While this is slightly delayed (college applications have been life consuming these days), a report from last weekend’s Panhandle Championship is imperative. The gorgeous weather, the slew of personal records, and presence of every Tallahassee cross country team all contributed to the excitement of the day in Marianna.

To start the day, the varsity boys toed the line. After an intense battle around the grass track to the finish line, Chile’s Cade Zimmerman barely beat out Leon’s Sukhi Khosla. Zimmerman was third in 15:41, and Khosla was fourth in 15:42. Khosla’s teammate, Will Henderson, followed shortly behind in 15:53, and he earned fifth. Maclay’s Travis Covert broke the 16-minute barrier for the first time with his time of 15:59. These performances by the top athletes from Tallahassee reflect the impressive personal performances by all their teammates. With only a two point difference between them, Chiles came in second and Leon in fourth in the final team standings. Maclay was fifth; Lincoln was sixth; NFC was tenth; Rickards was twenty-first; JPII was twenty-third.

A bit later, the girls took their turn on the course. Wining by a margin of thirty-five seconds, Rachel Givens finished in 17:54. Her teammates, Sara Lane and Ashton McMurray, finished in fifth and sixth respectively with times of 19:16 and 19:18. Autumn Wable came in seventh for Leon, and her time was 19:19. Just like their guys, the ladies from Chiles brought home second place overall. Maclay’s ladies were fourth, and Leon was seventh. Linocln was tenth; Florida High was fifteenth; JPII was seventeenth.

The Panhandle course is fast, but these runners are also in good shape. This combination led to performances that foreshadow a successful post-season. The post-season starts next week, and this weekend, the city championship meet will be held at Maclay!