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On a cool, breezy Saturday in Jacksonville there were very few surprises at the old FSCJ North Campus Cross-Country Course. In the newly crafted 6-team 4A-D1 Championship, Chris Godwin of Buchholz and Mary Kate Ponder of Mandarin cruised to easy tune-up victories and the Mandarin Mustangs swept the team championships on their home course for the 2nd time in 3 weeks. Buchholz and Flagler Palm Coast qualified in both races to join Mandarin for next week’s Regional Championship at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville.
Girls Race
Despite struggling from a virus that has run through the Mandarin Mustang girls team over the past two weeks, MaryKate Ponder (20:44) led the race comfortably from start to finish, as Mandarin raced to a 34 point team victory over the Buchholz Bobcats. Ponder was followed by Brielle Leclear (Buchholz, 20:57), Christina Schultz (Mandarin, 21:07), Aquila Davis (Flagler Palm Coast, 21:18)m and Kelsey Spangler (Mandarin, 21:37). Mandarin’s Five finished in the top nine to complete a dominating victory over runners-up Buchholz and Flagler Palm Coast (26-60-68)and set the stage for a very difficult Regional Championship Meet next week.
Boys Race
The Boys Race promised to be a three team race among Mandarin, Buchholz, and Flagler Palm Coast, as well, and proved to be just that. The three teams placed their top 5 athletes among the top 19 to qualify easily for the Region 4A-1 Championship. The Mustang boys led the march to Gainesville with 5 of the top 8 finishers and a 19 point victory (27-46-56) over Buchholz and Flagler. They were led by Tyler Mowery (16:40), who placed third in the race. Buchholz, the runner-up team, put their senior tandem of Chris Godwin (16:05) and Ryan Hundersmarck (16:34) at the head of the pack with a strong 1-2 finish. Mandarin’s Michael Aitken (17:05) and Lucas Shannon (17:09) rounded out the top five.