Florida placed four girls in the top ten at Foot Locker South in North Carolina. The top ten qualifying spots earn a trip to Foot Locker Nationals in San Diego.
Kathy Kroeger (the defending national champion from Tennessee) finished first. Kroeger just beat Kayla Hale to the line, both crossing in 16:56--it was so close many watching did not know who the victor was until much later. Emilie Amaro and Brittany Koziara were reportedly in 3rd and 4th (16:58, 16:59). And Ashley Brasovan, broke the McAlpine Park jinx to qualify in 6th place in 17:07. Brasovan, of course, was favored to win but on this course for her qualifying alone is a big win!
It may be a first for Florida to have four qualifiers in one gender and Koziara's finish is especially surprising. Koziara was given an outside shot by many to make the top ten, and fourth place is an incredible feat over some amazing competition like Aurora Scott (VA) and Emily Reese (GA). With Amanda Perkins' 21st place 18:04, the Florida girls appear to have the team title wrapped up as we await official results.
Kyle Cooke was the top Florida boys finisher with a time of 15:25 for 18th place, very respectable. Top Florida hopeful Joseph Franklin apparenly did not have his finest day and as well back in the pack.
MileSplit had a large staff on site, so check out all the really great coverage from this weekend's meet.
Photos:
Photo Album #3 (this one will have over 1600 Photos of all races)
Photo Album #4 (all races but senior boys, over 2500 photos)
Race Videos:
Girls Seeded | Girls Seeded Finish (New Angle) | Girls Seeded Finish (Slow Mo) | Boys Seeded | Junior Boys | Fresh/Soph Girls | Jr/Sr Girls | Soph Boys | Fresh Boys | Open Race |
Interview Videos:
Girls Seeded Race Summary
Ashley Brasovan, who apparently determined not to suffer the same fate at McAlpine that she endured the past two years by being caught back in the pack, took it out quickly from the gun. Even before the first mile, she had a small gap on the chase pack as she held on to the second place position behind another athlete (who would later fade). By the half way point in the race it was Ashley setting the pace, and she had a good 5 meter gap on the rest of the field.
By this point, the race had thinned out such that there was a clear front pack which included Brasovan, Kayla Hale, Emilie Amaro, Kathy Kroeger (defending national champ from Tennessee), Brittany Koziara, and Aurora Scott (defending national runner-up from Virginia). While Brasovan pushed the pace early, Kroeger, Hale, Amaro, and Scott switched off for the runner-up position and Koziara hung on for the ride.
During the last mile Aurora Scott briefly took over the lead while Brasovan's early pace started to catch up with her and she moved to the back of the lead pack. With about a half mile to go Kathy Kroeger started to turn it on and surged to the front of the pack. She took this lead into the final stretch and looked to have the race in the bag. Emilie Amaro was in second place with Kayla Hale in third with about 100 meters to go. 
Kayla then turned on the jets and while Kroeger cruised toward the line, she suddenly had company and both were kicking and leaning for the finish line. With a bit of controversy and a bit of contact of outstretched arms near the finish line, it was determine on video review that it was Kathy Kroeger who would go home with the South Region crown. Many watching the battle at the finish line did not know who won for hours until final results were published/announced.
In the end, Emilie Amaro held on to third, Brittany Koziara beat out Aurora Scott for fourth, and Ashley Brasovan broke the jinx and rounded out Florida's six national qualifiers with a 6th place performance. Behind Brasovan was nothing but daylight for about 20 seconds--the top six had put on quite a show and gapped the rest of the pack substantially. This is the kind of race you don't forget!
After the race Kayla said that her coach (Doug Butler) had been telling her she had a chance to win it, but she didn't really believe it. Just going for the qualifying spot, suddenly it was when the finish line (and the leader) was in sight that she thought oh wow maybe I do! And That's when she went for it and gave Kroeger a solid scare. Had she have realized it a bit sooner, who knows! But it's sure a big confidence booster for Hale going into Nationals in two weeks.
