South Florida's Fast Five From Week 4: Ali Del Re, Deshay Fernandes, Dismantle Fields At Spanish River Inv.

South Florida's Fastest 5 Boys

Deshay Fernandes (Junior, Columbus)


Christopher Columbus's, Deshay Fernandes, is back on top with the fastest performance in south Florida this week. Two weeks ago we saw Fernandes make the top 5 performances for south Florida by winning the Miami Dade Youth Fair meet and opening up his season with a 16:25. This week he is back and comes in first place again but with a 27 second drop in time. Fernandes ran a 15:58.92 to win the 3A/4A race this past Saturday at the 34th annual, Spanish River cross country invite. Running that time not only added another individual victory for him but also set a new personal best. He also broke that 16 minute mark so many runners strive to break. 

Last week Fernandes ended up taking a demanding lead at the King of The Hill meet down in Miami and lead for most of the race. Towards the end, Joshua Collins, from Belen Jesuit ended up passing Fernandes and won the race. Since Fernandes is getting in the grove of racing again, he didn't race as smart as he could've but like any talented runner you learn and become better. Here's what Fernandes had to say about his race this week "So basically I strategized it better, more or less I knew that Joshua Collins is a very consistent runner and I'm not so consistent. I knew that if I stayed with him, that he would be able to push me through and I would be able to push him through." Fernandes felt great during the race and had a positive mindset which he needed to out kick Collins by a second.

Joshua Collins (Junior, Belen Jesuit)

For this week's south Florida top five performances, Joshua Collins, from Belen Jesuit was the second best performer. He came in second with a time of 15:59.84 for the 3A/4A race at the 34th annual, Spanish River cross country invite. It's becoming a trend for Collins and Christopher Columbus's, Deshay Fernandes, to exchange victories every week now. Last week Collins beat Fernandes at the King of The Hill meet and started another win streak. Unfortunately this week he didn't get another victory but if Collins had another 100 meters, he might have beat Fernandes at the line. Collins had a strong kick at the end of the race but just not enough room to steal a win. It was still an exciting race to watch and after running that time, Collins is only seven seconds away from his personal best which is a 15:52 from last year's cross country season.   

Josh Skielnik (Junior, Jupiter Christian)

Next up on the top 5 performances of the week for south Florida is Jupiter Christian's, Josh Skielnik. Skielnik came in second at the 34th annual, Spanish River cross country invite for the 1A/2A race. He ran a 16:05.10 and set a new personal best as well as placing third on the top five performances for this week. Early last week, Skielnik won the Benjamin School Meet #2 but his race at the Spanish River invite was a lot better because he ran over a minute faster.

Sean Breslin (Senior, St. Thomas Aquinas)

Coming in fourth for this week's south Florida top five performances is senior, Sean Breslin, from St. Thomas Aquinas. Breslin opened up his season at the 34th annual, Spanish River cross country invite, running a time of 16.12.74. Running this time and placing third in the 3A/4A race helped his team take home a victory. That time also set a new personal best for Breslin.

Nicholas Rischar (Junior, St. Thomas Aquinas)

Making the list for south Florida's top five performances and coming in fifth is, Nick Rischar, from St. Thomas Aquinas. Rischar ran great with his teammate, Sean Breslin, throughout the entire race as they were stride for stride with each other. Rischar set a new personal best by running a 16:14.75 and helped his team win by placing fourth in the 3A/4A race.