BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Keystone Heights High School’s cross-country teams competed at the Region 1-2A finals on Nov. 9 at Alligator Lake Park in Lake City, with boys team member Tyler Griffin qualifying for the state finals.
Griffin is the Indians’ first state qualifier since Camryn Williams in 2019. He’s the first boys runner to advance to state since Alex Guy did so in 2018.
Neither Keystone team placed in the top eight, which was necessary for a team to advance to state. The top four individuals in each race not on one of the state-qualifying teams earned the right to move on as well. The last individual spot in the boys race, which consisted of 117 runners, went to Griffin, who placed 23rd with a time of 17:56.
The other individual qualifiers were Wakulla’s Henry Lewis, who was second, Florida High’s Xavier England, who was third, and Baker County’s Troy Winkler, who was 12th.
Griffin will run at state on Friday, Nov. 17, at 9:50 a.m. at Tallahassee’s Apalachee Regional Park.
Keystone’s highest finisher behind Griffin was Anthony Peak, who was 66th with a time of 19:01. Ryder Thomas wasn’t far behind with a 69th-place time of 19:07.
The following also ran for Keystone: Hunter Sheppard (19:26), Jaden Park (19:58), Bryce Huntley (20:03) and Kipton Spence (22:13).
Keystone was 13th out of 16 teams. Bishop Kenny was the champion, followed by Bolles as the runner-up.
The other qualifying teams were Episcopal, Wolfson, Suwannee, West Florida, Pensacola Catholic and North Bay Haven.
Olivia Griffin led the Keystone girls team, placing 40th out of 118 with a time of 21:37. She was seventh among individuals not on state-qualifying teams.
The Indians’ next-best finishers were Cali Chamberlain and Melody Tyre, who placed 82nd and 83rd, respectively, with times of 24:24 and 24:30.
Also running were Brook Graudons (27:32), Madilyn Miller (28:06), Schiley Starling (29:05) and Clara Beth Robinson (31:28).
Keystone finished 15th out of 16 teams. Bishop Kenny won the championship, followed by runner-up Bolles.
The other teams that qualified for state were Episcopal, Fernandina Beach, Wakulla, Florida High, Wolfson and North Bay Haven.
Individual qualifiers were Pensacola’s Addison Garrett, who was 12th, South Walton’s Scarlett Griffin, who was 14th, Suwannee’s Ryleigh Hermanson, who was 18th, and South Walton’s Diana Garcia, who was 30th.