Go Florida! Four qualifiers is superb and I suppose the "Big Three" now has to become the "Big Four"! Great job to Brittany on her HUGE PR. Emilie and Kayla's times were also PRs. Mandy Perkins' 21st place also gave the Florida girls the "state team title" with the best top five team score of any other state in the region.
Summary of Florida Results
Seeded Girls 5K2 Kayla Hale (11) Indialantic, FL 16:56
3 Emilie Amaro (12) Fort Lauderdale, FL 16:58
4 Brittany Koziara (11) Orlando, FL 16:59
6 Ashley Brasovan (11) West Palm Beach, FL 17:07
21 Mandy Perkins (11) Ormond Beach, FL 18:04
29 Devin Spoerle (12) Titusville, FL 18:15
49 Katrina Skinner (12) Tampa, FL 18:34
62 Juliana Stern (11) Melbourne, FL 18:50
64 Callie Cooper (11) Saint Augustine, FL 18:52
93 Chloe Kowalski (12) Pensacola, FL 19:23
106 Katie Russo (10) Fort Myers, FL 19:39
107 Chelsi Woodruff (10) Winter Park, FL 19:40
126 Kesia Derilus (12) West Palm Beach, FL 20:13
141 Marjorie Ducos (10) Orlando, FL 21:23
Seeded Boys 5K
18 Kyle Cooke (12) Melbourne, FL 15:25
28 Eric Larson (12) Pensacola, FL 15:32
30 Brian Atkinson (10) Melbourne Beach, FL 15:34 ** Top Sophomore Boy Overall**
37 Guillerno Echarte (12) Miami, FL 15:40
40 Michael Wallace (10) Jacksonville, FL 15:41
50 John Culver (12) Merritt Island, FL 15:48
60 Daniel Manco (12) Miami, FL 15:53
79 Cameron Dickerson (12) Jacksonville, FL 16:01
82 Nathaniel Duby (12) Winter Springs, FL 16:03
87 Johnathan Esteban (12) Jacksonville, FL 16:06
90 Jacob Brooks (12) Fort Myers, FL 16:07
91 Bryan Suarez (12) Okeechobee, FL 16:07
96 Phillip Wise (12) Gainesville, FL 16:10
97 Lanning Jonathan (11) Sarasota, FL 16:10
111 Alex Schanen (12) Jacksonville Beach, FL 16:19
116 Alvaro Castillo (12) Hollywood, FL 16:21
119 Joseph Franklin (12) Tallahassee, FL 16:23
146 Michael Burke (12) Boca Raton, FL 16:35
157 Colin Barker (10) Atlantic Beach, FL 16:40
160 Brian Alexander (11) Naples, FL 16:41
166 Joe Dorfman (11) Miami, FL 16:43
172 Sean Foster (12) Worthington Springs, FL 16:47
176 Kevin Bonilla (11) Fort Lauderdale, FL 16:49
177 Jeremy Wynn (12) Vero Beach, FL 16:49
207 Carter Robertson (11) Gainesville, FL 17:05
209 Aaron Koch (12) Valrico, FL 17:06
216 Gregory Doyle (11) Jacksonville, FL 17:11
228 Matthew Mizereck (10) Tallahassee, FL 17:23
229 Jake Cuevas (11) Milton, FL 17:24
241 Alyn Wesley (12) Gainesville, FL 17:43
242 Hunter Hayes (10) Jacksonville, FL 17:47
243 Kenneth Humphreys (10) Milton, FL 17:51
245 Jordan Maren (12) Gainesville, FL 17:53
248 Travis Duffy (11) West Palm Beach, FL 17:56
10 & Under Boys 3K
13 Blaine Thomas Tallahassee, FL 13:28
26 Alejandro Lucena (4) Fort Lauderdale, FL 15:20
11-12 Boys 3K
16 David Schafer (7) Ocala, FL 12:04
11-12 Girls 3K
7 Brianna Wahy (7) Melbourne, FL 12:43
10 Mackenzie Dummer (7) Melbourne, FL 12:55
