For the first time since this season started, Tallahassee did not host a meet! This meant that high schools either traveled to other venues to compete, or they took a weekend off to rest and recover. Most teams ventured to the Alligator Lake XC Invitational a few hours away in Lake City. The course there is a scenic route through Alligator Lake Park. The flat course winds through the woods and gives runners an advantage over alligators just in case one should appear. Florida High’s ladies competed in the Girls Invitational race, and they finished sixteenth. Godby and Rickards ran in the Girls Open, and Godby finished thirteenth. Brittany Scanameo led the Rickards ladies with her time of 24:28. In the Boys Open, Griffin Rutherford of North Florida Christian finished in second (17:26) with his teammate, Alex Strickland (18:02) shortly behind in fifth. Because of their strong performances, NFC was sixth in the final team standings. Rickards was twelfth, and Florida High finished fourteenth.

Meanwhile, Lincoln and Maclay headed in the opposite direction to Pensacola for the Gulf Coast Cross Country Stampede. This equestrian center boasted another twisting, flat, and wooded course. Because of the flat, funnel-shaped start, the ground literally shook as the pack began, and the spectators felt as if an actual stampede was passing by after the gun sent the runners flying. The Maclay ladies were thirteenth, and Kristin Sweeney led them with a tenth place finish (19:53). The Trojans were twenty-third. Maclay’s guys had a strong pack, which helped them to ninth overall, and Travis Covert was their first finisher in thirteenth with his sub-17 time of 16:58. Just seconds later, Hunter Scott came through the chute in 17:06, which earned him sixteenth. The Trojans were thirteenth in the Boys Varsity race. Even though a few teams did not compete, Tallahassee was still well represented by the performances of these schools!