With Jake Rogers and Lilli Unger, Leon Cross-Country wins everything at 3A District 2

Saturday morning, 31 October 2020 was also Halloween morning, but there were no costumes at the Apalachee Regional Park Championship Cross-Country Course, east of Tallahassee, Florida. Nor was their trick-or-treating. There were uniforms, there was running, and there was the FHSAA 3A District 2 Cross-Country Meet--the first round of the State Championship Series for the high schools of North Florida. Tallahassee's Leon High won the team titles in both the boys' 5K and the girsls' 5K, with Leon sophomore Jacob Rogers taking first in the boys' race with a 16:38, and Leon senior Lilli Unger going 19:29 to take first in the girls' event.

Jacob Rogers

The boys' race started at 9:30 AM, opening the meet. Aaron Morse, a Columbia High senior, charged into the lead, running the first mile in 5:14. That was 16:21 pace, and ambitious opening mile for an athlete who had never broken 18:00. Three other athletes--Leon sophomore Jacob Rogers, Leon frosh Patrick Koon, and Wakulla senior Simon Cole--hit the mile mark in a more judicious 5:22.


Before the end of the second mile, Rogers, Koon, and Cole had overtaken Morse. The four were running together at that point, but over the last mile Rogers dropped each of them one by one. Rogers was racing entirely alone by the homestretch, and the Leon sophomore crossed the finish line first in 16:38. Koon took second in 16:53, while Cole was third in 17:15 and Morse fourth in 17:35.

Patrick Koon, Simon Cole, Jacob Rogers, Aaron Morse

Leon's next three runners were junior Leo Kelly (7th, 17:51), frosh William Springer (9th, 18:16), and frosh William Winsor (11th, 18:24), giving the Lions 30 points and the District 2 title. Aaron Morse's Columbia team was second with 75 points. Lincoln High, led by Trojan senior Khary Wright (6th, 17:49), was third with 87 points. Those top three teams qualified to advance to the next round of the State Championship Series, the Region 1 Meet at Alligator Lake Park in Lake City, Florida on 7 November 2020.


Boys' Team Standings, 2020 FHSAA 3A Distict 2 Cross-Country Meet

1. Leon, 30
2. Columbia, 75
3. Lincoln, 87
4. Wakulla, 91
5. Gainesville, 108
6. Rickards, 138

Top Ten Boys, 2020 FHSAA 3A Distict 2 Cross-Country Meet

1. 16:37.35, Jacob Rogers (Leon) 10
2. 16:52.46, Patrick Koon (Leon) 9
3. 17:14.70, Simon Cole (Wakulla) 12
4. 17:34.47, Aaron Morse (Columbia) 12
5. 17:46.89, Finnigan Smith (Gainesville) 11
6. 17:48.93, Khary Wright (Lincoln) 12
7. 17:50.29, Leo Kelly (Leon) 11
8. 17:54.99, Kyle Morgan (Gainesville) 12
9. 18:15.61, William Springer (Leon) 9
10. 18:21.27, Joseph McLeod (Lincoln) 10

Gainesville High junior Ani Veltcheva led most of the first half of the girls' 5K, but the second half of the race belonged to three Leon athletes--senior Lilli Unger and sophomores Lillee Tang and Lily Moore. The three left the rest of the field far behind, becoming the only girls in the race to break 20:00. Unger was especially lonely, finishing first with a lead of over a hundred meters in 19:29. Tang was runner-up in 19:55, with Moor taking third a few steps back in 19:57.

Lilli Unger

Sophomore Stella Lewis took the next place for Leon as well, coming in fourth in 20:43. Leon frosh Juliette Heckman was the final scorer for the Lions, placing 25th in 24:17 and giving her team 35 points--first in the District and earning the Leon girls a spot on the starting line at the Region 1 Meet.


Wakulla frosh Lilliana Lewis finished fifth in 21:12, leading her team to a score of 75, good for second in the district and advancing the team to the Region 1 Meet. The Lincoln girls grabbed the third place, scoring 97 points behind their senior ace, Lauren Whittier (10th, 21:52). Lincoln was the final team to qualify for Region 1 competition.

Lillee Tang

At the Region 1 Meet in Lake City, the teams will be racing to qualify for the State Final, with the top four teams advancing. The State Final will be held back in Tallahassee at Apalachee Regional Park on 13-14 November 2020, with the 3A girls racing at 7:30 AM ET on 14 November 2020 and the 3A boys racing later in the morning at 8:05 AM ET.


