District cross country recap: McDuffie, NSB boys place second at Winter Springs

WINTER SPRINGS — Sam McDuffie felt gassed in the opening mile, but the New Smyrna Beach sophomore recaptured his stride and pushed for the District 3-3A cross country title all the way toward the home stretch.

McDuffie placed second, and so did the Barracudas in the overall boys' team standings Friday morning. He broke the 17-minute barrier (16:57.26) for the second consecutive race, doing so on the far more hillier terrain of Central Winds Park compared to the relative fast track around his own high school, the site of last weekend's Five Star Conference championships.

"I'm going to be honest. I just focused on my goal of staying up near the front," McDuffie said about perservering through early pain. "Originally, I thought it was just going to be, (Deltona's) Carlos (Cerrud) and the Winter Springs kid behind me all up in the front. But when everybody busted out at the start, it was a complete sidewinder. I wasn't expecting that."

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East River's Andrew Bateh claimed individual gold, finishing a little less than three seconds ahead of McDuffie. Cerrud (17:23.78) and New Smyrna Beach's Andrew McLane (17:36.61) secured top-10 individual times.

In each district, the top eight girls and boys teams advance to regionals — as well as the top four individual runners from teams that failed to qualify.

For the boys teams, New Smyrna Beach, Deltona and Seabreeze will compete at regionals. They will be joined next Saturday at Austin-Tindall Sports Complex in Kissimmee by the girls squads of New Smyrna Beach, Mainland and Seabreeze.

Alyssa Meyers (22:10.86) and Mya Erwin (22:12.05), both of New Smyrna Beach, had the top local showings in the girls' race by finishing 11th and 13th, respectively. The Mainland duo of Kiera Williams (22:21.48) and Taliyah Nixon (22:25.62), Seabreeze's Riley Hale (22:28.76) and NSB's Stella Marsch (22:30.50) also broke the top 20.

Boys team standings

• 1. Horizon — 79

• 2. New Smyrna Beach — 98

• 3. Winter Springs — 117

• 4. East River — 135

• 5. Deltona — 137

• 6. Lake Wales — 145

• 7. Seabreeze — 159

• 8. Lyman — 173

• 9. Lake Region — 198

• 10. Gateway — 212

• 11. Edgewater — 243

• 12. Lake Buena Vista — 264

• 13. Auburndale — 286

Boys individual top 10

• 1. Andrew Bateh, East River — 16:54.47

• 2. Sam McDuffie, New Smyrna Beach — 16:57.26

• 3. Levi Mollica, Winter Springs — 17:01.99

• 4. Suhaib Mansour, East River — 17:06.81

• 5. Girmay Buck, Horizon — 17:12.66

• 6. Carlos Cerrud, Deltona — 17:23.78

• 7. William Windham, Lake Wales — 17:26.97

• 8. Jacob Finch, Horizon — 17:32.12

• 9. Andrew McLane, New Smyrna Beach — 17:36.61

• 10. Gabriel Harris, Lake Wales — 17:36.79

Girls team standings

• 1. Winter Springs — 37

• 2. Edgewater — 95*

• 3. Horizon — 95

• 4. New Smyrna Beach — 105

• 5. Lakeland — 134

• 6. Mainland — 165

• 7. Seabreeze — 212

• 8. Lake Buena Vista — 228

• 9. East River — 237

• 10. Lyman — 245

• 11. Lake Wales — 263

• 12. Gateway — 264

• 13. Lake Region — 336

• 14. Auburndale — 399

• * Edgewater wins tiebreaker based on total time

Girls individual top 10

• 1. Jolynn Rodriguez, Winter Springs — 19:44.52

• 2. Scarlett Mason, Winter Springs — 20:41.11

• 3. Grace Mason, Winter Springs — 20:58.13

• 4. Ella Feder, Lakeland — 21:20.64

• 5. Maryn Whitesell, Horizon — 21:25.45

• 6. Beth Feder, Lakeland — 21:30.94

• 7. Isabella Bermann, Edgewater — 21:50.02

• 8. Ella Bichanich, Edgewater — 21:50.06

• 9. Emma Turner, East River — 21:50.18

• 10. Natalia Sanchez, Winter Springs — 22:03.60

District 1-4A

Flagler Palm Coast, which swept the Five Star Conference's boys and girls competitions, had both of its teams placce sixth at Santa Fe College in Gainesville.

Conference individual champ Braedyn Wormeck (16:09.0) broke into the top 10 of one of Florida's deeper districts. Arianna Slaughter paced FPC's girls in 16th place overall (19:37.1).

