(Special thanks to Coach Jamie LaFollette for contributing to this article. Photos by Chris Shonk.)
Bright and early at 8:00 a.m. the girls were the first to race. The Niceville trio of Lillian Holtery, Ciara Coger and Erin Eubanks along with Erica Fisher of Pace came through the mile marker at 6:30. They were joined by freshman Isabella Pawloski who transferred from the Tampa area to the Panhandle and Pensacola High School.
Fellow freshman Holtery, pulled away from the pack during the second mile and built a ten second lead. The gap widened as Holtery won by 33 seconds over Erica Fisher of Pace. Niceville Coach Jamie LaFollette has high praise for his young standout.
"Lillian is surprisingly mature for a freshman and is handling the transition to high school well," he said. "These first two meets we have held her back, just letting her get used to racing the 5k, and the whole high school racing experience. I'm excited to see what the future holds for her."
Fisher, a junior who was third at the Tennessee state cross country championships last year, pulled away from Coger and crossed the line in 19:46. Coger and Pawloski finished behind in third and fourth respectively with sub 20 minute times of 19:54.26 and 19:59.25.
The Niceville girls have looked very impressive so far this season and are the defending 3A state champions. They took the team title placing eight in the top 14 and winning 28 to 54 over runner-up Fort Walton Beach. Even more exciting for LaFollette's squad is that they are just getting started.
"The girls continue to run strong and it was good to have Ally Woodard make her first appearance of the season," he said. "We still are not at full strength as we held out Hannah Schneidewind today."
With the sun warming things up, the boys were next up to race at 8:45 a.m and it was Fort Walton Beach and Niceville leading the way. The group of around eight came through the mile marker around 5:30. The Eagles quartet of Dane Dickerson, Gabe Bohler, Jeremiah Dotter, and Andy Holtery separated from the pack over that second mile with Dickerson building a five second lead. Dotter showcased his speed in the last 400m putting on a ferocious kick to go from third to first and log the first win of his high school career.
"Jeremiah did not starting running until fall of his sophomore year, where he had a pr of 20:17," LaFollette explained. "He has grown tremendously as a runner and it is really exciting to watch his progress. I think he is a prime example of what hard work, tenacity, and a great attitude can produce and demonstrates what makes this sport so great!"
Dotter was followed by Dickerson and Bohler who finished second and third. Fort Walton Beach's pack made a strong move to put six guys in front of Niceville's fifth runner, but Niceville's front pack was too much and the Eagles won 24 to 35. Fort Walton Beach was led by Parker Dewrell who finished 4th and a 1-6 spread of 13 seconds.
I'm pleased with the way both teams performed today," LaFollette added. "The boys were tentative in their first meet and showed a lot more spirit and confidence today."