(Photos by Chris Tucker)
On-Site Coverage
A postponed race and wet course didn't stop runners from finishing with some fast times Labor Day morning at the Bale-n-Trail Cross Country Original at Bartram Trail High School.
The boys' varsity started the morning and it soon became clear that this season's race would include a higher level of competition. The group was led by Jacob McLeod of Trinity Christian who finished strong with a time of 15:39. Jacob was followed by Charles Hicks of Bolles finishing in 15:45. Michael Phillips of Chiles finished 3rd in 15:58. Creekside's Matthew Clark, who was the previous year's varsity champion, finished 4th in a time of 16:08, beating last years' time of 16:28 it took to win.
The Bolles boys won the team title beating out Chiles and Walton High with two in the top 10 and an average of 16:46 between the top 5 finishers, the Bulldogs are continuing to build and look strong early on in this season. With two 1st place finishes in a row at both the Spikes and Spurs Classic and at Bale-n-Trail, keep a lookout for the Bolles team throughout the season.
For the second year in a row Kayley Delay of Fletcher is your champion in the girl's varsity race. Although a bit disappointed in her time of 18:40, which is a bit off her winning time from last year of 18:20, Delay ran away from the competition and never saw them until the finish. Kayley formed an early lead up ahead from the rest of the pack racing the clock, screaming crowd, and the footsteps behind her fading away. Finishing in second was Ana Wallace of Chiles in 19:21. She was followed by Hannah Evans from Ocala Vanguard who snagged the 3rd place spot in 19:51.
With a great effort from Ana Wallace clutching the runner-up spot, the Chiles Timberwolves managed towin the team title. The competition was very close however as the Walton High girls top four were neck and neck with Chiles 2-4 runners. Walton ended up scoring 92 points, two behind Chiles for second place.