HIGH-SCHOOL

Fletcher's Kayley DeLay seeing sweet results from her cross-country goal-setting

Clayton Freeman
Bruce.Lipsky@jacksonville.com--12/20/14--Fletcher High's Fletcher's Kayley DeLay {cq}, 15, is the All First Coast girls cross country runner. She was photographed on the campus of the University of North Florida on Saturday, December 20, 2014, in Jacksonville, Florida. (Florida Times-Union/Bruce Lipsky)

Kayley DeLay calls it her "weird tradition."

It might be her secret weapon.

Before each race, she takes a bite of her favorite candy bar, then saves the rest for after the event. Now, Fletcher's cross country star is chomping away at the competition, one bite at a time.

The Senators sophomore charged through the pack in 2014, running nearly 20 seconds faster than any other local runner, to win honors as the Times-Union's girls cross country athlete of the year.

"It was a lot better than last season," DeLay said. "I met my goals to medal at state and break 18 minutes. My times definitely improved."

Related: All-First Coast Cross Country Team

She captured the District 1-4A girls championship and finished fourth overall in November's FHSAA Class 4A meet in Tallahassee to complete a superb sophomore campaign at Fletcher.

"She's been a really good runner for three or four years," Fletcher coach Dan Holloway said. "She had a good freshman year and really kept improving as a sophomore."

With a strong family tradition in running, cross country success might have been only a matter of time.

Her parents, Charles and Vivian, both ran cross country in high school and competed for Florida International University.

"It's really cool having parents that know a lot about it," she said.

DeLay also tried her hand - and feet - at track and soccer. So when she started her cross country career at Fletcher, she had plenty of experience covering long distances.

"I knew I'd go down the path of running, but I liked other sports," DeLay said. "I played midfield [in soccer], so I ran back and forth a lot and that helped me stand out with endurance."

She started the 2014 season in style, winning September's elite Katie Caples Invitational at Bishop Kenny High School in a top-rank performance that surprised even herself.

"I felt so excited that I did so well," she said. "I finished about seventh the year before, so when I won, I thought, 'What just happened?'"

From there, the results just kept on coming.

Among the biggest highlights of her season came at the FSU Invitational in Tallahassee, when she finished second overall in 17:58.30 for the only sub-18-minute time for an area cross country runner in 2014.

"She's very dedicated," Holloway said. "In her mind, she wants to go out and run 35 or 40 miles."

That dedication has the Senators star setting her sights on big goals for 2015.

"I want to get into the 17's [minutes] more often," she said. "I'm not far from the school record, so my goal is to break that."

Now, DeLay prepares for the next steps in her career. Like her tasty pre-race routine, the best may be yet to come.

"I like the fact that I still have two years to improve," she said.