Girls' Team Standings, 2020 FHSAA 3A Distict 2 Cross-Country Meet

1. Leon, 35
2. Wakulla, 43
3. Lincoln, 75
4. Gainesville, 97
5. Columbia, 101

Top Ten Girls, 2020 FHSAA 3A Distict 2 Cross-Country Meet

1. 19:28.25, Lillian Unger (Leon) 12
2. 19:54.02, Lillee Tang (Leon) 10
3. 19:56.01, Lily Moore (Leon) 10
4. 20:42.80, Stella Lewis (Leon) 10
5. 21:11.74, Lillliana Lewis (Wakulla) 9
6. 21:23.60, Audrey Fender (Columbia) 10
7. 21:28.13, Elizabeth Blitch (Wakulla) 11
8. 21:29.16, Clara Alford (Wakulla) 11
9. 21:33.05, Annabella Veltcheva (Gainesville) 11
10. 21:51.08, Lauren Whittier (Lincoln) 12

Links

• Complete results of the 2020 FHSAA 3A District 2 Cross-Country Championship
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTAjn7Dzpq0vSG9gly7Rye59hnDqRk92YjK6FcbqzdffuZChVdy2JZj_uiX8K_ahrBKwcc6ZGe970aK/pubhtml
  
  
• More Trouble Afoot! photos of the 2020 FHSAA 3A District 2 Cross-Country Championship
  
  • Boys: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10116897984570313
    
  • Girls: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10116898936462713
    
  
  
• 2019 story, “Leon's teams, Kambry Smith, and Lewis Benitez-Chaparro each leave 3A District 1 as champions”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/10/fhsaa-3a-district-1-2019.html
  
  
• 2018 story, “Emily Culley and Sebastian Kenne rock ARPXC, as Chiles sweeps 3A District 3”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/10/fhsaa-3a-district-3-2018.html
  
  
• 2016 story, “Cashin and Churchill win in blowouts, but Chiles teams continue to dominate 3A District 3”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/10/fhsaa-3a-district-3-2016.html
  
  
• 2015 story, “Tallahassee schools shine in 3A District 3 Meet at Apalachee Regional Park”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/10/fhsaa-3a-district-3.html
  
  
• 2013 story, “Red, white, and flew! Leon harriers Audrey Dogan and Sukhi Khosla win District 3-3A”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/10/fhsaa-district-3-3a-2013.html
  
  
• 2012 story, “District 2 belongs to Chiles and Wakulla”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/11/fhsaa-district-2-3a2a-2012.html
  
  
• 2011 story, “2011 FHSAA District 2-3A / 2A cross-country meet”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/11/fhsaa-district-2-3a2a-xc-2011.html
  
  
• 2010 story, “2010 FHSAA District 1-3A Cross-Country Meet”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/11/2010-district-1-3a-xc.html
  
  
• Find a cross-country, road, or track race for your schedule on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2726

Lilli Unger and Jake Rogers nab wins as Leon and Chiles split the Trojan Mask Invitational

Construction and the COVID-19 pandemic kept competition off Apalachee Regional Park Championship Cross-Country Course through September 2020, but harriers hit the course on 2-3 October 2020 for the Florida State University Invitational. Tallahassee, Florida's premier cross-country venue saw more action on Thursday afternoon, 15 October 2020, when prep athletes converged on ARPXC for Lincoln High's Trojan Mask Invitational. Leon High crushed the field in the girls' 5K, scoring 19 points behind the 19:31 win of Lilli Unger. Leon sophomore Jake Rogers took first in the boys' 5K with a 16:48, but Chiles grabbed the team title, scoring 32 points to Leon's 40.

Lily Unger

Competition commenced at 4:30 PM on a warm, sunny afternoon with the girls' race. 1500 meters into the 5000-meter event, a group of five athletes were out in front of the rest of the field--Leon sophomore Lillee Tang, Leon senior Lilli Unger, Chiles junior Kelly Davis, Community Christian junior Morgan Wilson, and Leon sophomore Lily Moore.


Then Unger took over.


Unger led for the entire second half of the race, essentially running alone. By the final stretch, she was way over 200 meters ahead of the next runner, rolling home in 20:32. Behind her, Lillee Tang and Lily Moore had staked a firm claim to second and third, finishing in those positions at 20:32 and 20:33. Morgan Wilson placed fourth in 20:54, and Kelly Davis fifth in 21:12.

