Hagerty Invitational Summary

Early on Saturday morning, local teams came out to the Oviedo campus of Seminole State College for the Hagerty Invitational that was described as “one you will tell your kids about,” by the race starter. Rain and wind filled the air as umbrellas were flipping and spectators ran for cover. The ground was wet for a slippery three lap course. Despite massive amounts of rainfall and darkness of the sky, the meet got started off with the girls’ elite race.

 

The elite girls went out quickly and held the pace despite soggy grass and puddles that made up the route. After a mile it was pretty clear that up in front it would be Amy Ankli of Hagerty and Olympia’s Emily Headley. These two remained neck and neck as they headed into the woods for their third and final lap. They battled it out going back and forth until the final 200 meters when Headley overtook Ankli and sprinted her way through the finish line for the win. Headley’s time of 18:33.60 was very impressive considering the weather conditions that took place throughout this meet. Olympia won the race with 51 total team points, just 13 less than Hagerty.

 

The rain kept coming down hard as the boys lined up for the boys’ elite race. Toward the early stage of this race, a pack developed at the beginning headed by Olympia’s Mitchell Moore and Peter Licari of Hagerty who dared the other runners to try and hold on with them. The pack held strong for almost two miles before it broke up, leaving Moore and Licari to be right next to each other as they went into their final lap. Coming up to the finish, Moore increased his speed dramatically and Licari’s final push was not enough to catch Moore, who won the race in 15:59.68. Olympia easily won the race with 40 points and a team average of 16:38.73, followed by Vero Beach in second with 90.

 

Up next came the girls’ varsity open race. Claire Castillo of Titusville took a commanding lead out the gate and never looked back. She easily finished first in a time of 20:11.25. This time led Titusville High School to win the team race. Once the girl’s race was over, the boys’ lined up to get started as the rain got heavier and heavier with each minute. The boys started off going against the wind, but this didn’t stop the boys from getting out there and shooting for fast times. The winner, CJ Westfall from Orange City University, came in at 17:32.59 to help lead his team to win the race.

 

Next up was the JV girls’ race as the rain started coming down heavier and the temperature kept dropping. Megan Barkdull of Winter Park won the for the JV girls in 21:58.93. Winter Park took the team JV girls’ title with a team average of 23:48.06. Near the end of the JV girls’ race, lightning came close to the park and for thus once all the girls finished, the boys’ JV race was cancelled.

 

On a stormy morning that didn’t seem to be a day for PR’s, many athletes surprised me and put up stellar times through the chilly showers. With the Pre-State meet just a week away, many athletes figured out where they may be seeded next weekend at Little Everglades, as compared to local competition.

 

 

Mitchell Moore Interview

 

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