LAKE WALES’ STAFFORD SETS PERSONAL-BEST TIME TO WIN WHITMIRE INVITATIONAL

Lake Wales senior Paul Stafford missed the course record at Holloway Park last week by less than a second, but he did run a personal-best time. That mark lasted just one week. Stafford shaved nearly a half minute off his personal record by running 15.28.9 to win the George Whitmire Invitational by almost a minute on Saturday morning at Lake Region High School. With the namesake of the tournament on hand — former Lake Region girls coach George Whitmire was in town for a visit — Stafford again quickly pulled away from the pack. As the runners returned to the stadium, the rest of the pack was nowhere to be seen. Stafford’s time was the second-best in the state in 2A and third best overall. Frostproof junior Antonio Gomez and George Jenkins junior Brady Zimmerman finished second and third respectively. Gomez ran 16:25.10, and Zimmerman ran 16:29.20. For Zimmerman, his time was a personal record. George Jenkins ran away with the title in the boys team competition. Harmony was second, followed by Haines City and Lake Wales. George Whitmire Invitational At Lake Region Saturday's Results Boys Teams scores: 1. George Jenkins (GJ) 55, 2. Harmony (H) 86, 3. Haines City (HC) 96, 4. Lake Wales (LW) 110, 5. Sebring (S) 162, 6. Lakeland (L) 196, 7. Frostproof (F) 200, 8. Auburndale (A) 225, 9. Lake Region (LR) 240, 10. Winter Haven (WH) 290, 11. Bartow (B) 290, 12. Ridge Community (RC) 293, 13. Santa Fe Catholic (SFC) 314, 14. Fort Meade (FM) 375, 15. Discovery (D) 412. Individuals 1. Paul Stafford (LW) 15.28.9, 2. Antonio Gomez (F) 16:25.1, 3. Brady Zimmerman (GJ) 16:29.2, 4. Ladarius Tellis (LR) 17:22.1, 5. Juan Santana (A) 17:29.4, 6. Chandler Gowan (S) 17:37.8, 7. Nicholas Morrison (H) 17:40.1, 8. Marckoz Arius (HC) 17:43.1, 9. Kevin Childers (GJ) 17:44.9, 10. Seth Brickhouse (GJ) 17:50.9, 11. Joshua Love (HC) 17:51.30, 12. Alec Dunn (HC) 17:53.2, 13. Jack Stevens (H) 17:56.6, 14. Elijah Gotshall (RC) 18:06.4, 15. Bradley Justeson (H) 18:09.10. Girls Team scores: 1. Harmony (H) 47, 2. Frostproof (F) 48, 3. Lakeland (L) 88, 4. Ridge Community (RC) 124, 5. Lake Region (LR) 149, 6. Auburnale (A) 151, 7. Winter Haven (WH) 167, 8. Haines City (HC) 180, 9. Sebring (S) 184, 10. Bartow (B) 209. Lakeland Christian (LCS) NTS. Individuals 1. Vanessa Bolen (H) 19:39.0, 2. Cristal Gomez (F) 19:41.40, 3. Allison Hicks (H) 20:50.4, 4. Kennedy Lewis (LCS) 20:56.7, 5. Leigh Pallat (RC) 20:58.5, 6. Gabriella Rybinski (F) 20:59.10, 7. Erin Volpe (L) 21:19.8, 8. Sophie Valenti (L) 21:27.80, 9. Isabel Aguilar (F) 21:48.4, 10. Sarah Bayes (LCS) 22:00.60, 11. Brooke Mullens (H) 22:34.3, 12. Sarah Guertin (A) 22:56.60, 13. Yvan Louis (LR) 23:11.7, 14. Gretchen Caswell (LCS) 23:13.10, 15. Allison Smeal (F) 23:18. The Hornets were led by Marckoz Arias, who finished eighth. The Highlanders were looking to see how they stacked up against the Eagles, but lost No. 2 runner Anderson Denton. He suffered dehydration during the meet and could not finish. With Denton, Lake Wales would have challenged Harmony for second. Two young runners who emerged were Lake Region freshman Ladarius Tellis and Auburndale sophomore Juan Santana, who finished fourth and fifth respectively. For the girls, Frostproof eighth-grader Cristal Gomez ran 19:41.4 to finish second behind Harmony’s Vanessa Bolen. Lakeland Christian senior Kennedy Lewis (20:56.70) and Ridge Community sophomore Leigh Pallat (20:58.50) finished fourth and fifth respectively. Frostproof finished second in the girls team competition, just one point behind Harmony. The Bulldogs had three runners in the top 10: Gomez, Gabriella Rybinski (eighth) and Isabel Aguilar (ninth). Lewis and seventh-grader Sarah Bayes (10th) gave LCS to runners in the top 10, but the Vikings ran just three runners. Gretchen Caswell, a seventh-grader, was 14th. Senter, Ruiz lead Jenkins at Wiregrass George Jenkins sophomore Anna Sentner finished just three-tenths of a second behind Land O’Lakes’ Natalie Abernathy to finish second at Wiregrass Run With the Bulls. Sentner ran 18:58.90, and teammate Alicia Ruiz finished third in 19:02.50. The duo led the Eagles to an easy first-place finish in the girls competition. McKeel, led by Megan Miller who was 39th, placed 10th as the only other Polk team in the meet.

LAKE WALES’ STAFFORD SETS PERSONAL-BEST TIME TO WIN WHITMIRE INVITATIONAL

Photo Credit: Roy Fuoco

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