Fair, 52°
Weather sponsored by:

Wallizada, Chiang lead Eagles XC in opene

By Randy Lefko
Posted 8/29/18

BUNNELL – Two Fleming Island High School underclassmen put their names into the post-season cross country hat of possibility with sterling season-opening performances Saturday at the Spikes and …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Don't have an ID?


Print subscribers

If you're a print subscriber, but do not yet have an online account, click here to create one.

Non-subscribers

Click here to see your options for subscribing.

Single day pass

You also have the option of purchasing 24 hours of access, for $1.00. Click here to purchase a single day pass.

Wallizada, Chiang lead Eagles XC in opene


Posted

BUNNELL – Two Fleming Island High School underclassmen put their names into the post-season cross country hat of possibility with sterling season-opening performances Saturday at the Spikes and Spurs Classic Cross Country Invitational held in Bunnell.

Kameron Wallizada, a sophomore who burst on to the cross country season last year for Fleming Island High with a handful of freshman school records in cross country and track, battled to a seventh place finish in 16 minutes, 39.10 seconds at Flagler against one of the fastest early season fields for 2018.

Statewide, the Spikes and Spurs top three finishers registered three of the top five times statewide for all season openers.

“I passed two guys near the two mile mark, but it may have been too early because they passed me when we got closer to the finish,” said Wallizada. “I have to work on my race strategy against guys like this who are strong at the end.”

Winner for the boys race, from Georgia’s Peachtree Ridge High School, was senior Chase Condra who overtook early leader Benjamin Foltz of Bolles near the midway point to win in 15:44.69. Foltz was second in 16:02.35. Condra was the Georgia cross country runner of the year with bests of 15:04 in cross country and a 4:24 mile on his resume. Condra was seventh in Class 7A at the Georgia state cross country championships. Foltz was 12th in Class 2A last year for Bolles who won the Class 2A boys title.

In third place emerged another young and coming runner, Nease High freshman Rheinhardt Harrison, who came in at 16:17.62 with Bolles senior Chase Rivera fourth in 16:23.43 and Buchholz’ Caden Monk fifth in 16:27.02. Rivera was ninth in 2A last year for Bolles. Monk was 15th in region 1-4A in 16:31. Harrison was last year’s middle school state champion with a 9:43.91 best for 3KM.

Bolles won the mens title with 58 points with Bartram Trail second at 122 and Creekside third at 186. Fleming Island was fourth at 203.

For Fleming Island, freshman Mei Chiang, a state middle school cross country third place finisher while a Orange Park Junior High, stayed at the front of a second pack that sat about 15 yards off the pace of a trio of frontrunners including Lake Mary’s Mya Bodrato and two Lake Brantley runners; eventual winner Ashley Klingenberg, a junior who won in 19:06.08, and senior Jordan Stevens, who would finish fourth.

With Chiang was eventual runnerup Elizabeth Iliff, a sophomore at Creekside, who surged to take second in 19:30.93 ahead of Bolles’ senior Maeve O’Riordan who was third in 19:36.47. Chiang would hold on to fifth place in 19:55.18. O’Riordan was ninth in Class 2A for Bolles’ state runnerup team last year. Iliff was 17th in Class 3A last year for Creekside’s state runnerup team. Stevens was 57th for Lake Brantley at the Class 4A championships last year.

Fleming Island would get strong finishes in 17th, 25th and 27th from freshman Grace Adams (20:55.82), sophomore Emma Millson (21:07.73) and sophomore Marisa Kortright (21:11.65) to push team points to a third place finish. Fleming Island’s fifth place finisher, freshman Lauren Schaudel who was 41st in 21:47.44 after a scorching first mile caught up to her on the hot, humid morning.

“I went out way to fast,” said Schaudel, noted for her fast track finishes at Green Cove Springs with teammate Grace Adams. “We’re going to work as a team to stay closer as the season goes.”

Bolles won the girls team title with 38 points ahead of Creekside’s 76 points as runnerup. Fleming Island had 110 with Ponte Vedra fourth at 191.

St. Johns Country Day School cross country made their season opener at the Tijuana Flats Summer Beaches Run on Saturday at Jacksonville Beach with Matthew Stratton running a 30:59 split for the five miles to finish fifth overall in a field on nearly 1,000 runners.

Justin King, 37, was winner in 29:00 with Orange Park dentist Gary Myers, 45, fourth in 30:29 and Fleming Island master’s runner Sean McCormack, 57, running impressively at 33:48 for 13th overall.

For the women’s race, Spartan runner Juliet Moody, 13, won the female 11-13 age group in 43:57 with Rebecca Stratton, 11, noted TV start, third in the same age group in 55:16. Spartan teammate Sarah Robinson, 12, was second in 51:49.

Top female was Val Kline, 32, of Jacksonville, who won in 34:15. Orange Park’s Belissa Del Valle, 30, was second in 34:38.

Teams go next to the Bob Hans Invitational at Ridgeview on Sat., Sept. 1.