Oct. 18 was a big day for Key West cross country. Coach Keara McGraw’s girls took 7th place at the District 2A meet at Miami’s Larry and Penny Thompson Park. McGraw said their goal at the meet was to “work on racing a bit more aggressively” and that “they all nailed it.” The team earned a spot at regionals on Thursday, Oct. 27 at South County Regional Park. The boys team narrowly missed a team spot at the regional event, but Colbin Hill finished fast enough to qualify as an individual.
The Coral Shores boys team will join the Conchs on Oct. 27 at the 2A Region 4 event. The ‘Canes’ boys took sixth place in the district meet and advanced to the regional competition, led by Simon Gutierrez’s time of 18:19. Kai Guth, who qualified for an individual spot, will represent the Lady ‘Canes. Coach Gabriel Suarez was very excited for his young team, calling their performance “remarkable” and adding that most of his runners had personal bests at the meet.
1A Marathon had to wait until Oct. 20 to run its district race at Greynolds Park. Vance Bursa won the district title, crossing the finish line in 16:25.
“Vance ran his best race of the season,” said coach Jim Murphy. “We had a game plan and he ran it to perfection.”
Bursa’s first-place finish helped drive the Fins to second place in the district, securing a trip to regionals. Mason Buxton, Jakub Bursa, Antonin Bursa and Dillon Shelar were the top five scoring runners for Marathon’s perennially fast team, which seems to have a promising future ahead of it. The squad’s sixth man, Emmett Merryman, is only in sixth grade.
The Lady Fins enjoyed similar results, finishing second in the district. The top girls runner was Ella Dunn in 22:36. Marathon’s girls have been running in a pack this season and picked up their points by pushing one another and finishing in a group with solid times. All nine Marathon runners finished between 10th and 27th place in the district race.
“The girls had the best team average in 10-plus years,” said Murphy. “You neer know who will be our top runner or even in the top five because they have all been bringing it each race.” Like the boys team, the girls show future promise, with no seniors and four of their top runners in middle school.
The Fins will compete on Saturday, Oct. 29 at Indian River Fairgrounds to see whether they can make an eighth (boys) and fourth (girls) appearance at the state meet in Tallahassee in November.
DISTRICT MEET TIMES
Girls
Caylaa Makimaa KWHS 22:28
Ella Dunn MHS 22:36
Madelyn Thornton MHS 22:40
Mikkel Ross MHS 23:02
Kai Guth CSHS 23:18
Sara Robinson MHS 23:20
Maeve Merryman MHS 23:22
Laira Anaya KWHS 23:27
Rain Banks MHS 23:43
Rilynn Richards MHS 23:49
Ava Merryman MHS 24:16
Ailee Briggs MHS 24:20
Naima Thomas KWHS 26:10
Gianna Marchant KWHS 27:17
Jenna Mandozzi CHSH 27:20
Briana Nodal KWHS 28:56
Valeria Juarez KWHS 30:28
Kacelyn Hollis CHSH 30:35
Jessie Liddell CHSH 33:16
Deanna Mercier KWHS 36:25
Zoe Basham KWHS 38:20
Boys
Vance Bursa MHS 16:25Simon Gutierrez CSHS 18:19
Mason Buxton MHS 18:20
Jakub Bursa MHS 18:27
Antonin Bursa MHS 18:38
Colbin Hill KWHS 18:59
Dillon Shelar MHS 19:10
Robert Temkin CSHS 19:19
Alaric Rodriguez CSHS 20:22
Jerven Louis KWHS 20:40
Emmett Merryman MHS 21:02
Jack Dunn MHS 21:03
Daniel Roy KWHS 21:18
Allen Taylor MHS 21:27
Jace Jackson CSHS 21:33
Ambrose Sanchez CSHS 22:10
Jamie Cary CSHS 22:12
Edward Baker KWHS 22:35
Nathaniel Shugarman CSHS 23:15
Dale Bittner KWHS 23:20
Sebastian Jaroszewicz KWHS 23:36
Owen Fisher KWHS 24:09
Lochlain James CSHS 24:54
Kellan Bourbeau CSHS 26:56
Daniel Merryman MHS 27:49
Phoenix Bello CSHS 32:15
Reed Benning KWHS 34:06