28 Brooke Mastmeier (7) Bonita Springs, FL 14:48
32 Tabitha Simpson (6) North Port, FL 16:01
13-14 Boys 3K
3 Elliot Clemente (8) Miami, FL 9:55
5 Branden Martinez (8) Miami, FL 10:07
9 Brent Scott (8) Naples, FL 10:21
13 Ryan Larson (8) Pensacola, FL 10:30
24 Kyle Groh (7) Saint Petersburg, FL 10:58
28 Kyler Kathman (8) Port Orange, FL 11:03
35 Billy Young (8) Jacksonville, FL 11:19
54 William Cook (8) Naples, FL 12:08
71 Taylor Roberts (8) Micanopy, FL 13:25
13-14 Girls 3K
3 Mallory White (7) Lakeland, FL 11:29
9 Carly Thomas (8) Tallahassee, FL 11:52
32 Ashlynn Straughan (8) North Port, FL 13:31
35 Maria Seravalli (8) Daytona Beach, FL 13:39
45 Emily Scott (8) Fort Myers, FL 14:37
50 Bryce Seymour (7) Oviedo, FL 15:43
51 Emily Nabong (8) Winter Haven, FL 15:58
53 Jessica Pearson (7) Tallahassee, FL 17:24
Freshman Boys 5K
2 Peter Fricke (9) Pensacola, FL 16:18
4 Eduardo Garcia (9) Jacksonville, FL 16:21
5 Ryan Pickering (9) West Palm Beach, FL 16:23
17 David Kilgore (9) Palm Bay, FL 17:01
21 Campbell Arnold (9) Pensacola, FL 17:11
29 Ryan Stafford (9) Fort Myers, FL 17:17
34 Trent Craig (9) FL 17:29
48 Michael Rosenbach (9) Tampa, FL 17:46
56 Ian Bordelon (9) Pensacola, FL 17:58
60 Eric Portalatin (9) Jacksonville, FL 18:01
61 Luke Hileman (9) Pensacola, FL 18:05
97 Adam Cooke (9) Melbourne, FL 18:43
98 Nicholas Ruiz (9) Miami, FL 18:44
102 Jace Boatwright (9) Pensacola, FL 18:48
109 Peter Van Brussel (9) Pensacola, FL 19:04
114 Ross Richardson (9) Pensacola, FL 19:15
141 Zachary Sjodin (9) Pensacola, FL 20:50
150 Timothy Altimari (9) Tampa, FL 22:32
151 Victor Velazquez (9) Miami, FL 23:57
153 Wesly Ham (9) Cape Coral, FL 25:26
Freshman/Sophomore Girls 5K
13 Melissa Jones (10) Rockledge, FL 19:22
21 Ruth Ashley (10) Longwood, FL 19:33
24 Grace Vandegrift (9) Valrico, FL 19:38
31 Teresa Ristow (9) Melbourne, FL 19:49
34 Kathleen Grossman (10) Vero Beach, FL 19:52
39 Kaitlyn Martin (10) Fort Myers, FL 19:58
40 Juliette Gourdet (10) Fort Myers, FL 19:58
51 Meghan Roberts (10) Micanopy, FL 20:12
76 Sarah Spann (9) Fort Myers, FL 20:40
84 Carole Idolphine (9) Fort Myers, FL 20:51
102 Danielle Scaffidi (10) North Port, FL 21:14
104 Alexandra Pearson (9) Tallahassee, FL 21:23
110 Ashley Seymour (10) Oviedo, FL 21:34
111 Lexie Goldberger (10) Tampa, FL 21:35
119 Julie Neal (9) Gainesville, FL 21:51
122 Sammie Penney (10) Vero Beach, FL 21:58
137 Payge Quinn (10) Fort Myers, FL 22:24
142 Sara Scott (10) Fort Myers, FL 22:34
148 Alexis Mastmeier (10) Naples, FL 22:40
153 Kayla Smutney (10) Lehigh Acres, FL 22:58
154 Morgan Lee (9) Longwood, FL 23:00
162 Katie Bonilla (9) Fort Lauderdale, FL 23:25
163 Coral Robinson (10) Merritt Island, FL 23:30
174 Caela Hronowski (9) Cape Coral, FL 23:57
179 Katie Parry (10) Satellite Beach, FL 24:41
