Like a mighty cable, Interstate 10 stretches 362 miles across the entire width of North Florida. In comparison, State Road 20 is just a thread, but it's the thread that holds much of the Florida Panhandle together. Blountstown, Florida is one of the cities along Highway 20. You won't see much driving through Blountstown on the highway--a few gas stations, some businesses, a municipal building, the courthouse, and the local Burger King. You have to get off the highway to see places like Sam Atkins Park. So if you were cruising through Blountstown on Wednesday, 27 September 2023, you would have totally missed that there was a high school cross-country meet in Sam Atkins Park--the seventh annual Blountstown Home Meet.
Which is an unassuming name for an event that included 22 teams and 201 athletes representing fifteen different schools. Anywhere else it would have been the River City Invitational or the Tiger Classic or the Apalachee River Valley Cross-Country Spectacular. But Blountstown doesn't put on any airs, nor does Blountstown High. So it was the Blountstown Home Meet.
Geisha Smith won the opening event, the high school girls' 5K, by almost 300 meters. A Seminole County junior, Smith ran the 3.1 mile course in 21:52. Franklin County frosh Addyson Paul edged Port Saint Joe eighth-grader Kate Patrick for the runner-up spot, 23:09 to 23:12.
But Port Saint Joe had two more athletes in the top ten--frosh Molly Martin, ninth in 24:25, and senior Arlena Gleichner, tenth in 24:28. Port Saint Joe's two remaining scorers were eighth-grader Libby White (13th, 24:58) and senior Hannah Dacosta (19th, 26:00), giving the Sharks 38 points and first place among eleven girls' teams.
Liberty County was second with 92 points. Rutherford nipped Altha for third, 108 to 110.
Girls' Team Standings, 2023 Blountstown Home Meet
Port Saint Joe, 38
Liberty County, 92
Rutherford, 108
Altha, 110
Marianna, 123
Malone, 141
Laurel Hill, 168
Seminole County, 171
Wewahitchka, 185
Blountstown, 286
Sneads, 289
Top Ten Girls, 2023 Blountstown Home Meet
21:52.00, Geisha Smith (Seminole County) 11
23:09.00, Addyson Paul (Franklin County) 9
23:11.60, Kate Patrick (Port Saint Joe) 8
23:17.30, Abella Faircloth (Liberty County) 9
23:22.90, Alena Brobst (Altha) 11
23:27.70, Isabella Polous (Franklin County) 8
23:43.00, Addison Cook (Walton) 10
23:59.70, Dixie Gilmore (Altha) 11
24:24.50, Molly Partin (Port Saint Joe) 9
24:27.70, Arlena Gleichner (Port Saint Joe) 12
Franklin County junior
Josiah Friddle won the boys' 5K by close to 150 meters, covering the course in 17:41. The race for second was closer--Blountstown senior Hunter Shuler finished just a few steps ahead of Thoren Knispel, a Lincoln sophomore, with Shuler running 18:14 and Knispel 18:16. Marianna frosh Travis Ephriam was a close fourth in 18:21.
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| Josiah Friddle |
Blountstown senior Alexander Nandho took fifth in 18:28. The next three Blountstown Tigers were sophmore Asher Black (20:05), senior Cristian Gonzalez (16th, 20:10), and frosh Diego Nandho (27th, 21:10), giving the team a winning score of 44 points.
Ephriam and Marianna placed second in the eleven-team field with 69 points. Port Saint Joe squeaked by Malone 121 to 122 for third.
Miles and Minutes, LLC, of Tallahassee, Florida timed and scored the 2023 Blountstown Home Meet.
Boys' Team Standings, 2023 Blountstown Home Meet
Blountstown, 44
Marianna, 69
Port Saint Joe, 121
Malone, 122
Bay, 168
Sneads, 175
Seminole County, 176
Walton, 177
Wewahitchka, 182
Altha, 216
Liberty County, 227
Top Ten Boys, 2023 Blountstown Home Meet
17:40.70, Josiah Friddle (Franklin County) 11
18:13.50, Hunter Shuler (Blountstown) 12
18:15.10, Thoren Knispel (Lincoln) 10
18:20.30, Travis Ephriam (Marianna) 9
18:27.30, Alexander Nandho (Blountstown) 12
18:47.40, Maxwell Wester (Marianna) 9
18:53.30, Lundon Faile (Bay) 12
19:03.90, Jude Fosshage (Port Saint Joe) 7
19:07.00, Nathaniel Cabrera (Franklin County) 9
19:21.70, Kingsley Knispel (Lincoln) 10
Blountstown Home Meet winners, 2013 - 2023
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|---|
| Girls |
|---|
| Date | Team Champ | Individual Champ |
|---|
| 9 October 2013 | Blountstown, 30 points | 22:22, Valerie Sampson (Cottondale) |
| 26 September 2018 | Port Saint Joe, 32 | 23:00, Jazzmyne Degolyer (Altha) 8 |
| 25 September 2019 | North Bay Haven, 21 | 22:41, Kyla Faint (North Bay Haven) 6 |
| 30 September 2020 | Port Saint Joe, 22 | 24:12, Madelyn Gortermoller (Port Saint Joe) 11 |
| 29 September 2021 | Community Christian, 15 | 22:02, Megan Fajardo (Destin) 10 |
| 28 September 2022 | Paxton, 36 | 21:57, Jersey Bilderback (Paxton) 9 |
| 27 September 2023 | Port Saint Joe, 38 | 21:52, Geisha Smith (Seminole County) 11 |
| Boys |
|---|
| Date | Team Champ | Individual Champ |
|---|
| 9 October 2013 | Blountstown, 32 points | 17:48, Thomas Howell (Blountstown) |
| 26 September 2018 | Blountstown, 28 | 17:04, Xander Peacock (Blountstown) 11 |
| 25 September 2019 | Blountstown, 33 | 17:15, Xander Peacock (Blountstown) 12 |
| 30 September 2020 | Blountstown, 42 | 18:14, Eugene Hall (Paxton) 12 |
| 29 September 2021 | Blountstown, 30 | 17:54, Jackson Welch (Malone) 9 |
| 28 September 2022 | Blountstown, 31 | 17:57, Chance Thornton (Jay) 12 |
| 27 September 2023 | Blountstown, 44 | 17:41, Josiah Friddle (Franklin County) 11 |
Links
#2988
Not waiting for Memorial Day Monday, Apalachicola, Florida began recognizing the fallen at the opening of the weekend with the Honoring The Brave 5K road race on Saturday morning, 24 May 2025. At the finish line, the race came down to a duel between two Franklin County High distance runners--senior Josiah Friddle and sophomore Nathaniel Cabrera. Friddle prevailed, edging Cabrera 19:59 to 20:00. Master runner Laura McDermott was the first woman in the race, placing fourth overall in 22:39.