Boys team standings

• 1. Nease — 24

• 2. Creekside — 65

• 3. Chiles — 67

• 4. Buchholz — 126

• 5. Niceville — 154

• 6. Flagler Palm Coast — 191

• 7. Bartram Trail — 204

• 8. Mandarin — 223

• 9. Fletcher — 278

• 10. West Port — 306

• 11. Forest — 343

• 12. Tocoi Creek — 377

• 13. Crestview — 383

• 14. Oakleaf — 410

• 15. Navarre — 424

• 16. Atlantic Coast — 438

• 17. Pace — 464

• 18. Tate — 504

• 19. Sandalwood — 569

• 20. First Coast — 578

Boys individual top 10

• 1. Tanner Simonds, Creekside — 15:18.1

• 2. Matt Ryan, Nease — 15:25.4

• 3. Finn Thomas, Nease — 15:29.4

• 4. Sai Jayaraman, Nease — 15:30.8

• 5. Jackson Rowe, Chiles — 15:40.6

• 6. Nate Corkran, Nease — 15:52.3

• 7. Jack Zurn, Creekside — 15:53.5

• 8. Braedyn Wormeck, Flagler Palm Coast — 16:09.0

• 9. Wyatt Pittman, Nease — 16:12.2

• 10. Seamus Hodge, Niceville — 16:16.8

Girls team standings

• 1. Buchholz — 49

• 2. Niceville — 87

• 3. Creekside — 87

• 4. Chiles — 109

• 5. Mandarin — 150

• 6. Flagler Palm Coast — 178

• 7. Nease — 185

• 8. Tocoi Creek — 235

• 9. Bartram Trail — 247

• 10. Oakleaf — 354

• 11. Fletcher — 354

• 12. Navarre — 371

• 13. Crestview — 373

• 14. Forest — 385

• 15. Pace — 397

• 16. Atlantic Coast — 426

• 17. Sandalwood — 447

• 18. West Port — 469

• 19. Tate — 556

Girls individual top 10

• 1. Alyson Johnson, Creekside — 18:33.6

• 2. Sarah Rose, Creekside — 18:39.9

• 3. Jordan McLean, Forest — 18:46.4

• 4. Madison Patchan, Tocoi Creek — 18:49.0

• 5. Alaysa Chipunov, Mandarin — 18:51.3

• 6. Eleanor Whisler, Buchholz — 18:52.9

• 7. Rayne Mendez, Niceville — 19:10.1

• 8. Haley Heitmeyer, Chiles — 19:13.9

• 9. Ashley Hamilton, Buchholz — 19:16.5

• 10. Kaitlyn Goslinga, Buchholz — 19:27.3

District 2-4A

As she did last weekend in the Five Star Conference meet, Spruce Creek's Mackenzie Roy pulled away from the field and scored individual gold at the District 2-4A championships at Hagerty High in Oviedo.

Roy shaved 15 seconds off her Five Star-winning time, setting a new personal-best at 18:05.50. Twin sister Arianna Roy was second (18:26.01), and the Hawks advanced as a team in fifth place.

University's Hannah Judge (19:05.95) and Morgan Harvill (19:08.45) were the top two individual regional qualifiers with fifth- and seventh-place showings.

DeLand's boys were also fifth in the district, anchored by Connor York (16:31.34). The freshman ran in eighth place.

