There aren't many female cross country coaches guiding boys teams around the state. That didn't deter Father Lopez coach Sue O'Malley. O'Malley, a runner in her own right who dove into unchartered waters for the Green Wave as they won their first district, regional, and state titles EVER in 2015.
We polled the running community to see who they thought deserved to be the Florida Boys XC Coach of the Year and the 9th year coach (4th at the helm of the boys) won with an overwhelming 1,052 votes or 53.21% of the nearly 2,000 total votes.
"In four years we made it to regions as a team for the first time in this century. Then the next year we made it to states and finished 22nd and then last year finished 10th and now this Cinderella season for us."
Coach Vinal of 2A state champion Trinity Prep finished second in the voting with over 37 percent of the vote (732 votes) You can't say enough of the way the Saints performed in 2015 winning their third 2A state championship and then in the postseason as Avery Creek Running Club finishing second at NXN SE and advancing to Nike Nationals in Portland.
Coach Frank at Creekside captured the 3A state championship and brings back a loaded team for 2016, while Coach Joe Hazera at St. Thomas Aquinas guided the Raiders to their 2nd state title since 2015 in his first year as the team's leader.
We congratulate all four coaches as well as the rest of the coaches across the state on their successful 2015 seasons.
Want to know what it takes to coach a championship team? Check out our full in-depth interview with Coach O'Malley for a look at the teams journey from summer training to on top of the podium!