Day, Ross big winners at Okaloosa County meet

By JARED MACARIN

jaredm@nwfdailynews.com

NICEVILLE — The weather may have been a little on the chilly side Saturday morning, but that didn’t matter to Lauren Day or Loring Ross.

Day, a sophomore at Crestview, and Ross, a Niceville senior, blistered the 5K course at the Okaloosa County Championships at Okaloosa-Walton College.

Ross’ first-place finish helped lead the Eagles to the boys’ title shortly after the Niceville girls won the title as well.

“I’m at a loss for words at the efforts of the kids,” Niceville coach Sherman Eller said. “I had a feeling we could win both, but the effort and performances of the kids were way above my expectations. I’m giddy.”

Along with Ross, who ran a 16:15, the Eagles placed their other four runners in the top 10 to finish with a team total of 23 points. Tom Reho took second in 16:27, while Dylan Schroeder was fourth, Christian Ritacco was sixth and Michael Cooper took 10th.

“I’m very happy,” Ross said. “It’s a great feeling looking up the last fairway and seeing 16-oh-something on the clock.”

Fort Walton Beach was second with 57 points, while Choctawhatchee was right behind with 60. The Vikings were led by the fifth-place finish of Ben Chastain, and seventh by Cody Skarupa. Choctaw’s Mike Sinkey took third in 16:42, while Chris Elkins placed ninth. Jacob Gourlie of Crestview finished eighth.

Rocky Bayou Christian was fourth as a team, followed by South Walton, Baker and Crestview.

Day was equally as impressive as Ross, running a 19:34 to win by more than 30 seconds. Julie Williamson of South Walton was second in 20:10, with Niceville’s Lauren Eschbach third at 20:11. The Eagles placed four in the top 10 to top Fort Walton Beach for the girls’ title.

“I think I did pretty good,” Day said. “This is a big step for me as a 10th-grader. I’m just really happy.”

Niceville finished with 42 points and the Vikings ended up with 55. Rocky Bayou Christian, led by Holly Stanton’s sixth-place finish, was third. Crestview took fourth, followed by Choctaw and Baker.

After Eschbach, Morgan Keel was eighth for the Eagles and was immediately trailed at the finish line by Ashley Calhoun (ninth) and Abby McCool (10th). Katie Pfieffer was 17th overall.

Fort Walton Beach’s top runner was Erin Gallagher in fifth, while Iolani Scanlan took seventh. Choctaw’s Amber Barbaresi was fourth.

The teams now look forward to the championship season, with districts next week. Niceville must travel to Jacksonville for its district meet, while the other teams will have the luxury of running the exact same course they ran on Saturday.

Boys

Team scores: Niceville 23, Fort Walton Beach 57, Choctawhatchee 60, Rocky Bayou Christian 137, South Walton 146, Baker 158, Crestview 158

Niceville: 1. Loring Ross 16:15, 2. Tom Reho 16:27, 4. Dylan Schroeder 16:59, 6. Christian Ritacco 17:06, 10. Michael Cooper 17:27

FWB: 5. Ben Chastain 17:01, 7. Cody Skarupa 17:07, 11. Sam Ammons 17:27, 15. Matt Bevil 17:42, 19. Kyle Schenthal 18:17

Choctaw: 3. Mike Sinkey 16:42, 9. Chris Elkins 17:25, 12. Mykal Bailey 17:33, 16. Matt Bell 17:43, 20. Craig Anderson 18:29

RBCS: 18. Steve Berry 17:51, 21. Josh Molyneux 18:30, 30. Luke Lennon 19:19, 33. Hudson Pierce 20:04, 35. Austin Dennigan 20:45

SW: 22. Austin Buzzett 18:32, 24. Wells Buzzett 18:35, 31. Ryan furey 19:58, 32. Cody Ficarra 20:00, 37. C.J. Atwell 21:21

Baker: 13. Chad Lawhon 17:39, 28. John Scott 19:02, 34. Dyan Scott 20:16, 39. Matt Wilde 21:47, 44. Graham Fox 23:20

Crestview: 8. Jacob Gourlie 17:11, 25. Dylan Brown 18:39, 36. Angelo fajardo 21:15, 43. John Wood 23:14, 46. Jonathan Hall 25:02

Girls

Team scores: Niceville 42, Fort Walton Beach 55, Rocky Bayou Christian 82, Crestview 83, Choctawhatchee 89, Baker 179

Niceville: 3. Lauren Escbach 20:11, 8. Morgan Keel 20:18, 9. Ashley Calhoun 20:35, 10. Abby McCool 20:53, 17. Katie Pfeiffer 21:24

FWB: 5. Erin Gallagher 20:14, 7. Iolani Scanlan 20:18, 12. Sarah Devaux 21:02, 16. Julia Uthmeier 21:22, 20. Ashley Birdgford 21:46

RBCS: 6. Holly Stanton 20:16, 14. Korie Schaeffler 21:07, 15. Elizabeth Berry 21:20, 24. Katie Brown 22:06, 28. Christy Allen 22:31

Crestview: 1. Lauren Day 19:38, 11. Taylor Polk 20:53, 13. Sabrina King 21:05, 27. Tabitha Booler 22:18, 38. Shayne Fajardo 28:16

Choctaw: 4. Amber Barbaresi 20:14, 18. Tiana Rodriguez 21:33, 19. Lisa Spikes 21:34, 23. Maddie Voas 22:06, 31. Hayden Veach 22:58

Baker: 37. Cassie Cooper 25:56, 39. Erin Grundel 31:07, 40. taylor Lamm 40:34, 41. Jamie Grice 42:05, 42. Andrea Taylor 42:25

South Walton (no team score): 2. Julie Williamson 20:10, 29. Jessie Taylor 22:37, 35. Malorie Leach 25:33, 36. Katherine Register 25:39