- April 25, 2024
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It was close, but a win is a win for the Matanzas cross-country teams.
Both the boys and the girls teams swept the District 3-4A meet Saturday morning at Princess Place Preserve, when the boys team defeated Ocala Vanguard by one point, and the girls team also edged out Ocala Vanguard by two points.
Both were by the slimmest of margins, but coach James Wolfe will take it.
“I could not be more proud of the way our athletes performed today,” Wolfe said on Saturday. “They knew that the meet would be close, and that one or two places would determine the outcome. They really stepped up to the challenge and ran exceptionally well.”
Seniors Cameron Allen and Hannah Loder powered the Pirates to their victories. Allen won the district, finishing in 17 minutes, 31 seconds — 20 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
Loder took second in the district, finishing in 20:17.
Wolfe said times were slowed because of the difficult of the course.
“The course was very challenging,” he said, noting that runners saw slower times of about 90 seconds to two minutes.
The Pirates scored 52 points (the lower, the better), beating Ocala Vanguard (53), Seabreeze (105), Gainesville (107), New Smyrna Beach (133), Mainland (157), Ocala Forest (161), Lake Weir (164), Leesburg (232) and Pine Ridge (269).
The boys team averaged 18 minutes, 11 seconds.
The Lady Pirates scored 51 points, beating Ocala Vanguard (59), Gainesville (66), New Smyrna Beach (95), Seabreeze (120), Ocala Forest (156), Mainland (165), West Port (215), Lake Weir (246) and Pine Ridge (266).
The girls team averaged 22:14.
Next week, the Matanzas team will travel to Tallahassee to compete in the Class 4A regional championships, at Sunnyhill Farms. After that would be the state meet.
Though Wolfe was pleased with Saturday’s results, he knows his team must stay focused.
“We also understand we cannot be complacent,” he said. “We are very happy with the outcome of (Saturday’s) race, but our focus now shifts toward the regional championships with the goal of advancing to the state finals.”
Flagler Palm Coast: third place
Flagler Palm Coast had runners near the front of both the boys race and the girls race Saturday morning, but in the end, both teams finished third in the District 4-1A meet, held at the Flagler County Fairgrounds.
Thomas Carroll led most of the 5-kilometer race Saturday morning, but Mandarin’s John Weaver made a move with a little more than one mile to go and slowly stretched out his lead.
Carroll finished second overall, in 16 minutes, 1 second. Cruising in right behind Carroll was FPC’s Brad Walbert, who finished fifth overall in 16:09. Walbert finished with a 21-second personal best.
"Everyone ran pretty strong, and we had some personal bests," FPC coach Dave Halliday said. "Mandarin was just better on Saturday. I was disappointed with the close losses to Buchholz on both sides."
The boys team averaged 16 minutes, 43 seconds.
Mandarin took first place in the district with 30 team points, followed by Buchholz (50), FPC (51), Fletcher (121) and Sandalwood (138).
Paige Way also challenged to lead pack for much of the race, but fell off toward the end. Still, Way finished sixth overall, with a time of 20:24.
The girls team averaged 21:16.
Mandarin also took first place in the girls race with 40 team points, followed by Buchholz (58), FPC (66), Fletcher (85) and Sandalwood (143).
Next up, FPC will compete in the Class 8A regional championships, which will take place Saturday, Nov. 10, at Sante Fe State College, in Gainesville.
MATANZAS RESULTS
Boys
Cameron Allen, 1st 17:31
Drake Goodman, 8th 18:07
David Perez, 13th 18:21
Randy Pires, 14th 18:22
Liam Conville, 16th 18:35
Christian Sousa, 18th 18:51
Jon Cellini, 24th 18:58
Girls
Hannah Loder, 2nd 20:17
Dina Knight, 7th 21:53
Morayna Thorpe, 9th 22:16
Chase Kroul, 19th 23:20
Brianna Evans, 20th 23:22
Natalie Jeffreys, 29th 23:50
Danica Leili, 55th 27:28
FLAGLER PALM COAST RESULTS
Boys
Thomas Carroll, 2nd 16:01
Brad Walbert, 5th 16:09
Tyrell Roberson, 13th 17:03
Markell Peck, 15th 17:09
Joseph Alter, 16th 17:13
Jan Carlo Vicens, 21st 18:21
Chase Rogers, 24th 18:28
Girls
Paige Way, 6th 20:24
Josie Davis, 9th 20:44
Darien Halliday, 15th 21:37
Sophia Clark, 16th 21:37
Devonne Friday, 20th 21:58
Brittany Marino, 24th 23:22
Juliya Kruglaka, 28th 24:34