180 Shelley Markgraf (10) Cape Coral, FL 24:44
181 Abbey Hafer (10) Cape Coral, FL 24:52
Sophomore Boys 5K
23 Sean Rynning (10) Longwood, FL 16:31
30 Joshua Estrada (10) Miami, FL 16:51
41 James Stern (10) Melbourne, FL 17:06
43 Michael Viviano (10) Sanford, FL 17:08
51 Christopher Haynes (10) Jacksonville, FL 17:20
55 Austin Wilkins (10) Pensacola, FL 17:21
73 Troy Kearney (10) Gainesville, FL 17:35
75 Ben Jernigan (10) Micanopy, FL 17:37
79 Greg Frye (10) Port Orange, FL 17:42
88 Justin Springhart (10) Oviedo, FL 18:00
91 Fransua Estrada (10) Eagle Lake, FL 18:03
93 Ryan Markowski (10) Jacksonville, FL 18:04
104 Keith Scott (10) Naples, FL 18:11
142 Christopher Barton (10) Orange Lake, FL 19:11
146 Nicholas Padinha (10) Rockledge, FL 19:16
156 Arthur Williams (10) Tallahassee, FL 19:31
160 Paul Ramsey (10) Altamonte Springs, FL 19:57
163 Fin Mason (10) Fort Myers, FL 20:04
165 Kyle Hay (10) Cape Coral, FL 20:08
181 William Woodford (10) Tampa, FL 21:22
183 Jason Morton (10) Fort Myers, FL 21:27
Junior Boys 5K
6 Bret Butler (11) Rockledge, FL 16:04
8 Donald Davis III (11) Pensacola, FL 16:07
18 John Grellner (11) Tampa, FL 16:19
32 Joseph Elsakr (11) Daytona Beach, FL 16:41
33 Lawrence Duran (11) Miami, FL 16:43
38 Zack Kovacik (11) Cape Coral, FL 16:47
39 Ryan Davis (11) Hollywood, FL 16:48
69 Lazaro Fields (11) Miami, FL 17:12
73 Thadeus Simpson (11) North Port, FL 17:13
84 Kevin Hall (11) Satellite Beach, FL 17:26
90 Steven Schiff (11) Satellite Beach, FL 17:32
129 Christian Ritacco (11) Crestview, FL 18:07
165 Cory Burris (11) Boca Raton, FL 18:57
166 Dylan Clark (11) Melbourne, FL 18:57
185 Robert Scarpantonio (11) North Fort Myers, FL 20:34
Junior/Senior Girls 5K
13 Mariana Lucena (11) Fort Lauderdale, FL 19:19
15 Kara Taylor (12) Tallahassee, FL 19:22
22 Kathia Skinner (12) Tampa, FL 19:35
23 Candice McNaughton (12) Melbourne, FL 19:36
24 Allie Prendergast (12) Orlando, FL 19:37
27 Lyndsey Spragins (12) Indialantic, FL 19:39
34 Danielle Todd (12) Indialantic, FL 19:46
40 Kaia Hampton (11) Tallahassee, FL 19:56
42 Emily LaBarbera (11) Cape Coral, FL 19:57
51 Jennifer West (12) Cape Coral, FL 20:05
67 Amber Barbaresi (12) Fort Walton Beach, FL 20:31
70 Alisa Kowaleski (12) Rockledge, FL 20:39
75 Julie Cupka (12) Orange City, FL 20:44
79 Sammi Ernest (11) Pensacola, FL 20:53
80 Lyndsey Nichols (12) Hollywood, FL 20:53
99 Macy Fricke (11) Pensacola, FL 21:36
144 Renee Erickson (11) Cape Coral, FL 23:50
147 Ashley Robert (11) Pensacola, FL 24:11
149 Emily Lane Tallahassee, FL 24:19
150 Samantha DeMello (12) Fort Myers, FL 24:46
151 Zephany Luzarraga (11) Cape Coral, FL 24:47
154 Gretchen Varenholt (12) Pensacola, FL 27:28
158 Emily Trawicki (12) Milton, FL 32:12
Senior Boys 5K
10 Eric Dansky (12) Fort Lauderdale, FL 16:14
