MIDDLEBURG - With a week to go before area runners gear up for their district championship races, the Middleburg Bronco Classic was one of the last regular season races before the playoffs.

For one very young and ambitious runner, Oakleaf High freshman Julie Wilmoth, who is a relatively new face on the North Florida circuit, showed her skills with a ninth-place finish in 20:03.1. The top seven runners finished quicker than 20 minutes.

"I ran at Oakleaf Junior High, but we only had three meets during the season," said Wilmoth, who knocked out a 19:39 time at last week's New World Fall Classic that made her as the top area finisher in the elite race. "I just kind of stay out of the way of the bigger, faster runners and when I get space, I try to go a little faster."

Wilmoth's finish was behind a handful of Clay County's top runners at St. Johns Country Day School. The dynamic duo of Kate Staten and Ella Rose Hanna in at fifth and seventh, while Staten finished at 19:50.6 and Hanna at 19:56.9. Middleburg's Lauren Rosset was eighth, just ahead of Wilmoth at 20:00.1. Staten, Hanna and Rosset are all sophomores.

"I wanted to get my time under 20 minutes, but missed by just a bit," Rosset said. "If I knew, I would have pushed at the end."

In the girls race, Beachside had three runners in the top 10 to win with 44 points. Creekside was second with 70, and St. Johns was third at 93. Bishop Kenny junior Camila Giles won with a 19:07.2 clocking.

Keystone Heights eighth-grader Ryleigh Thomas was 12th at 20:48.4, while Clay junior Annaliese Hovda was 41st in 22:12.6. Ridgeview's Hayleigh Keller was 71st in 23:17.5.

In the boys race, Nease High senior Ayden Dixon was the top finisher at 16:36.2 to lead Nease to the team title with 46 points. Bishop Kenny was second at 91, followed by Fleming Island, which was led by JP Strombeck's in third place at 19:49.0, was third with 102 points, while Oakleaf was fifth.

In a strong individual effort, St. Johns Country Day School senior Arlo Kistner pushed hard and stayed with the race leaders and finished fourth behind  Strombeck at 16:50.1.

Fleming Island got a seventh-place effort from junior Luke Janke finish, and Oakleaf's Jelani Chester finished a strong eighth at 17:07.4. Oakleaf senior Alejandro Rueda was just outside of the top 10 in 11th place at 17:11.6.

Middleburg's top finisher was Michael Breeding in 13th at 17:13.7. Meanwhile, Keystone Heights sophomore Hunter Gray was 30th at 17:32.5, Ridgeview senior Robert Petrosky was 37th at 17:52.5 and Clay junior Theodore Davila was 51st at 18:19.3.

District championship schedules

District 2-1A (SJCDS) at Cecil Field on Nov. 6. Girls run at 8:30 a.m. girls, boys at 9 a.m.

District 2-2A (KHHS) at Cecil Field on Nov. 6. Girls run at 7:30 a.m. girls, boys at 8 a.m.

District 2-3A (FIHS, CHS, RHS, OPHS) at Bishop Kenny on Nov. 2. Girls run at 5 p.m. girls, boys at 5:30 p.m.

District 1-4A (OHS) at Santa Fe College on Nov. 7. Girls run at 8:30 a.m., boys at 9 a.m.