School hosts 10th annual Thanksgiving Turkey Trot
Last week, more than 60 middle school students at The Sanibel School laced up their sneakers and dashed a one-mile course like turkeys two days before Thanksgiving.
The 10th annual Turkey Trot, held on the morning of Nov. 22, included girls and boys racing through a mile-long loop – from the entrance of the Sanibel Recreation Center parking lot, down San-Cap Road’s shared use path to the school’s ballfields and back into the parking lot for the figure-eight final stretch – cheered on by the rest of the student population.
“After 10 years, I think all of the kids look forward to the Turkey Trot,” said athletic director Debra Kridle. “They’ve grown up watching the race since they were in kindergarten.”
The first place winners for the sixth graders (in both the girls and boys races, respectively) were Grace Ann Paul and Stephen Rice. Jordan Olson and Michael Stufano took second place while Madelyn LaBar and Erik Howell finished third.
“Some times, the sixth graders are a bit nervous because it’s their first time racing,” added Kridle. “Some of our students do it for fun and some of them do it for the free t-shirt. I think everyone had a great time.”
For the seventh graders, first place crowns went to Jillian Richter and Aldo Ramirez. Second place went to Deanna Taub and Kirk Williams while third place went to Oriana Vargas and Josh Congress.
First place position amongst eighth graders went to Haley Von Harten and Dylan Kropp. Second place went to Madison Matlock and Jessica Simmonds-Short (tied) and Matas Jankauskas. Siblings Tara Kane and Lochlainn Kane both grabbed the third slot.
The fastest overall male student was seventh grader Aldo Ramirez (5 minutes, 49 seconds) and the fastest overall female student was sixth grader Grace Ann Paul (6 minutes, 42 seconds).