36 Josh Brown (12) Tallahassee, FL 16:45
39 Lewis Coleman (12) Ormond Beach, FL 16:49
49 Kyle Carufe (12) Naples, FL 16:55
50 Phillip Diamond (12) Casselberry, FL 16:55
59 Jason Thomsen (12) Winter Haven, FL 17:04
83 Richard Gaines (12) Ormond Beach, FL 17:21
89 Michael Yanuchi (12) Middleburg, FL 17:25
92 Matthew Altimari (12) Tampa, FL 17:26
93 Jonathan Bing (12) Vero Beach, FL 17:27
94 James Meyers (12) Naples, FL 17:27
95 Mark Dugger (12) Hawthorne, FL 17:27
96 Alex Frazier (12) Daytona Beach, FL 17:28
113 Edward Pearch (12) Jacksonville, FL 17:48
133 Douglas Chacon (12) Miami, FL 18:05
137 Christopher Wiegers (12) Palm Beach Gardens, FL 18:09
140 Ryan Mills (12) Cape Coral, FL 18:12
142 Kyle Van Doorn (12) Ormond Beach, FL 18:14
150 Blake Sobczak Fort Myers, FL 18:19
157 Steven Flemmer (12) Jacksonville, FL 18:25
163 Michael Silva (12) Merritt Island, FL 18:32
166 Andrew Garfield (12) Fairfield, FL 18:38
177 Sean-David Bos (12) Fort Myers, FL 18:46
180 Anthony Johnson (12) Cape Coral, FL 18:55
184 Alex Hyyti (12) Fort Myers, FL 19:09
194 Tony Berardi (12) Cape Coral, FL 20:04
195 Alexander Baumgartner (12) Naples, FL 20:18
196 Edumnd Nabong (12) Winter Haven, FL 20:23
198 Chris Johnson (12) Micanopy, FL 20:28
201 Alex Tenreiro (12) Naples, FL 21:14
203 Joshua Crawford (12) Winter Springs, FL 21:58
Masters Men 5K
10 Joe Monks Deerfield Beach, FL 18:33
21 Barry Jones Rockledge, FL 19:35
29 Herbert Taskett Jacksonville, FL 20:57
30 Dan Holloway Atlantic Beach, FL 21:01
51 Dirk Nyren Boca Raton, FL 26:16
Open Men 5K
6 Everett Whiteside Pensacola, FL 15:43
15 Jeffrey Palmer Orange Park, FL 16:04
20 Francisco Garcia Jr Jacksonville, FL 16:19
24 Noe Pena Cape Coral, FL 16:29
34 Robert Strong Fort Myers, FL 16:56
39 Joshua Brooks Fort Myers, FL 17:10
51 Kyle Weeks Orlando, FL 17:28
61 Travis Nichols Hollywood, FL 18:07
68 Todd Borden Naples, FL 19:13
69 Brian Bell Melbourne, FL 19:20
70 Eric Nelson Pensacola, FL 19:25
Open Women 5K
7 Jessica Stern Melbourne, FL 19:20
12 Kelly Britton Lehigh Acres, FL 19:43
21 Casey Hasten Cape Coral, FL 22:35
25 Meagan Ritacco Crestview, FL 25:00
32 Lindsay Gualario Naples, FL 28:22
Florida placed four girls in the top ten at Foot Locker South in North Carolina. The top ten qualifying spots earn a trip to Foot Locker Nationals in San Diego.
Kathy Kroeger (the defending national champion from Tennessee) finished first. Kroeger just beat Kayla Hale to the line, both crossing in 16:56--it was so close many watching did not know who the victor was until much later. Emilie Amaro and Brittany Koziara were reportedly in 3rd and 4th (16:58, 16:59). And Ashley Brasovan, broke the McAlpine Park jinx to qualify in 6th place in 17:07. Brasovan, of course, was favored to win but on this course for her qualifying alone is a big win!