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Florida State XC Meet Recap 2019Published by
State Records Stay Put, Boys Teams Make History In Florida By Todd Grasley for DyeStat The pressing question heading into Saturday’s FHSAA Cross Country Finals was whether any of the meet records would be broken. Two-time Foot Locker finalist and reigning meet champion Alyssa Hendrix had the best opportunity to make history on a cool crisp morning in Tallahassee. Hendrix and East Lake senior Parker Valby went head to head at the regional meet and were neck and neck through two miles on the Apalachee Regional Park course. After last week’s loss, Hendrix knew she had to kick into overdrive on the final stretch. “The last 500 meters or so was all about who wanted it more and after taking the lead I just went for it,” Hendrix said. “After losing regionals I had to create a whole new race plan for winning state after she out-kicked me the last quarter mile last week. Winning the state meet is always something special and to be able to do it my last year with my team made it even more special.” Hendrix has been one of the most dominant runners in the state of Florida in her high school career. An N.C. State commit, her cross country season isn’t quite done. Belen Boys, Satellite Coach Doug Butler Ascend All-Time Lists While University of Florida commitment Ethan Geiger and FSU commitment Andy Denton went head to head for the individual title in 3A, it was the Belen Jesuit boys that grabbed the headlines winning their 11th title in program history, the most by any boys program in FHSAA history. The Wolverines placed three runners in the top 10 to win with 48 points. Geiger won the race in 15:26.4 and his Robinson team finished second. “This season marks our 50th year of the Belen Jesuit cross country program so winning this year’s state title was that much more special for us,” coach Frankie Ruiz said. “I feel like it was a symbolic gift to the 49 years worth of teams that came before these guys. Today may not have been a bullseye for PRs but the youthful team hit the board and that was enough to get the job done.” Ruiz is also fired up about what’s to come for the future of the Belen Jesuit program. This year’s team boasts only two seniors among the top 10 runners. In 2A, coach Doug Butler picked up yet another team title, this time with his Satellite Scorpions. Butler who won numerous titles in 1A with Holy Trinity, guided the boys to the lowest score of any squad at the state meet, a mere 33 points. Gabe Montague and Justin Wilson went 1-2 as the team placed four runners in the top 10 and five in the top 21. Best of the Rest Mater Academy senior and UCF commit Valerie Lastra said going in to state, that she wasn’t having the season she anticipated. Well, that breakthrough race may have come at the right time with a season-best 17:29.50 and her second straight 3A title. On top of everything, her state record from last year stayed intact. Tsion Yared picked up her fourth 2A championship with a time of 17:44 and led her Pine Crest teammates to yet another title against rival Bolles. Eleanor Tymorek of St. Andrews finished second in 17:47.1 to break up a 1-2-3 sweep of Pine Crest. Brown University's commitment Emily Faulhaber was third (18:09) with Maya Beleznay in fourth (18:18.6). The Panthers finished with 33 points. “They have handled the pressure and competition so well this year,” coach Paul Baur said. “It's an incredibly focused and mature group. The seniors led the way and went out as champions setting state meet records as the fastest team in state history. Next, we will go to Nike regionals and hope to qualify the team for NXN." The Belen and Satellite boys made history in 3A and 2A, but Nease High made noise in the highest classification. Sophomore Reinhardt Harrison clocked the fastest time at the meet with his 15:24.6 and guided fellow teammates Bradley Ball (15:34.4) and Justin Tackling (15:39.) to the runner-up and fourth place finishes, respectively. Steinbrenner won the team title with a deeper pack, but Nease nabbed second only 11 points behind. In 1A, the Seffner Christian boys brought the first state championship in any sport back to their school. Austin Montini won the individual race for runner-up Oak Hall, but it was the Crusaders who had five runners within in the top 25 spots to score 69 points and the win. “The race was a little tactical for the top six guys upfront, which really fit into our game plan for our #1 and #2 guys to be in the race with the leaders at two miles,” coach Andrew Holmes said. “The rest of the field went out very fast. The plan for our guys was to be competitive early, hammer from 1.5 to 2.5 (miles), then hang on the last 1K of the race to either hold their place or pick up a few more places." Even more important is what the victory meant to the program. Three years ago, the team only had four runners. A commitment to restoring the progam led to six runners showing up in 2017 and nine last year. Twelve came out for the team this fall. “I am grateful for the guys that helped keep the program going the last few years,” he added. “Also to be able to break down the wall of never having won a team title in any sport at our school. We’ve had teams make it to the state title game, but were not fortunate enough to win. We changed the expectation from years past where just getting to state was good enough, to be able to compete for a state title each year.” Individual and Team Champions Class 1A Girls: Sinkenesh Parker (Circle Christian) 18:32.5 - Oak Hall (53 Points) - RESULTS Class 2A Girls: Tsion Yared (Pine Crest) - 17:44 - Pine Crest (33 Points) - RESULTS Class 3A Girls: Valerie Lastra (Mater Academy) - 17:29.5 - Winter Springs (113 Points) - RESULTS Class 4A Girls: Alyssa Hendrix (Riverview) 17:19.4 - Newsome (99 Points) - RESULTS
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