Marathon was the only Keys cross country team to participate in competition last week, traveling to Pace on Sept. 26. The Fins capitalized on their trip, bringing home 14 top-20 places between the girls and boys teams. Vance, Tony and Jakub Bursa took the top three overall places at the event. Vance finished in 16:51, beating out his younger brother by nearly two minutes. Tony crossed the finish line in second place in 18:49, followed by older brother Jakub two seconds later.
As if sweeping the podium was not enough for Marathon, Mason Buxton crossed in 11th place, followed by brothers Caleb and Dillon Shelar in 12th and 13th and Allan Taylor in 16th place. The boys’ incredible finish secured first place at the meet, which hosted a dozen teams in the boys division.
The girls team fared nearly as well, taking second place overall out of nine teams participating. Mikkel Ross finished first for the Dolphins in 22:21, which was fast enough for second place overall. Ella Dunn was next, finishing seventh overall in 24:32, with Rain Banks right on her heels in eighth place. Also earning top-20 status were Madelyn Thornton in 12th, Maeve Merryman in 14th, and Rebecca Merryman and Rilynn Richards in 19th and 20th, respectively.
Key West had a planned week off, while Coral Shores had a scheduling issue and had to settle for a week of rest, which may just be beneficial in their next meetup. The Fins, ’Canes and Conchs are all scheduled to race at the Larry Wooten Invitational on Thursday, Oct. 5. All three teams are working on a balance between rest and racing in preparation for postseason competition, which begins with districts for FHSAA 2A Key West and Coral Shores on Nov. 1, and for 1A Marathon the following day.
