Advertisement

St. Johns Spotlight: New World but familiar running result for Matt Ryan, Alyson Johnson

clayton freeman, jacksonville florida times-union
·3 min read

Saturday's New World Fall Spectacular began with the word new, but the final result was familiar: Nease at the head of the boys cross country pack.

Senior Matt Ryan led the way for the Panthers, running 15:17 to help the Panthers to a first-place 75 points ahead of Gainesville Buchholz (121) and Ponte Vedra (166) in a meet drawing dozens of top programs across Florida and Georgia.

Teammates Sai Jayaraman, Finn Thomas, Nate Corkran and Wyatt Pittman all finished inside 16:07 as Nease continued the championship tradition of recent Panthers like Rheinhardt Harrison and Anderson Ball.

The top time of the day, meanwhile, belonged to Tallahassee Leon's Patrick Koon. His 14:46 ranked among the speediest 5K times on record in Florida, only one second slower than Harrison's then-record time at the same site in 2021.

Creekside's Alyson Johnson won her latest event at the New World Fall Spectacular.
Creekside's Alyson Johnson won her latest event at the New World Fall Spectacular.

The girls race turned into the latest triumph for Creekside sophomore Alyson Johnson, who nearly matched her personal record to win in 17:57 with a 12-second margin ahead of Caroline Couch from Tallahassee Maclay.

Maclay took the girls team title with 99 points, just ahead of Ponte Vedra at 107 points. Lindy White (18:24) and Daisy Ross (18:34) both placed in the top six for the Sharks.

Highlighting this weekend's cross country schedule will be the Craig Speziale Invitational at Ponte Vedra as well as the Bradford Invitational in Starke.

Nease, FPC top century mark

Nease's Bryce Frick passed for five touchdowns against Flagler Palm Coast.
Nease's Bryce Frick passed for five touchdowns against Flagler Palm Coast.

The point machine that is St. Johns County football churned out its second 100-point special of the 11-man season.

This time, it was Nease 58, Flagler Palm Coast 43, a wide-open extravaganza in which Panthers receiver Maddox Spencer got impressive numbers (119 yards, three touchdowns) and plenty of teammates joined the fun.

Sophomore Brayden Felder caught four passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns, quarterback Bryce Frick was nearly perfect (13 of 18, 278 yards, 5 TD) and junior running back K.J. Perry demolished his previous best with 202 yards on 20 carries. Perry only received his first recorded varsity carry on Sept. 29 against Sandalwood.

Other 100-point nights for Nease over the years: Oct. 24, 2003 (56-54 loss to Orange Park), Aug. 30, 2019 (58-51 loss to Creekside), Oct. 18, 2019 (55-45 loss to St. Augustine) and Sept. 2, 2022 (62-41 loss to Creekside).

The first 100-point game this season in St. Johns County was Palm Beach Central's 55-48 win over Creekside on Aug. 25.

Around St. Johns

Bartram Trail's Lucie McDonald throws to first during a March softball game against Ponte Vedra.
Bartram Trail's Lucie McDonald throws to first during a March softball game against Ponte Vedra.

Creekside senior Leslie Dame committed to Siena women's swimming. … Nease junior Charlotte Driesse committed to Kentucky women's swimming. … Ponte Vedra senior Annabelle MacAdams committed to South Dakota State women's swimming. … Bartram Trail infielder Lucie McDonald committed to Middle Tennessee State softball. … Nominations are open through Jan. 17 for the FHSAA's Roger Dearing Heart of the Arts and Spirit of Sport awards. The winner receives a $1,500 scholarship. ... High School 9:12 Basketball Media Day takes place at 9 a.m. Tuesday at Winston Family YMCA.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: New World Fall Spectacular cross country: Matt Ryan, Alyson Johnson win