Photo Album by Rese Ammons (Over 500 Photos)
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Watching the 3A Region 1 meet was like having a case of Déjà Vu. Anyone could have predicted the outcome of the girls race, but that did not make any less thrilling.
The weather made for perfect racing conditions, not too hot and not too cold. And Lily Williams from Chiles, took the lead early on. At the half way point, she was ahead by 20 meters. Her teammate Carly Thomas was in second, with two girls from Fort Walton Beach in third and fourth.
Then the race got exciting. Darroneshia Lott of Pine Forest began to make her move. Just after the half way point, she passed the Fort Walton runners into third. As the runners passed the two mile marker, Williams was still in first with a two mile split of 11:29. She would continue to keep her lead and crossed the finish line in 18:06.59, six seconds ahead of second.
With 400 meters to go, Darroneshia Lott made another move. She surged past Thomas into second place. She held that spot all the way to the finish line in 18:12.68, leaving only one second between her and third place. A very excited Darroneshia commented that passing Carly "hurt, but it was worth it." This was not a PR for Darroneshia. The slower course is not one of her favorites. "I don't like running on grass," she laughed.
Lily Williams and Carly Thomas helped their team earn the Region 1 championship title. Fort Walton Beach was named runner up with Sara DeVaux leading her team. Sarah set a new school record with a time of 18:47.31. A very focused Lilly already had her mind on next week. "It's exciting, we're all ready."
When the boys race started, it could have been anyone's race. At the first loop coming out of the woods, most of the runners were still in large packs. At the two mile point, Jimmy Clark from Creekside pushed into the lead. At that point, it appeared he might hit a new course record. However, Jimmy was about eight seconds shy of that. He did earn the Region 1 championship title with a time of 15:25.6. Jacob Kotick from Washington was nearly nine seconds behind Jimmy, taking second place with a time of 15:34.77.
Washington was named the Region's championship team, with Leon high school taking the runner up spot. Jimmy Clark will participate as an individual, just as he did last year. This year, however, he could take the state championship title and is currently ranked number one in class 3A.
Good luck to everyone next week!