Annual J.D. Mac Cross Country Invitational Huge Success
On a day reminiscent of when Coach James McDaniel’s cross country teams were running the countryside in Jay, 22 high school teams competed in the Jay meet that’s named after him. The 12th Annual J.D. Mac Cross Country Invitational was held at the Jay City Park on Saturday, October 8, 2016. Almost 400 runners participated in the three races hosted by the Jay High School Cross country teams. “We celebrate the legacy of Coach Mac every year with this meet and this was the biggest party yet”, said current Jay Boy’s Head Coach Matthew Dobson. Dobson’s wife, Teresa Dobson, Jay Girl’s Head Coach was on McDaniel’s 4 state championship teams (1987-1990). “Coach Mac laid the foundation for the sport of Cross Country at Jay High and we love him for it!” Teresa Dobson said.
In the Varsity Boy’s 5K race, 125 finished with Pensacola Christian’s Hunter Stewart taking the Overall race with a winning time of 16:01. The Varsity Girl’s race had 92 finishers with T.R. Miller’s Allie Nelson winning in a fast time of 18:24.
Gulf Breeze High School dominated the team competition winning both the boys and girls team title. Navarre High School finished runner-up in the boy’s race and T.R. Miller was the team runner-up in the girl’s race.
ROYAL HIGHLIGHTS:
Jillian Thornton 22:24
Hannah Whitlock 22:45
Grace Gillman 24:29
Laryn Kimmons 26:56
Austin Gonzales 20:12
Jimmie Ates 21:52
Jacob Gonzalez 23:48
In the Open/Community 5K Race, several schools had younger participants competing. With 150 runners in the open race, Jay had good performances from three 6th Graders:
Chance Thornton 20:13
Ryan Wayland 26:35
Emma Barrow 27:30
We had quality running performances by everyone today on a beautiful fall morning” said Dobson. He also added, “If it wasn’t for the parent and community volunteers this event would not be possible. The Jay High School Athletic Department would like to thank the Town of Jay, Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Department, and the Jay Volunteer Fire Department for continuous and faithful support of sporting events like this here in Jay. For complete race results, visit: www.Flrunners.com. Visit Jay Cross Country’s Facebook page for photos of the races.
