Leonardo Canete and Stephanie Liles-Weyant lead the way at the Nesmith Way 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2024/04/nesmith-2024.html
  
  
• 2019 story, “Racing the Nesmith Way 5K the Brad Busboom way”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/05/nesmith-2019.html
  
  
• Find upcoming races in the Tallahassee region on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#3193

Leonardo Canete and Georgina Hernandez took the Chipola Challenge

Finishing more than 200 meters ahead of the next runner, Leonardo Canete won the second annual Chipola Challenge 5K in Marianna, Florida on Saturday morning, 3 February 2024. The Tallahassee, Florida master runner completed the 3.1-mile tour of the Chipola College campus in 17:26. Georgina Hernandez of Quincy, Florida was the first woman in the race, coming in thirteenth overall in 23:58.


Leonardo Canete's 17:26 was a new Chipola Challenge record, breaking the old mark of 19:48 set by Diego Nandho in the inaugural Challenge in 2023. Nandho, a frosh on the Blountstown High cross-country team, was eighth in the 2024 Challenge, running 22:32.


Another Blountstown High cross-country runner, senior Hunter Shuler, ran 18:16 in the 2024 Challenge, placing second to Canete. A frosh cross-country runner for the Enterprise State Boll Weevils, Lamar Sowell, edged Thomas Howell for third, 18:40 to 18:43. Howell is a coach of the Liberty County High cross-country team.


Georgina Hernandez also set a Chipola Challenge record; her 23:58 bettered the women's mark of 25:59 run by Kirsten Jones in 2023. Not far behind Hernandez, Bailey Smith and Dixie Gilmore battled for the runner-up spot in the women's standings. Graceville, Florida's Smith came in just ahead of Gilmore, 24:04 to 24:06. The two were fourteenth and fifteenth overall. Nicole Goble of Fountain, Florida was the first woman master in the 5K and the ninth female finisher, 30th overall in 27:48.


Chipola College was established in 1947. The college hosted the first Chipola Challenge 5K in 2023 as a 75th anniversary event. 77 athletes showed up to finish on a rainy day in February to finish that inaugural race. The Challenge was back in on a cool day under clear skies in 2024, and 144 athletes finished, nearly double the previous year's total. Look for a third annual Chipola Challenge in February 2025.


Top Ten Men, 2024 Chipola Challenge 5K

1. 17:26, Leonardo Canete (M, 45-49) Tallahassee, FL
2. 18:16, Hunter Shuler (M, 15-19) Bloutstown, FL
3. 18:40, Lamar Sowell (M, 15-19) Graceville, FL
4. 18:43, Thomas Howell (M, 25-29) Hosford, FL
5. 18:53, J D Oaks (M, 20-24) Marianna, FL
6. 19:06, Andres Lacherre (M, 25-29) Marianna, FL
7. 20:55, Jason Tomlinson (M, 15-19) Bloutstown, FL
8. 22:32, Diego Nandho (M, 15-19) Bloutstown, FL
9. 22:35, Nicholas Reynolds (M, 35-39) Alford, FL
10. 22:37, Jason Gilmore (M, 50-54) Marianna, FL

Top Ten Women, 2024 Chipola Challenge 5K

1. 23:58, Georgina Hernandez (F, 30-34) Quincy, FL
2. 24:04, Bailey Smith (F, 15-19) Graceville, FL
3. 24:06, Dixie Gilmore (F, 15-19) Clarksville, FL
4. 25:40, Brianna Adams (F, 15-19) Graceville, FL
5. 25:45, Aubrey Smith (F, 15-19) Graceville, FL
6. 26:30, Jaymi Miller (F, 10-14) Marianna, FL
7. 27:18, Victoria Ferrell (F, 20-24) Fountain, FL
8. 27:41, Hannah Howell (F, 30-34) Hosford, FL
9. 27:48, Nicole Goble (F, 40-44) Fountain, FL
10. 28:30, Katia Roche (F, 25-29) Panama City, FL

Chipola Challenge 5K winners, 2023 - 2024
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
11 February 2023	19:48, Diego Nandho	25:59, Kirsten Jones	77
3 February 2024	17:26, Leonardo Canete	23:57, Georgina Hernandez	144

