(Photo by Jeremy Danzie)
Chiles coach Scott Gowan is one of the winningest coaches XC and track coaches in state history, leading his girls team to the 3A state title in 2015 and his boys team to a runner-up title after the boys won in 2014 and the girls took second. This is his fourth state championship on the girl's side in his tenure at Chiles after leading the team to title wins in 2008-2010.
After losing to Niceville in the 3A-1 regional meet by 9 points, Chiles bounced back to win the state title, scoring 61 points to Niceville's 109. McGowan also guided Chiles' top runner Emma Tucker to a third place finish at the state finals and win at the FACA Senior All-Star Classic.
We polled the running community to see who they thought deserved to be the Florida Girls XC Coach of the Year and the coach narrowly won with a 539 votes or 42.61% of the vote, beating out Bolles' Tony Ryan. Coach Ryan led Bolles to its fourth consecutive title in 2A, as well as a third place finish at NXN Southeast under the Bulldog XC Club.
Coach McWilliams lead Winter Park to its second consecutive title in 4A and a seventh place finish at NXN Southeast under the name Park XC Club while Coach Caulfield lead Circle Christian to its first state title in school history.
We congratulate all four coaches as well as the rest of the coaches across the state on their successful 2015 seasons.