Boys team standings

• 1. Hagerty — 31

• 2. Oviedo — 79

• 3. Lake Mary — 114

• 4. West Orange — 146

• 5. DeLand — 168

• 6. Lake Howell — 173

• 7. Seminole — 175

• 8. East Ridge — 181

• 9. Windermere — 184

• 10. Olympia — 294

• 11. Lake Brantley — 327

• 12. Ocoee — 328

• 13. Spruce Creek — 361

• 14. Apopka — 413

• 15. University — 417

• 16. Evans — 472

Boys individual top 10

• 1. Jonathan Leon, Hagerty — 14:56.57

• 2. Gabriel Abbate, Hagerty — 15:37.68

• 3. Axel Sallault, East Ridge — 16:12.26

• 4. Jaiden McKee, West Orange — 16:15.65

• 5. Jacob Leon, Hagerty — 16:20.74

• 6. Aiden Aysun, Oviedo — 16:26.43

• 7. Colin Aysun, Oviedo — 16:30.03

• 8. Connor York, DeLand — 16:31.34

• 9. Corey Johnson, Lake Mary — 16:31.35

• 10. Connor Stromberg, Lake Mary — 16:32.19

Girls team standings

• 1. East Ridge — 69

• 2. Lake Mary — 102

• 3. Olympia — 110

• 4. Oviedo — 113

• 5. Spruce Creek — 137

• 6. Windermere — 141

• 7. Hagerty — 176

• 8. Lake Brantley — 213

• 9. West Orange — 215

• 10. University — 228

• 11. DeLand — 279

• 12. Seminole — 308

• 13. Dr. Phillips — 346

• 14. Wekiva — 408

Girls individual top 10

• 1. Mackenzie Roy, Spruce Creek — 18:05.47

• 2. Arianna Roy, Spruce Creek — 18:26.01

• 3. Rhyen Foley, East Ridge — 18:49.69

• 4. Emily Knopfle, Olympia — 18:58.49

• 5. Hannah Judge, University — 19:05.95

• 6. Veronica Peterson, East Ridge — 19:07.64

• 7. Morgan Harvill, University — 19:08.45

• 8. Ava Lack, Windermere — 19:16.97

• 9. Hanna Warren, East Ridge — 19:17.48

• 10. Aubrey Frost, Olympia — 19:35.54

District 2-3A

Christian Norfolk and Blaine Vogel placed 15th and 16th, Nina Rodriguez was 22nd among girls and Matanzas clinched regional berths in both races at Ponte Vedra.

The Pirates' girls ran third, and the boys finished sixth. Matanzas will serve as the host site for regionals next Saturday.

Boys team standings

• 1. Fleming Island — 31

• 2. Ponte Vedra — 51

• 3. Menendez — 87

• 4. St. Augustine — 134

• 5. Stanton — 159

• 6. Matanzas — 185

• 7. Columbia — 206

• 8. Beachside — 228

• 9. Ridgeview — 243

• 10. Orange Park — 264

• 11. Gainesville — 298

• 12. Middleburg — 305

• 13. Clay — 314

Boys individual top 10

• 1. Graham Myers, Fleming Island — 15:51.0

• 2. Tanner Andrade Brinsko, Ponte Vedra — 16:08.0

• 3. John Keester IV, Fleming Island — 16:20.0

• 4. Luke Ross, Ponte Vedra — 16:27.0

• 5. Miles Wicks, Ponte Vedra — 16:30.0

• 6. Roman Mollicone, Fleming Island — 16:32.0

• 7. Spencer Lawrence, Menendez — 16:33.0

• 8. Cole Swesey, St. Augustine — 16:36.0

• 9. Jacob Campbell, Fleming Island — 16:37.0

• 10. John Syla, Stanton — 16:52.0

Girls team scores

• 1. Ponte Vedra — 21

• 2. Fleming Island — 68

• 3. Matanzas — 103

• 4. St. Augustine — 103

• 5. Gainesville — 173

• 6. Stanton — 185

• 7. Menendez — 189

• 8. Beachside — 191

• 9. Ridgeview — 261

• 10. Clay — 264

• 11. Middleburg — 273

• 12. Columbia — 330

• 13. Riverside — 425

Girls individual top 10

• 1. Lindy White, Ponte Vedra — 18:24.0

• 2. Daisy Ross, Ponte Vedra — 18:32.0

• 3. Hilaree Vega, Ponte Vedra — 18:47.0

• 4. Brooke Reynolds, Fleming Island — 19:20.0

• 5. Lauren Voutour, St. Augustine — 19:22.0

• 6. Allie Knotts, Fleming Island — 19:36.0

• 7. Savannah LaVasser, Ponte Vedra — 19:54.0

• 8. Ella McGowan, Ponte Vedra — 20:04.0

• 9. Amelia Tackling, Ponte Vedra — 20:09.0

• 10. Reese Scott, Fleming Island — 20:15.0

District 3-2A

Taylor will send both of its cross country teams to next week's Region 2-2A meet in Weeki Wachee. The Wildcats' girls placed third, and the boys earned the eighth and final spot.

Ashley Fuentes (23:02.4) and Christopher Hurtado (20:34.1) were the team's top individual runners.

