Footlocker Fun

by Jana Stolting, November 29, 2009

With the regular season existing only as a fond memory in the collective mind of Tallahassee’s prepsters, it is time to move on to post-season competition. This past Saturday, local athletes from Leon, Maclay, and Chiles made the trip up to North Carolina to compete in either the Footlocker South Regional Meet or the Nike Cross Southeast Regional Meet. The ultimate goal was, of course, to finish in the top ten at Footlocker or in the top two teams at Nike, thereby gaining a berth to the respective National Meets. While only one local athlete accomplished this remarkable feat; it was not for lack of effort. When all was said and done, the Big Bend proved, once again, why it is known for its special breed of distance runner.

In Charlotte, freezing temperatures couldn’t cool off the hot competition at the Footlocker South Regional Meet. The festivities got underway at 10 AM, with the girls’ seeded race. Jana Stolting, of Maclay, was the lone female representative from the Big Bend. She finished in seventeenth place, with a time of 17:51. Forty minutes later, the boys’ race started. Leon’s Matt Mizereck came back from his devastating eleventh place finish of the previous year to claim a solid fourth place overall, in a smoking time of 14:51. He will be going to San Diego in two weeks to represent the South Team at Nationals. Fellow Lion, Riley Doherty, also competed, finishing in seventy eighth place, with a time of 15:56.

Up the road a ways, in Cary, the Chiles girls competed at Nike Cross Southeast. They faced stiff competition, but managed to grab a respectable seventh place overall. They were led by Lily Williams, who finished in tenth place, with a time of 18:10.40. Behind her, teammates Carly Thomas (thirty-second place in 18:50.80), Jodie McGuff (fifty-fifth place in 19:18.80), Kendall Andrews (fifty-sixth place in 19:19.20), and Kelley Bahn (seventy-sixth place in 19:47.30) rounded out the top five.

You may think that this past weekend finally marked the end of cross country competition for local athletes… but you thought wrong! This coming Saturday, many of the area’s senior distance junkies will be back at the world famous Apalachee Regional Park, racing in the Senior All-Star Meet. With that all important commodity on the line: pride, you can bet this will be a race to remember. For those of you who wish to come out and support the class of 2010, the races will get underway at 9 AM, or so I am told. For those of you who wish to stay warm and cozy in your beds, send some good vibes to the warriors of Region 1. 

The Stoltz Report

Mo’ Better Track

Local athletes represented Tallahassee at three separate venues this past weekend. Each competition provided yet another showcase of the outstanding talent of the Big Bend. On Friday, Maclay hosted the Last Chance Meet, which, as the name implies, gave...

A Fond Farewell to Cross Country

It may be hard to believe, but the 2009 cross country season has finally drawn to a close. The FACA Senior All-Star Meet last weekend and the Footlocker National Championship Meet this weekend provided thrilling finales for area runners. At the Senior...

The Torch Passes

Though the 3A State Championship Meet took place on Friday and results were up within hours of the completion of the 4x400m, I have been putting off typing this Stoltz Report, as it is the last Stoltz Report I will have the privilege of writing. The show...

The Stoltz Report Jana Stolting

The Stoltz Report - Jana Stolting Jana Stolting is a talented Maclay distance runner who brings us her reports of the best of the local high school running scene The Torch PassesStoltzing - Story of a WinnerLast Step for StateDistrictsBlazing on the West...

City Championships

City Champs Jana Stolting, It was an unseasonably hot afternoon this past Friday, as local teams toed the line of the City Championship Meet, hosted by Maclay. Despite the sweltering temperatures, area athletes put on quite a show for the crowd. It didn’t...

Stoltzing – Story of a Winner

Mother Nature did not smile upon Tallahassee this past Friday. Severe rain forced meet officials to halt the 3A Region 1 Meet and postpone the remaining events until Monday. I hear there were some strong performances (word on the street is Leon’s Matt...

Last Step for State

This past week marked the beginning of District competition for local 3A athletes and the last hurdle (pun intended) before State for 1A and 2A tracksters. When the dust had cleared, the Big Bend emerged, once again, as a force to be reckoned with. On...

Districts

Last week marked the beginning of post season competition for local 1A and 2A schools. With the 2A District 2 meet on Tuesday and the 1A District 3 meet on Friday, it was a busy week for Tallahassee trackies. On Tuesday, Florida High, Rickards, and Godby...

Blazing on the West Coast

On the other side of the country (California) at the prestigious Arcadia Meet, Leon’s Matt Mizereck was part of a record breaking show as he blazed to a fourth place finish in the 3200m in an astounding time of 8:55.75! This is a school and county record,...

Gatorland

This past weekend, a handful of local athletes followed up the previous weekend’s FSU Relays with another college-high school hybrid meet, this time, in Gator Country. The UF Relays provided an excellent book-end for spring break, delivering both strong...