The final high school meet of the season for Tallahassee athletes played out last Friday. Chiles, Leon, and Lincoln competed at the 3A State Meet, which was also held at UNF in Jacksonville. Unfortunately, they did not have the same weather that 1A and 2A enjoyed. Although the temperature was moderate, the rain and the wind made for rough track meet conditions, especially for sprinters. In fact, the start time of the meet was moved ahead in order to try and miss the rainy weather, but this plan was unsuccessful. Nonetheless, the athletes endured as competition heated up.

As finals began, Reggie Davis, a senior at Lincoln, was the first athlete to score. He ran a time of 10.76 with a fourth place finish – despite a day of rainy and windy conditions. Although the 1600 had some tough competitors, senior Rachel Givens from Chiles competed well with a time of 5:05.70 for third place. In the guys 1600, Sean Turner clearly did not let the bad weather affect him. His 4:27.04 put him in sixth place, and his teammate Will Spiers was not far behind in 4:32.79. Lincoln’s Trevor Touchton also ran the mile with a 4:39.51. As the afternoon of rain continued, Avery Bartlett form Chiles performed well in the 800. A sophomore, he was the only underclassman to score in this event. He finished fourth with a 1:57.76. After a full day of prelims and a great 100 in finals, Lincoln’s Reggie Davis returned for the 200. He put another point on the board for Lincoln with his eighth place 22.18. With a short recovery time between the mile and two mile, Rachel Givens returned to the track ready to compete in her 3200. Winning by sixteen seconds, this Auburn-bound senior ran a time of 11:00.26. Leon’s sophomore star Sukhi Khosla ran a 10:17.33 for fourteenth place. Overall, Chiles ladies finished twelfth. In the men’s competition, Chiles was 28th, and Lincoln was 36th.

Although they had to deal with less than perfect conditions, Chiles, Leon, and Lincoln still performed well at their state meet! As was the case for Tallahassee’s 1A and 2A teams, many of these athletes will be returning in upcoming years to compete for their high school teams some more. However, there are quite a few seniors, and many of them will be going on to compete for their colleges! After 5 years of cross country, track, and local races in between, I can honestly say that Tallahassee is all around the best running city. Not only do we have incredible trails and races, but we also have the nicest volunteers and supporters. Thank you, Gulf Winds Track Club and Tallahassee, for developing this community. Running would not be the same without you.

I am going to miss Tallahassee as I venture to Houston where I will be running for Rice University, but, reflecting on these past years, I genuinely appreciate the opportunities, the friendships, and the many runs that I have enjoyed in Tallahassee! Thank you!