Mantecon and Johnson get wins at Cecil Field

The Cecil Field Summer Classic did not disappoint.  From the very first JV Race, one could feel the anticipation and tension in the air as we got closer to the Girl's and Boys Elite races. Everyone was expecting it to be something special and what we got was exceptional. 

In the combined JV Races, diminutive Dominic Johnson of the St. Johns Striders took the lead early and went on to win in 8:32.  In the girl's race, 8h graders Avery Hartley and Eva Delaney of No Excuses battled early with Hartley pulling away and winning in 9:03.

In the girl's Varsity race, Sr. Kendall Johnson of Lowndes and Sr. Samantha Strahle Palmetto Ridge  could not have set a better stage for the Girl's Elite race.  Johnson had led most of the race and had opened up around a 200-300m lead with the girls going into the last mile. Strahle slowly ate into Johnson's lead and in one of the most exciting finishes to a XC race that I have seen, with 200 to go, Strahle had caught Johnson and started to go past her. Johnson reacted and both girls sprinted side by side to the finish with Johnson getting the win.  Both girls clocked 20:25.

J'hani Styles of Jensen Beach won the boy's Varsity race in 16:55.  Styles took the lead early and stretched it, leading the entire way and winning by 36 seconds.

Girl's Elite Race

The stage was set for the girl's Elite race.  As I walked down the line at the start, it seemed unusually quiet.  The gun went off and the girls were all business. A lead pack quickly established itself out about 200m and as expected, Lake Highland Prep 8th grader, Annabella Tomasic was at the front.  In tow, was the Creekside sisters, Jr. Alyson and  Fr. Sydney Johnson, the Roy twins, Sr.'s Arianna and Mackenzie of Spruce Creek, 8th grader, Mary Summers of Seven Rivers Christian, and Sr. Daisy Ross of Ponte Vedra,  Tomasic pressed the pace and led the pack over the Bridge for the 1st time and the girls stayed together through the mile in around 5:32-33.  Just over 6 minutes into the race, Alyson Johnson took the lead and started to press the pace.  Mackenzie Roy went with her.  Around 8:00 min in, Johnson surged and continued to press, opening up around a 6-7m lead.  Johnson led through the 2-mile in around 11:30 and the girls started to separate.  Johnson had opened up around a 20m lead over the bridge for the 2nd time and continued to pull away winning in 18:00, just off of Eliana Blacks' course record of 17:46.  

In one of the fastest fields ever on the Cecil Field course, 11 girls went sub-19.  

1 Alyson Johnson Creekside 18:00  5:47

2 Mackenzie Roy Spruce Creek 18:13  F 5:52

3 Annabella Tomasic Lake Highland Prep 18:18  5:53

4 Arianna Roy Spruce Creek 18:25  5:55

5 Daisy Ross Ponte Vedra 18:28  5:56

6 Sydney Johnson Creekside 18:37  5:59

7 Mary Summers  Seven Rivers Christian 18:46  6:02

8 Katelin Wilcox Sunlake 18:54  6:05

9 Samantha Lorey Bishop Moore 18:55  6:05

10 Rhyen Foley East Ridge 18:56  6:05

11 Hannah Judge University (OC) 18:56  6:05

Creekside won the girls race with 99 points and as predicted in the pre-season rankings, with the addition of incoming freshman Sydney Johnson, they are positioned to be the #1 4A girls team in the State.

WATCH:  The Boy's Elite Team Race

In the Boy's Elite Race, Team Belen demonstrated why they are one of the nation's top teams.  They lost three seniors to graduation in a team that took fourth at the Nike Cross Nationals.  The pack of yellow dominated up front through the first mile and finished with just 23 points and a team average of 15:31 on a course that had only seen three runners under 15:30 before this year's race.

Belen was on the far right of the start in a start where the teams are not assigned a position.  The entire field went out fast, narrowing quickly as they crossed the small bridge over the small creek. Just three minutes nto the race, Mantecon and Westminster Academy's Jonathan Pena had moved to the front of a pack of runners going through the first mile in 4:45.  At around 5:16 into the race, Mantecon started to press the pace and opened up 20m on Pena.  At halfway, Mantecon led in around 7:26.  He had opened up around 30m over Pena and his teammate Diego Magarino.  Just back of Margarino was Gulf Breeze So. Drew Beroset.  Mantecon continued to press and opened up a sizeable lead which he held to the finish, breaking Patrick Koons (2022) course record of 15:15 with a 15:01.  He could have gone faster!

A total of 17 boys ran under 16:00 in the deep field.

1 Marcelo Mantecon Belen Jesuit Prep 15:01  4:50 

2 Jonathan Pena Westminster Academy 15:24  4:57 

3 Andrew Beroset Gulf Breeze 15:32  5:00 

4 Marco Prieguez Belen Jesuit Prep 15:36  5:01 

5 Diego Magarino Belen Jesuit Prep 15:37  5:01 

6 Joseph Socarras Belen Jesuit Prep 15:40  5:02 

7 Justin Ruiz Belen Jesuit Prep 15:42  5:03 

8 Axel Sallault East Ridge 15:44  5:03 

9 Armando Cruz Belen Jesuit Prep 15:47 5:04 

10 Jackson Hunter Glynn Academy 15:47  5:05 

11 Tanner Pritchard Westminster Academy 15:50  5:06 

12 Henry Lewis Wakulla 15:51 5:06 

13 Juan Pablo Castillo-Zima Bishop Kenny 15:56 5:07 

14 Oscar Brown Sunlake 15:57  5:08 

15 Demetrie Meyers Buchholz 15:57 5:08 

16 Blake Young Indian Rocks Christian 15:58  5:08 

17 Jacob Campbell Fleming Island 15:59 5:08 

Belen Jesuit  won the Boy's Elite Team race scoring just 23 points