Robert Bledsoe and Rachel Randall win one on the Island at the Spritzer 5K

On Thursday morning, 4 July 2019, the Franklin County High cross-country team hosted the fifth annual Spritzer 5K, and it was a cross-country runner who won the race. Robert Bledsoe, who had been a harrier at Irwin County High, South Georgia State College, and Truett-McConnell University, ran the 3.1-mile course on Saint George Island, Florida in a winning 17:45. Master runner Rachel Randall was the first woman in the race, placing seventh overall in 22:46.


Courtland Buntin, an alumnus of the Albany, Georgia Deerfield Windsor School cross-country team, finished second to Bledsoe in 17:45. Logan Kilpatrick, a Wakulla High harrier, edged Jason Timbert for third, 20:48 to 20:49. David Henry was the fastest master runner in the race, coming in sixth overall in 22:45.


The women's champ, Rachel Randall, was just a step behind Henry at 22:46. Sixteen-year-old Natalie Koester was the women's runner-up, placing tenth overall in 23:14. Sam Fortunas was third in the women's standings and fourteenth overall in 24:18.


110 athletes finished the 2019 Spritzer 5K. Proceeds of the race go to benefit the cross-country teams of Franklin County High School. Miles & Minutes, LLC, of Tallahassee, Florida timed the 5K and an associated one-mile fun run.


Top Ten Men, 2019 Spritzer 5K

1. 17:44.30, Robert Bledsoe (M, 24)
2. 18:29.70, Courtland Buntin (M, 20)
3. 20:47.40, Logan Kilpatrick (M, 15)
4. 20:48.60, Jason Timbert (M, 17)
5. 22:40.10, Jimmy Poloronis (M, 36)
6. 22:44.60, David Henry (M, 53)
7. 22:53.10, Graham Shierling (M, 13)
8. 23:12.40, Robert Randall (M, 15)
9. 23:21.00, Griffen McKay (M, 16)
10. 23:24.80, John Sheppard (M, 45)

Top Ten Women, 2019 Spritzer 5K

1. 22:45.60, Rachel Randall (F, 41)
2. 23:13.70, Natalie Koester (F, 16)
3. 24:17.90, Sam Fortunas (F, 28)
4. 25:53.80, Mandy McClellan (F, 35)
5. 26:17.50, Robert Collins (F, 54)
6. 26:50.10, Jodi Beth Stuckey (F, 34)
7. 27:05.30, Cheryl Moore (F, 51)
8. 27:11.10, Amy McKenna (F, 43)
9. 27:27.40, Sadie Prince (F, 19)
10. 27:34.50, Madison Sims (F, 12)

Saint George Island Spritzer 5K winners, 2015 - 2019
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
4 July 2015	18:38, Joel Piotrowski	23:15, Haleigh Martin	45
4 July 2016
4 July 2017
4 July 2018	20:06, Simon Hodgson	18:39, Amy Hines	57
4 July 2019	17:45, Robert Bledsoe	22:46, Rachel Randall	110

Links

• Complete results of the 2019 Spritzer 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSY_S87rJxqYEoETSzeFSBiFpE1KcHxEXF_TwMQm6eteIZEHWf0qLlMicvN0QWZ6pI2vaiEJdAmtn5C/pubhtml
  
  
• Independence Day 2019 racing coverage on Trouble Afoot!
  • Gainesville FL: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/07/ftc-melon-2019.html
  • Jay FL: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/07/jay-freedom-2019.html
  • Saint George Island FL: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/07/spritzer-2019.html
    
  • Tallahassee FL: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/07/firecracker-2019.html
    
  • Valdosta GA: https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/07/valdosta-independence-2019.html
  
  
• 2015 story, “Piotrowski and Martin coast to wins at the Saint George Island Spritzer 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/spritzer-2015.html
  
  
• Upcoming races, island and mainland, on the Trouble Afoot! racing calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2548

Bledsoe and Worley winners at 2013 Fire Ant 5K

Robert Bledsoe runs cross-country for Irwin County (Georgia) High School, so he's quite used to running five kilometers over hills and through forests and meadows, sand and mud. Running the same 3.1-mile distance on paved streets can't be any harder, and on Saturday morning, 23 March 2013, Bledsoe did just that, running 19:02 on the streets of Ashburn, Georgia and winning the Turner County Fire Ant Festival 5K. Ashburn's DeAndre Pierce, a Fire Ant 5K veteran, was runner-up in 19:29, followed by Artemio Gomez of Omega in 19:39. In a duel of master runners, Leesburg's Michael Gavre edged Tifton's Frank Davis for fourth, 19:44 to 19:46. Cordele's Adrienne Worley was the first female finisher, placing 18th overall in 25:24. 80 athletes finished 2013 edition of the annual race.


