Photo Album by Rese Ammons (Almost 1500 Photos!)
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Ask a runner what makes them good at their event and you will get varied answers, but one answer for sure was "no wind". The Tommy Oliver Stadium in Panama City is never lacking for a windy day. This year's North Florida Invitational was no exception.
Runners struggled to meet or exceed their PRs as the wind seemed to blow even harder throughout the afternoon.
The girls 1600m started out with runners from Providence high school in the lead, holding onto that lead through the first 400 meters. Then Cora Atkinson with Waculla moved into second heading into the second lap with South Walton high school taking spots in second and third. Providence had dropped behind into the middle of the pack.
Cora seemed to run an effortless race as she slipped into first place before the end of the second lap. South Walton would shorten that gap between first and second in the last 600 meters, but it would not be enough. They held onto their second and third place finishes with Cora Atkinson taking first.
Cora missed her PR by six seconds. "I like to keep the same pace the whole way through," she panted out of breath. "It didn't work so well this time," she added. The wind off the back stretch played a huge factor in the runners keeping pace. She also noted that it takes strategy and a lot of training to make a good miler.
The boys 1600 was anybody's race through the first 400. Northview and Arnold high schools had runners in the lead until the backstretch coming around into the start of the second lap when Jacob Leuze from South Walton took over the first place spot. The Arnold high school runner remained in second, but Jacob quickly put a big gap between them.
By the end of the third lap, Jacob was at least 50 meters ahead of second. Into the final lap, Jacob widened the gap and was nearly 100 meters ahead of second as he crossed the finish line. Jacob was happy with his performance.
"We started out the second lap pretty slow, but it was good," Jacob stated of his performance. He also commented that it was pretty hot, which played a factor for him.
Chance Mason of Arnold High also noted the wind was an obstacle for him. He ran the 800 and the second leg 4x400 relay. "If it wasn't for the wind, I would have gotten a PR."
Chance ran a 2:01, which was one second off his record time. "I'll get it next week," he added. "I was really battling the wind today."