PREP CROSS COUNTRY: Suwannee boys qualify for state meet again, Hermanson and Moore nab individual bids

Suwannee’s boys cross country team is headed back to state for the third straight season.

Behind a 17th-place finish from Morgan Mobley, the Bulldogs placed fifth at the Region 1-2A meet on Thursday at Alligator Lake in Lake City. Mobley finished in a time of 17:10.50 and was one of four SHS runners that finished in the top 35, which included Paul Gunter in 24th (17:58.20), Issac Starling in 29th (18:01.40) and Brig Scott in 33rd (18:08.60).

Suwannee finished with 181 points behind Bishop Kenny (48), Bolles (50), Episcopal (138) and Wolfson (178) to receive one of the eight team bids. Bolles runner Christopher Jost won the regional title in 15:56.60.

Also scoring for the Bulldogs were Kaydan Aultman in 85th (19:44.00), Andres Gomez in 100th (20:29.60) and Colton Rogers in 106th (20:49.60).

“All seven of these guys competed so well (Thursday) and I’m very proud of them,” Suwannee boys coach Brian Bullock said. “The regional meet is the biggest challenge of all the meets we compete in because of the pressure that comes with trying to qualify for state. It’s 16 teams for eight spots and all the teams at this level are very good.

“Our guys embraced the opportunity and ran their best. They were prepared and they showed it out on the course.”

The SHS boys will be joined at state by girls top runner Ryleigh Hermanson, who made history by becoming the first-ever girls state qualifier. Hermanson placed 18th in a time of 19:52.00 in just her sophomore season.

“I am extremely proud of Ryleigh,” Suwannee girls coach Amy Bullock said. “She ran the race of her life today and is now the first Suwannee girl to go to state. Her determination and passion for this sport is inspiring to all of us.”

The rest of the SHS girls finished one spot away from moving on to state as team, placing ninth with 245 points behind eighth-place North Bay Haven (239). Brianna Woods was the next highest finisher for Suwannee, placing 51st (22:16.00) ahead of teammates Montana Lewis in 53rd (22:30.05), Sadie Siemon in 57th (22:43.90), Maddie McMillan in 67th (23:23.40), Arwen Haley (23:25.50) and Lydia Gunter in 79th (24:10.60).

“We came into today with the best teams we’ve ever had and really high hopes of getting that eighth-place finish to go to state for the first time,” Amy Bullock said. “We came up a little short and finished 9th place by 6 points, but I couldn’t be more proud of these girls and this team. They ran with everything they had today and I couldn’t ask for more than that. When I first started coaching this team, running a 24-minute race would earn you a top spot on this team. Today, all seven of my girls ran sub-23 races. Knowing how much this program has grown and the new standard these girls have set is such an accomplishment.”

The Class 2A state meet is Nov. 17 at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee.

MOORE QUALIFIES FOR BRANFORD

Branford freshman Anna Moore placed sixth at the Region 2-1A meet on Thursday at Alligator Lake in Lake City, punching her ticket to the state meet later this month in her first season running cross country.

Moore finished in a time of 19:39.30, just 0.3 seconds behind fifth-place runner Lola Murfee from Oak Hall to nab one of the individual state bids. Mary Summers from Seven Rivers Christian won the regional title in 18:45.50.

“She had a lot of competition, which helped push her,” Branford head coach Stefani Santos said. “She’s just a beast. That girl, she runs and she’s not even tired when she’s done. I don’t know how she does it, honestly.”

Unfortunately for the rest of the Branford girls, their season came to end after placing ninth with 231 points. The Buccaneers finished one spot out of qualifying for state as a team, finishing just nine points behind No. 8 Trinity Preps.

Other finishers for Branford were Kayleigh Wardle in 42nd (22:27.50), Kelbie Snider in 54th (23:14.10), Ella Harris in 74th (24:11.40), Callie Harris in 80th (24:41.30), Delilah Pope in 87th (25:03.60) and Kalyn Osgood in 87th (25:27.10).

“It was hard on them,” Santos said. “It was definitely rough on the girls. We went in with the mindset of wanting to make history for the school this year. We’ve never taken a full team. We’ve taken individuals to state before, but we’ve never taken a full team. With our girls athletics program pretty much dominating between softball season and volleyball season, they wanted to make a run for it and we just came up a little short.

“They ran their hearts out today. They did phenomenal. I couldn’t ask for anything more from them.”

The Class 1A state meet is Nov. 17 at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee.

News Editor Jamie Wachter contributed to this story