Links

• Complete results of Chipola College's 2024 Chipola Challenge 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSDx3FBjrqzsWUx9SSRPfFEwd51-C2fX0JPA-1bR4QTdPx1UnBsBWtDX5-douTvZk34Po5Xir3FKFnT/pubhtml
  
  
• Course map for Chipola College's 2024 Chipola Challenge 5K
  https://app.box.com/s/xyb0g7wkrdjcsy5xilm9zxiwig291rgh
  
  
• Find your next race in the region on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#3050

Rhodes and Hernandez lead the pack at the Wolf Dash

In 2013 Chiles High School first hosted a 5K run at their Bradfordville, Florida campus to benefit the March of Dimes. March of Dimes races were held more or less annually after that, sometimes less than twelve months apart, sometimes more. Then, on Saturday morning, 3 February 2018, the Chiles High School Foundation staged a sixth March of Dimes 5K.


They called it the first annual Wolf Dash.


Well, it was the first of the races called the Wolf Dash.


First annual or sixth annual, Perry, Florida master runner Michael Rhodes edged Kurt Dietrich of Tallahassee, Florida for the win, 18:30 to 18:34. Owen Franklin, a seventh-grader on the Montford Middle School cross-country team, was third in 21:34.


Georgina Hernandez was the first woman in the race, placing twelfth overall in 26:05. Stacy Poage was the first woman master and second female finisher, fourteenth overall in 26:36. Renee Pharis edged nine-year-old Maddy Morris for the third spot in the women's standings, 28:11 to 28:14. Pharis and Morris finished nineteenth and twentieth overall.


57 athletes finished the 2018 Wolf Dash. Another 30 finished a one-mile fun run.


Top Ten Men, 2018 Wolf Dash 5K

1. 18:29.10, Michael Rhodes (M, 49)
2. 18:33.70, Kurt Dietrich (M, 26)
3. 21:33.40, Owen Franklin (M, 13)
4. 22:03.30, Michael Lackey (M, 42)
5. 22:47.80, Tyler Carver (M, 14)
6. 22:52.40, Tripp Ryon (M, 33)
7. 23:23.90, Jake Ryon (M, 12)
8. 23:27.10, Darren Whiddon (M, 45)
9. 24:35.60, Justin Mosley (M, 11)
10. 25:04.20, Jamie Carver (M, 45)

Top Ten Women, 2018 Wolf Dash 5K

1. 26:04.10, Georgina Hernandez (F, 27)
2. 26:35.80, Stacy Poage (F, 42)
3. 28:10.90, Renee Pharis (F, 24)
4. 28:13.80, Maddy Morris (F, 9)
5. 28:35.10, Amy Magnuson (F, 46)
6. 29:03.60, Ashley Murphy (F, 15)
7. 29:04.00, Brittany Murphy (F, 18)
8. 30:20.90, Liovani Nazario (F, 16)
9. 31:14.80, Paige Butler (F, 14)
10. 32:26.40, Erika Frisby (F, 16)

Chiles High School Foundation's Wolf Dash 5K winners, 2013 - 2018
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
9 March 2013	23:36, Patrick Rutkowski	21:43, Jessica Gillard	66
15 February 2014	19:02, Josh Cartwright	24:59, Jenna Kolby	85
14 March 2015	20:25, Joey Castagnaro	25:18, Mary Brosnan	42
21 November 2015	17:26, Gary Droze	22:01, Caitlin Wilkey	54
19 November 2016	19:57, Jason Graham	22:44, Lyssa Oberkreser	24
3 February 2018	18:30, Michael Rhodes	26:05, Georgina Hernandez	57

Links

• Complete results of the 2018 Wolf Dash 5K at gulfwinds.org
  http://gulfwinds.org/raceresults/2018/Wolf%20Dash%202018.asp
  
  
• 2015 (fall) story, “Droze and Wilkey take the March of Dimes 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/11/chs-dimes-2015.html
  
  
• 2015 (spring) story, “Castagnaro and Brosnan win Chiles High's March of Dimes 5K”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/03/chs-dimes-2015.html
  
  
• 2014 story, “Cartwright and Kolby march to victory at Chiles”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/02/chs-dimes-2014.html
  
  
• USATF course certification map FL17041TY for the 2018 Wolf Dash 5K
  http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=FL17041TY
  
  
• Upcoming races of every size on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2180