Athletes Of The Week: Candiano, Cross Crowned District Champions



GIRLS WINNER: Sarah Candiano - Junior @ Evangelical Christian School

The 2013 track and field championships served as a confidence booster for Sarah Candiano. The sophomore opted out of the 1600 meter run to focus on the 3200 and came away with the win beating out the best distance runners in the state including Julie Wollrath of Holy Trinity. Candiano took several weeks off following track to prepare for cross country.  Coach Wes Penberthy says a struggle with injuries early halted productivity.

"I think so far she hasn't had as good a season as she wanted. She struggled in a few races this year, and she has seen some girls that she has historically beaten in the past beat her in certain races this year, but she recovered from the injuries she had early on and is peaking at the right time."

Candiano won the Celtic Invitational/GCAC Championship and came back this week to win the 1A District 11 Championship in a season best time of 18:18.10 beating her nearest competitor by 27 seconds. Penberthy says the game plan was first and foremost for her to get the win.

"That was number one, but I also told her to go out slower than she normally does and attempt to even or negative split the race, and see if she could at least break 18:30. There is still some room for improvement, but it was a great race. I think she went out 5:50, 5:53 and finished at 5:53 pace overall."

Being a perfectionist has Candiano never settling and always fighting for more. Throughout the season she has juggled numerous racing strategies, but Penberthy believes she has finally found the one that works best. The main gist of it; to run a steady even race, and that it's not important to lead at the beginning.

"This week we've been working on pacing, and not overextending on the first mile of the race. Something my dad used to say to me, and I'm not sure where he got it from was that you can't win a 5k in the first mile, but you can sure as heck lose it in the first mile. I'm trying to really make a point of running a smart first mile can be key to how the rest of their race plays out."

The test won't be easy this week as 1A Region 3 is loaded with talent. Candiano was the runner-up at last year's state meet and will be joined by two time defending champion Julie Wollrath who will be running on her home course, Alex Eaton who was third last year, and Grace Casagrande of Cardinal Mooney who has run the top time in 1A this year. Having the confidence from the last two weeks and being back to full strength, Penberthy feels good about her chances at a regional and state championship.

"I think a cross country state championship would mean more to her than the 3200, because this year in cross country she got injured, she struggled in certain races, and it will show that she can bounce back from an injury, work her butt off, and win a state championship despite the setbacks. I think she is peaking at the right time, so I think she is going to win. She just has to run her race."

Sarah's Athlete Profile


BOYS WINNER: Steven Cross - Sophomore @ Merritt Island High School 

15:48. The Merritt Island High School record for 5000 meters set by John Culver in 2007. It's a number Steven Cross has had in the back of his mind since he was a freshman last year. Coach Bill Buonanni says he could see Cross trying to process the time and figure out how fast he would have to go in order to beat it.

"You have to remember this was a guy whose best time his freshman year was 17:39. Since he asked me what the record was, I've seen nothing but extremely hard work and determination."

Strength, speed, and more knowledge of the sport have attributed to the youngster's growth over the past year. During the summer the team attended the Seminole Trails Running Camp where they had the opportunity to learn from Coach Braman and the rest of the camp coaches. Coach Buonanni uses philosophies from Braman as well as, the weight training program and racing tactics from Coach Spangler at the University of Florida. All three aspects were on display early on in the season.

The sophomore picked up his first win of the year at the Invitational Race at the flrunners.com Invitational. The decision to put him in the Race of Champions by himself or the Invitational with his team was a tough one for Buonanni. Cross opted to run with his team and ran a new personal best time of 15:51.80, the first time he had broke sixteen minutes in his high school career. That was his biggest race up until the District Championship, where he finally took down the school record

"Our District championship meet this past weekend was a special race for him He felt he could win the race but he didn’t want to hold off and just run with the lead pack and try to out-sprint everyone at the end. The weather was the best we had so far this fall so he felt he could go after the school record and his goal was to separate from the lead pack during the second mile and just keep going. It was a great race to watch."

He crossed the line in 15:46.00 five seconds better than his time at the flrunners.com Invitational and two seconds under John Culver's 15:48.00. The win is just one step in the larger goal of making states, not just as an individual, but as a team. Last year, Cross didn't advance out of regionals, finishing 45th. Coach Buonanni says this week is crucial for turning that next chapter in Mustang's history.

"These seven guys really want to get to states which is something as a team we haven’t achieved for many years.  We are slightly tapering and adding speed but we are not a high mileage program. Steven ran 500 miles in the summer and about 40 miles per week during the season. For the team to make it, we will need all 5 guys who score to have PR’s. We are in a very tough region."

Only a sophomore, the future looks bright for Cross. He will attend the Foot Locker South Regional with a few teammates this year and next the focus of his workouts will be a little different with the goal of getting him on a more elite level. Coach Buonanni says his standout runner is a coach's dream.

"Steven is a great role model, he works with all the runners. He makes sure they get the workouts in and represents all there is about our Mustang spirit. Basically, Steven is the kind of person that every coach loves to have on their team."

Steven's Athlete Profile