We got one of the most anticipated matchups of the season on Friday night at the FSU Relays between 3200 meter state record holder Caroline Wells (10:08 3200 PR) of Winter Springs and two mile state record holder Caroline Lehman (10:14 2 mile PR) of Cambridge Christian. The 4A state champion in cross country and track in Wells and the 1A state champion in cross country and track in Lehman faced off head to head in rare encounter of two of Florida's all-time greats at the mile/two mile distance.
Wells has held the clear head-to-head advantage over the past year in 3 matchups over the past 12 months between RunningLane Track Championships last May and the FSU Pre-State Invitational in October and Eastbay South Regional in November this past cross country season.
In a loaded fast section field on a seasonably cool night for Florida and Tallahassee, Wells and Lehman set the tone early on thru the first laps that the two were on another tier and setting a different level of pace even for the likes of Lehman's teammate and 10:17 3200 meter personal best performer Mary Ellen Eudaly as well as the 2A state cross country champion in Bolles junior Jillian Candelino.
Wells roared thru the first half and 1600 meters of the race setting a torrid pace splitting 71 seconds at 400 meters, 2:27 at 800 meters, 3:43 at 1200 meters, and 5 minutes flat 1600 meters. However, Lehman refused to be dropped sticking right behind her for the first six laps of the race.
Meanwhile, Eudaly and Candelino had become the next duel to battle for position as while gapped by the two Caroline's found themselves also well ahead of the next pack of runners in the field. Another Cambridge Christian runner in 8th grader Eliana Black also found herself in another gap between those two and a large pack including the rest of the field splitting 5:24 at the halfway mark. Almost the entire fast section was right under or right at 11 minute pace thru 1600 meters.
Friday was the first 3200-meter race of the season for Wells, who at this point of the season last year, had already run several all-out 3200 meter efforts. After running into December and earning All-American honors at the Eastbay (formerly Foot Locker) Cross Country Nationals in San Diego, Wells has opted to ease into her final season of high school track with bigger goals to compete in the post-season as well including chasing her biggest goal of breaking 10 minutes either for 3200 or the full two-mile distance at events such as Brooks PR Invitational or Nike Outdoor Nationals held in cooler summer places in the Northwest Region of the country.
Lehman certainly came into the competition more race sharp than Wells including several indoor races as well as more outdoor races. She had broken her own two-mile indoor state record at 10:18 and nearly broke the mile indoor state record as well at 4:50 from her races at the New Balance Nationals Indoor two weekends ago in New York.
If there was any chance for Lehman to score a win against the perceived unbeatable Wells it appeared that Friday night could be possible it as she hung the longest with her in any other prior race over the last 12 months.
However, Wells after leading every step from the gun increased her advantage on Lehman soon after they entered their seventh lap to build a 3 second lead going into the final lap. The Stanford signee Wells closed in 76 seconds in her final 400 meters to create an even larger 8 second buffer for the win in a season opening time of 10:10.81. It would be the third time that Wells has posted a time of 10:10 over the last 12 months ironically. Wells victory and performance would also break the FSU Relays meet record.
Lehman after a valiant try to stay with Wells as long as she could, came across the line in a runner-up time of 10:18.16. There is no question that the presence of Lehman chasing records and the legacy of being Florida's fastest ever has only elevated Wells to stay sharp and on top like she has.
Meanwhile, Bolles junior Jillian Candelino will be looking next year to chase after the sub 10:20 times posted by both Wells and Lehman after recording a breakthrough PR of 10:29.19 for third place at the FSU Relays as she was able to pull away from Eudaly (4th, 10:44.52) in the final 1600 meters of the race splitting 5:16 for the back half of the race after rolling thru the first 4 laps in 5:13 with Eudaly.
The Cambridge Christian girls arguably had the fastest trio of performances by any team in Florida high school history within the same 3200 race behind Lehman, Eudaly and 8th grade state record holder Eliana Black (5th, 10:46.77) taking 3 of the top 5 places in the star studded field.
Black was able to hold off a late charge and challenge from Pine Crest sophomore Brooke Hooper, who had an exceptional race pushing the chase pack for much of the race and knocking off significant time from her prior personal best for sixth place time of 10:47.34.
Two more would raise the total of 11 sub minute performances on the night with Wharton senior Brooke Reif in seventh place at 10:55 and St. Brendan junior Emma Hencock in eighth place at 10:58.
Out of the slower section of the two girls 3200 meter races, local Tallahassee area runner Susan Koeppel (11:01.65), a sophomore at the Maclay School and South Fork sophomore Addison Boyer (11:02.17), threw down some great times and nearly dipped under 11 minutes despite just missing the cut to be included in the fast section. Nonetheless, their times from the first section placed them among the top 10 places overall.