Turner County's Fire Ant Festival started in 1996, and the 5K race was added at least as early as 2001. Like the somewhat older Fire Ant Festival in Marshall, Texas, the insects themselves are not actually invited to the celebration. For that matter, they weren't invited to the United States, either. But who can keep them away? So the tenacious exotic species has become the mascot of Ashburn's festival, and of the associated 5K race. And as sure as you'll find fire ant mounds in your front yard, you can depend on the Fire Ant Festival 5K being run on the fourth Saturday in March. Look for it again on 22 March 2014.


Top Ten Males, 2013 Turner County (Georgia) Fire Ant Festival 5K

1. 19:01.85 ~ Robert Bledsoe (M, 17) Rebecca, GA
2. 19:28.37 ~ DeAndre Pierce (M, 15) Ashburn, GA
3. 19:38.83 ~ Artemio Gomez (M, 20) Omega, GA
4. 19:43.24 ~ Michael Gavre (M, 46) Leesburg, GA
5. 19:45.11 ~ Frank Davis (M, 52) Tifton, GA
6. 19:46.45 ~ Jose Trejo (M, 34) Fitzgerald, GA
7. 19:51.36 ~ Lorenzo Gomez (M, 47) Omega, GA
8. 20:18.74 ~ Lorenzo Gomez, Jr. (M, 26) Omega, GA
9. 20:36.09 ~ Trey Norris (M, 17) Jasper, FL
10. 20:46.29 ~ Bruce Austin (M, 43) Albany, GA

Top Ten Females, 2013 Turner County (Georgia) Fire Ant Festival 5K

1. 25:23.02 ~ Adrienne Worley (F, 32) Cordele, Ga
2. 25:49.13 ~ Allison Cauthen (F, 23) Macon, GA
3. 26:00.32 ~ Lee Taylor (F, 16) Ashburn, GA
4. 26:23.33 ~ Brittany Pilkinton (F, 26) Sycamore, GA
5. 27:07.39 ~ Heather Jones (F, 39) Tifton, GA
6. 27:38.81 ~ Leslie Miles (F, 42) Carrollton, GA
7. 27:56.59 ~ Brittany Brown (F, 27) Tifton, GA
8. 28:13.50 ~ Susan Hutchinson (F, 61) Poulan, GA
9. 28:56.55 ~ Melissa Wilson (F, 38) Fitzgerald, GA
10. 29:28.77 ~ Elexis Griffin (F, 29) Thomasville, GA

Turner County Fire Ant Festival 5K winners, 2003-2013
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
24 March 2001
23 March 2002
22 March 2003	16:37, David Coody, Jr	21:52, Kara Clark
27 March 2004	18:23, Kerry Underwood	27:26, Stephanie Langley
26 March 2005	17:22, Robert Feldman	20:20, Brooke Withers	60
25 March 2006	17:52, Ryan McDaniel	21:22, Rue Chitwood	50
24 March 2007	16:01, David Marley	20:08, Elizabeth Lambert	76
22 March 2008	16:47, David Marley	19:45, Brittney Skiles	106
28 March 2009	18:15, Nathan Norton	22:56, Amy Bartholomew	63
27 March 2010	17:54, Daniel Chevez	21:53, Susan Breeding	91
26 March 2011	17:52, Robert Smith	20:46, Ashley Duncan	97
24 March 2012	18:09, Benjamin James Weston	23:37, Jeanette MacDonald	141
23 March 2013	19:02, Robert Bledsoe	25:24, Adrienne Worley	80

Links

• Complete results of the 2013 Turner County (Georgia) Fire Ant Festival 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AuBsYKIIn3TCdDk2RTZHSzFsUlZFNUZDYnFXVWEzOVE
  
  
• 2011 story, "ASU athletes Smith and Duncan achieve ant honors at Ashburn"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/03/fire-ant-2011.html
  
  
• Upcoming races in the region, with or without pests for mascots
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1