Mother Nature did not smile upon Tallahassee this past Friday. Severe rain forced meet officials to halt the 3A Region 1 Meet and postpone the remaining events until Monday. I hear there were some strong performances (word on the street is Leon’s Matt Mizereck ran a solo 4:11 1600m!), but the full story will be out next Stoltz Report, along with the scoop on the 3A State Meet.

The weather in Winter Park, on the other hand, was beautiful (if a little on the hot side) for both the 1A and 2A State Meets. The 1A competition took place on Friday. I am pleased to announce that Maclay faired quite well, with the Marauder men winning the overall team title and the girls coming in fourth. Lee Williams led the boys, earning 34 points with his third place long jump (23-02.50), first place triple jump (47-04.00), first place 100m dash (10.99), and second place 200m dash (22.32). Other top male performers included a sick Patrick Swain, who ignored his fever and cough to gut out the dreaded triple. He anchored the second place 4x800m team (8:11.28) and finished third in both the 1600m (4:28.16) and 3200m (9:56.01). Scott Billings ran the first leg of the 4×800, took fifth in the 800m (2:01.07), and ran a leg of the sixth place 4x400m relay (3:30.76). The Marauder women also ran some impressive triples. Stefanie Kurgatt anchored the first place 4x800m relay team (9:27.01), took fifth in the 1600m (5:04.13), and won the 800m (2:14.99). Jana Stolting ran a leg of the 4×800 and took third in both the 1600m (4:58.02) and 3200m (10:44.38).

On Saturday, Godby’s boys proved, once again, that they are true champions. The Cougars took home the overall title in quite a dominant fashion, besting their closest competitor by thirty-three points. Top performers included Brandon Hollifield (second in the high jump with 6-08.00), Lavorrie Johnson (first in the long jump with 23-02.00 and fourth in the 200m in 21.77), Terrell Bryant (first in the 800m in 1:54.93), and Dieumy Duclos, who took eighth in the 1600m (4:28.24) and seventh in the 3200m (10:02.77). The Cougar women finished fifteenth. Their top performer was Christine Poole, who took sixth in the 200m (25.20) and fifth in the 400m (56.94).

Florida High’s girls took home fourth place overall, bolstered by strong performances in the sprints and relays. Elizabeth Ichite finished seventh in the 200m (25.38) and second in the 400m (55.19). Ana Detorres took second in the 300m hurdles (behind Rickards athlete Brittany Jones) in 44.24. Both girls were also legs of the second place 4x400m relay team, which ran a blazing time of 3:56.32.

Overall, the Big Bend took home plenty of hardware from Winter Park. As I was unpacking, however, I realized that I had taken home much more than a few medals. When I look back, I will not define my high school career by a time on the clock or a spot on the podium, I will define it by the connections I have made both with my teammates and the entire Tallahassee running community. This place and these people have become a part of me, and I know their influence will continue to be a strong force in my life, even from across the country. They say you should always focus straight ahead in a race, but no matter how far I leave this place behind me, I will always remember that sometimes it’s okay to look back.