Photo Album by Rese Ammons (Over 1400 photos)
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College Race Summary from Seminoles.com
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Quick Highlights
HS Boys Invitational
Daniel Moore of Holy Trinity and Thomas Howell of Niceville battled ferociously the last 800 meters, with the senior Moore coming out ahead 15:43 to 15:46. Third place went to Brian Sullivan from Walton GA (16:57) and WOW! Another sophomore from Niceville in fourth place (Howell is also a super soph) and a nice PR of 16:01 for him. Daniel Salas of Trinity Prep rounded out the top five in 16:03.
While the 1-2 punch of Niceville was mightly impressive, it was Holy Trinity's time to flex its muscle we all knew they had this year.... 16:17 team average and just 66 points to win the Invitational division. Second place was far back but a good battle and great team averages... Ft. Walton Beach (135, 16:38), Plant (138, 16:38), Walton GA (141, 16:35), Pensacola Washington (158, 16:41), Trinity Prep (162, 16:40), and Chiles (207, 16:52).
HS Girls Invitational
Another great battle. The veteran Lily Williams of Chiles though showed the field how it's done with a season best 18:00.60 for the win. Freshman Julie Woolrath of Holy Trinity just a bit beind in 18:08. In third place Kari Grippo, the sophomore from Gulf, finally got a 5K time that will stick after the previous two meet results were tossed out due to short course suspicions... Kari had a great day to show us how legit she is 18:13 was her time. Carly Thomas of Chiles (18:27), Stefanie Kurgatt of Maclay (18:41) and Rachel Givens of Chiles (18:58) all dipped under 19 minutes.
As you might suspect from three under 19, the Chiles girls won fairly big with 55 points and a 19:08 team average, despite a minute 3-4 gap. Tampa Plant was second with 89 points and a 19:50 average. Walton GA (117, 20:08), Ft. Walton Beach (137, 20:17), and Holy Trinity (153, 20:09) rounded out the top five.
Meet Summary Article
BY RESE AMMONS
The morning fog was so thick you could barely see 10 feet in front of you. It hovered across the starting line as the boys invitational runners lined up for their race. Then “bang”. The starter’s gun went off. Slowly, white, red, green and maroon colored jerseys appeared in the distance. Spectators began to get their first glimpse of the runners they were there to cheer for. Niceville’s Thomas Howell took the early lead and was looking very strong as he led the pack down the hill back into the fog.
Spectators raced down into the woods to catch a glimpse of runners as they headed down the path. Around the first turn on the wooded path, sophomore Thomas Howell had slipped back a few spots letting runners from Fort Walton Beach and Holy Trinity lead the way. Washington also had a few runners in the lead pack.
Coming out of the woods the second time, toward the finish line, Thomas Howell and Daniel Moore with Holy Trinity battled it out over the last 800 meters. Thomas Howell made one last push but in the end it was Daniel Moore who pushed past Howell to finish first with a time of 15:43, just a short three seconds ahead of Howell who finished 15:46. Brian Sullivan with Walton High School placed third and Niceville’s Nick Morken held onto the fourth place spot.
Holy Trinity had four runners in the top 20 with their fifth runner taking 22nd. This would give them enough for the team win with 66 points. Fort Walton Beach was second with 135 points. Unfortunately, even though Niceville had two runners in the top five, this was not enough to place high and they ended the meet in 12th place.
By the start of the girls’ invitational, the fog had begun to lift. As the sun started showing, conditions become very humid. As runners reached the crowd, it was Ivy Chastain from Fort Walton Beach leading a very tightly packed group. Lily Williams from Chiles was among the lead pack.
As the girls made their way down the hill into the woods, Ivy Chastain would give up her lead as Julie Woolrath from Holy Trinity and Kari Grippo from Gulf High School took over making a wide lead ahead of the rest. A second small pack followed with Lily Williams, Ivy Chastain and Marsel Mosley from Niceville.
The first pass out of the woods would bring Lily Williams to the front. She was followed a few seconds behind by her teammate Carly Thomas and Stephanie Kurgatt from Mosley. Ivy Chastain and Marsel Mosley were still fighting for position but had fallen back to fourth and fifth places.
Lily Williams continued to hold her lead and crossed the finish in first place with a time of 18:00. She had nearly an eight second lead over Julie Woolrath who took second place with a finish time of 18:08. Gulf High’s Kari Grippo would round out the top three running 18:13. Ivy Chastain fell back to seventh place beating Marsel Mosley who finished 10th.
Chiles took home the first place team trophy with their top five placing within the top 27 runners giving them 55 points. Plant high school placed second with 89 points and Walton High school took home third with 117.