Lillee Tang

Davis was followed across the finish line by two more Leon girls--Lion sophomores Mallory Robinson (6th, 21:41) and Stella Lewis (7th, 22:01). That gave the girls in red-and-white first in the team standings with a mathematically unbeatable 19 points. Chiles placed second with 57 points. Lincoln, led by senior Lauren Whittier (9th, 22:40), was third with 57. Community Christian scored 72 points for fourth.


Girls' Team Standings, 2020 Trojan Mask Invitational

1. Leon, 19
2. Chiles, 57
3. Lincoln, 67
4. Community Christian, 72

Top Ten Girls, 2020 Trojan Mask Invitational

1. 19:30.07, Lillian Unger (Leon) 12
2. 20:31.51, Lillee Tang (Leon) 10
3. 20:32.49, Lily Moore (Leon) 10
4. 20:53.05, Morgan Wilson (Community Christian) 11
5. 21:11.73, Kelly Davis (Chiles) 11
6. 21:40.61, Mallory Robinson (Leon) 10
7. 22:00.82, Stella Lewis (Leon) 10
8. 22:27.12, Ella Hodges (Chiles) 11
9. 22:39.30, Lauren Whittier (Lincoln) 12
10. 23:28.74, Alyssa Cooper (Chiles) 11

Halfway through the race, Leon sophomore Jake Rogers was setting the pace in the boys' 5K, closely followed by Leon frosh Patrick Koon, Lincoln senior Nicholas Samuel, Chiles senior Nathan Reffitt, and Chiles junior Filippo Reina. The two Leon runners left the others behind during the second half, going on to take the first two places in 16:48 and 16:51. Samuel took third in 17:01. Chiles' Reffit and Reina were fourth in 17:19 and fifth in 17:53.

Jake Rogers

The Lions may have been hoping for another win like the one they enjoyed in the girls' race, but the Chiles boys had other ideas. Chiles frosh Jackson Rowe and Chiles sophomore Wyatt Townsend joined Timberwolves Reffitt and Reina in the top ten, placing sixth in 18:05 and seventh in 18:06. Frosh Jonah Blay finished the scoring for Chiles, just missing the top ten and placing eleventh in 18:48. The Timberwolves further increased their lead by putting their sixth and seventh runners--juniors Ben Kirbo (12th, 18:49) and Daniel Neustadter (13th, 18:53)--across the finish line before Leon's final scorer. In the end, Chiles had a winning 32 points and Leon 40. Lincoln was third in the six-team field with 60 points.

Patrick Koon

The pandemic continues as does construction at ARPXC, but the cross-country season goes on nevertheless. Apalachee Regional Park will host Tallahassee Community College's Eagle Invitational on 17 October 2020, Leon County Schools' Middle School Championship on 28 October 2020, the NJCAA Region 8 Championship on 30 October 2020, the FHSAA 3A District 2 Championship on 31 October 2020, and the FHSAA's Florida High School Cross-Country State Championship on 13-14 November 2020. It's a busy schedule, especially for a season that almost didn't happen.


Boys' Team Standings, 2020 Trojan Mask Invitational

1. Chiles, 32
2. Leon, 40
3. Lincoln, 60
4. Saint John Paul II Catholic, 136
5. Maclay, 144
6. Community Christian, 156

Top Ten Girls, 2020 Trojan Mask Invitational

1. 16:47.84, Jake Rogers (Leon) 10
2. 16:50.10, Patrick Koon (Leon) 9
3. 17:00.26, Nicholas Samuel (Lincoln) 12
4. 17:18.53, Nathan Reffitt (Chiles) 12
5. 17:42.41, Filippo Reina (Chiles) 11
6. 18:04.72, Jackson Rowe (Chiles) 9
7. 18:05.73, Wyatt Townsend (Chiles) 10
8. 18:44.49, Leo Kelly (Leon) 11
9. 18:45.76, Khary Wright (Lincoln) 12
10. 18:46.45, Noah Deem (Community Leadership) 8

Links

• Complete results of the 2020 Trojan Mask Invitational Cross-Country Meet
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRU4g7YR9518ua0GRBMyObgwson6DPfr8aSg155arQlXB9p_AcGALqBWw0rLIWVicuV0gDfkLoFMHMV/pubhtml
  
  
• More Trouble Afoot! photos of the 2020 Trojan Mask Invitational Cross-Country Meet
  
  • Girls: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10116806653513483
  • Boys: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10116806682181033
  
  
• Tallahassee area cross-country meets in 2020
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2020/09/tallahassee-xc-2020.html
  
  

#2715