Boys team standings

• 1. The Villages — 27

• 2. Mount Dora — 57

• 3. North Marion — 94

• 4. Williston — 118

• 5. Nature Coast — 132

• 6. Crescent City — 141

• 7. Weeki Wachee — 156

• 8. Taylor — 234

• 9. Dunnellon — 236

• 10. Hernando — 257

Boys individual top 10

• 1. Allister Clarke, The Villages, 17:26.5

• 2. Nate Burton, The Villages, 17:37.2

• 3. David Probola, The Villages, 17:54.6

• 4. Marcus Florexil, Mount Dora, 17:55.2

• 5. Thatcher Clarke, The Villages, 17:57.1

• 6. Donovan Spears, Mount Dora, 17:57.3

• 7. Miguel Gutierrez, Williston, 18:15.4

• 8. Felipe Serrano, Crescent City, 18:22.4

• 9. Noah Carpenter, Nature Coast, 18:37.9

• 10. Darryl Johnson, North Marion, 18:39.0

Girls team standings

• 1. Mount Dora — 21

• 2. The Villages — 51

• 3. Taylor — 114

• 4. Dunnellon — 116

• 5. Nature Coast — 127

• 6. Eustis — 135

• 7. Crescent City — 162

Girls individual top 10

• 1. Hannah Douglas, Mount Dora — 19:24.5

• 2. Remington Lay, Hernando — 20:25.0

• 3. Noelle Vu, Mount Dora — 20:51.7

• 4. Bailey Roman, Mount Dora — 21:37.7

• 5. Taylor Alvard, Dunnellon — 21:41.9

• 6. Alexis Hume, The Villages — 22:00.2

• 7. Katherine Probola, The Villages — 22:16.7

• 8. Isabelle Orser, Mount Dora — 22:36.4

• 9. Cecilia Zagorini, Mount Dora — 22:38.3

• 10. Chloe Fields, North Marion — 22:50.1

District 4-1A

Matthew Gazzoli and Felipe Paredes earned top-10 finishes to lead Father Lopez's boys to a fifth-place showing on their home course Wednesday afternoon.

The juniors each set new personal-best times, good enough for fifth and seventh in the race.

Father Lopez's girls are also regional-bound, finishing eighth in the team standings. Sophomore Anna Nugent (21:13.2) had the top individual time, taking 16th overall.

The Green Wave's runners will head to Lake City next week for the Region 2-1A meet at Alligator Lake Park.

Boys team scores

• 1. Holy Trinity Episcopal — 29

• 2. Pineapple Cove — 102

• 3. Circle Christian — 136

• 4. Merritt Island Christian — 152

• 5. Father Lopez — 161

• 6. Trinity Prep — 165

• 7. Master's Academy — 168

• 8. Foundation Academy — 175

• 9. Geneva — 203

• 10. City of Life Christian — 252

• 11. Orangewood Christian — 257

• 12. Cornerstone Charter — 313

• 13. The First Academy — 328

• 14. New Dimensions — 372

Boys individual top 10

• 1. Andrew Nyland, Foundation — 16:17.1

• 2. Skyler Jensen, Holy Trinity — 16:23.1

• 3. Will Neeld, Circle Christian — 16:33.0

• 4. Evan Spreitzer, Holy Trinity — 16:50.7

• 5. Matthew Gazzoli, Father Lopez — 16:55.1

• 6. Zack Gunderson, Holy Trinity — 17:07.1

• 7. Felipe Paredes, Father Lopez — 17:09.2

• 8. Luke Thomas, Holy Trinity — 17:09.9

• 9. Augustine Stehley, Holy Trinity — 17:11.9

• 10. Ty Cannon, Foundation — 17:17.8

Girls team standings

• 1. Master's Academy — 32

• 2. Holy Trinity — 77

• 3. Circle Christian — 104

• 4. Orangewood Christian — 109

• 5. Geneva — 112

• 6. Trinity Prep — 148

• 7. Pineapple Cove — 201

• 8. Father Lopez — 237

• 9. City of Life Christian — 237

• 10. Foundation Academy — 277

• 11. Warner Christian — 283

Girls individual top 10

• 1. Ava Wyant, Master's — 18:22.7

• 2. Rachel Judy, Circle Christian — 18:50.3

• 3. Ella Raesly, Geneva — 18:58.9

• 4. Avery Gervais, Master's — 19:23.1

• 5. Leah Moury, Circle Christian — 19:53.8

• 6. Maria Newman, Master's — 19:54.4

• 7. Avery McDonald, Orangewood — 20:02.3

• 8. Grace Dejesus, Circle Christian — 20:10.9

• 9. Aniyah Francis, Holy Trinity — 20:19.3

• 10. Haleigh Silver, Master's — 20:30.0

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: High school cross country: Volusia-Flagler district meet recaps