11 Meet Records Fall At Chiles Track & Field Championships

Chiles Championships
Blaine Thomas


It was a day of a US #2 mark, 11 broken meet records, and it concluded with a throwers candy bar 4x100 relay race. The word thrilling doesn't do justice when referring to the 17th Annual Chiles Track and Field Championships, which was held at Chiles High School in Tallahassee, FL.

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Lincoln's Churchill runs a US #2 time in the 3200


Allyson Churchill, the freshman sensation who has attracted the attention of so many, ran a blazing fast time of 10:32 with no one to push her. This performance puts her less than a second away from catching the Texas freshman sensation from McKinney North, London Culbreath. Churchill left the rest of the competition from the gun and was able to put together her most consistent paced race of her life time to finish right above the 10:30 mark. When I spoke to Churchill after the race she said her goal for the season was to break 11 minutes in the 3200, I think it's safe to say Churchill should have the focus of everyone in the running community.



Marquel Pittman from Lincoln breaks 100m and 200m meet record


It was another Lincoln stud who controlled the boys sprint events, as he managed to break both the 100-meter and 200-meter meet record. He opened up with the 100 meter and was in the fast heat as he cruised to a 10.57 to win his heat and the 100 meter. He wasn't finished with that as he lined up again in the fast heat of the 200 meter and raced to a meet record of 21.70. Afterwards Marquel said he felt prepared due to his coaching and teammates pushing him and is looking for continued success as the season rolls along. 



Relay Meet Records Fall at a Record Pace


The first meet relay record that was broken was in the boys DMR, where the home team Chiles stacked their lineup and destroyed the meet record by 16 seconds. Part of that lineup consisted of 800-meter champion Michael Phillips, 3200-meter winner Matthew Newland, and the runner-up in the 1600 Alexander Gruenewald. In the 4x800 relay, the Niceville girls put together a very fast team as they broke the meet record by 23 seconds by finishing in 9:43. The boys 4x800 was won by Lincoln as they ran an impressive 8:10 and just missed the meet record by .15 seconds. Lincoln came back in the 4x100 boys relay and knocked off the old meet record, that was held by Carrollton GA, and finished in a time of 42.18. 



Lincoln's Mason takes down the 400-meter record 


It was the senior from Lincoln High School, who not only did she completely run away from the field and win by over three seconds, but she broke the 400-meter meet record by over a second. Tamera Mason, the daughter of FSU Men's Sprints Coach Ricky Argo, ran a 57.41 as she finished just a half a second away from her personal best. Mason also respectively finished in second place in a time of 25.74 in the 200-meter behind Bay High School Denise White who won in a time of 25.29. 

The Most Entertaining Event of the Day


Although this event did not contribute to team scoring, there was an all-throwers relay race that was the last race of the evening. The teams ran a 4x100 and passed a candy bar instead of a baton. The last leg of the relay was not over until the candy bar was eaten after the competitors crossed the finish line. The jury is still out on who finished first and swallowed their candy bar first, but the amount of cheering and hype that went into the event was a perfect way to end the day of competition.   

Niceville Boys and Girls take home the team trophies


After the dust settled and the day had turned into night, it was the team from Okaloosa County who was taking home the team trophies. Niceville was led on the boy's side by shotput and discus winner Edward Shelikoff who showed that he might be the best thrower in the state of Florida. He beat the Chiles tandem of Jordan Poole and Connor Hansen to prove his dominance.

On the girls side the distance duo of Abbie Harrelson and Hannah Schneidewind that helped pace the girls to the team championship. Harrelson outkicked Chiles's Ana Wallace to win the 800 meter and Schneidewind took the runner up place in the 1600 and 3200 meter respectively. Skyler Joneson also came in first in the shot put and second in the discus. Niceville also received help from their talented pole vaulter Madalyn Kish who won the pole vault. Triple jumper Tykera Beachemwon the gold to help lead the Eagles to the team win. 



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