In a way, the "districts" is a paradox. The race, which is the first level of the FHSAA championship series, is open to the top seven runners of each member school, and is comparatively easy to pass into. Getting past that first round, however, is another story. Either you do so as a member of a team that finishes (roughly) among the top half in team scoring, or you qualify as an individual, which means you must finish in the top 15 overall, team or no.
For some, it is a hurdle, for others, an obstacle, but for many, many runners, the district race is like a wall that awaits them at the end of each season, and they may run an entire high school career without having successfully broken through. This race, in particular, was a study in contrasts for those who may (or may not) have had a different end in sight.
Girls Varsity
At the rate Mary Brown was flying around Sperling Sports Complex, had she encountered a wall, her momentum would have smashed it to smithereens.
"I like to go out fast," she explained, "to get a big lead. I didn't want anyone to catch me."
As if. Although only a freshman at Orange Park High School, this 15 year old brought years of running experience to the meet.
"When I was nine, I used to run at the St. John's track after school. My dad would take me there. We saw other people training there with a man, and my dad talked to him. I started training with James May, and it went from there…"
…Back to the start.
"My (high school) coach, Clayton Anderson, tries to get me to go out in 5:45, but I end up going out faster. This time it was 5:28. I "gas out" sometimes, and slow down; like I'd go out too fast, and in the second mile I'd run slow. That happened at Katie Caples."
At that September 19th race she finished third to Lily Williams (first in the same time, 18:28, as Mary's in this D-1-4 race) and Carly Thomas (who out leaned her in the same 18:47 that Brown was credited with).
"Other times, it works out. (Such as her 18:06 eighth place finish in the FLX Race of Champions.) I've learned how to hold it to my advantage, like today. I wanted to get in the low 18s, and maybe in the 17s. But the course was hard. It was fun running on it, but the "hills" and the quick turns were hard."
By the mile, Mary had a good 20 second lead over a tight group of girls that included second place finisher, Kristen Yocom, of Winter Springs.
"I didn't even know who she was," commented the junior. "I knew there was an 18:06 girl, but I was more concerned with the third and fourth runners. (Mary Kate Ponder, (Mandarin) 19:42.56, and Bryce Seymour (Hagerty), in 19:45.84). I was pacing off them until the second mile (12:23).
"I just started breaking off ahead of them, and held my pace to the end. They surged at first, but I heard one of them--I don't know who it was--and then later I heard the spectators, who were calling off their names.
"I felt that I did what I was supposed to do, team wise. As a team, our goal was to get in front of Mandarin and Hagerty, because they were the top two teams."
Although she was12 seconds off her PR (19:26.73)--most of that was due to the course, which tends to be stingy about giving up fast times--Yokom held on to finish second overall in 19:26.73. Besides the aforementioned top four, the only other girls to break 20 were Sierra Solaun (19:55.08) and Mary Johnston (19:56.05), both from Buchholz.
Girls Team Race
Mandarin (with 77; 3-15-17-20-22-35-36) outscored Hagerty (90; 4-14-21-23-28-30-32) for the girls team championship. Flagler Palm Coast (7-9-13-27-40-47-64; 96), led by freshman Julia Schorner (7th in 20:00.05) and 5-Star Conference champion Danielle Hagins (9th in 20:21.43), was, literally, a scorer back in third. (A place, a place, a title for a place!) 114 girls finished, representing 16 teams.
Boys Varsity
Like Brown, Eduardo Garcia's athletic talents are so limitless, that this might as well be just another race. His strategy for winning, it turns out, is a metaphor for dabbling in real estate.
"…from the start, to get a good position. My goal was to get a good position and just win the race," he said during the awards ceremony.
Eduardo has successfully followed this concept in each of his three years as a Mandarin Mustang cross country runner. As a freshman, in 2007, he finished seventh in the district with a time of 16:26.65. He improved that time to 16:00.97, finishing first in 2008. This year, once again, he was the first to cross the finish line, in 16:12.55.
"There was the kid from Lyman --Sean Rynning (second in 16:23.33)--who was pretty close to me until about a mile-to-two-miles. I was at 5:08 for the mile, ten-something for two. My pace was pretty consistent."
What do you think about when you are way out in front; in other words, in a perfect position to win? The real estate between team jerseys, of course.
"In the beginning of the season our performances were not where they were supposed to be. But now the guys are really stepping up, especially this past week. They've worked hard. The Melbourne race, and now this one, have become our stepping stones. The coaching staff has helped us to prepare for races by motivating and supporting us to perform as well as we can. I feel good going in to the Regionals. They'll be at Santa Fe College in Gainseville."
Boys Still in the Run
In all three of his previous years on varsity, Brandon Earle has made it to the 4A regionals as part of his Flagler team, which finished sixth in 2008, eighth in 2007 and second in 2006 (the year they also finished second in the state meet). This year, for the first time, he got what was probably his first glimpse at "the wall."
"I ran a two mile time trial, in mid-summer, in 10:19 August 15th. I ran negative splits: 5:14, 5:05. I thought, throw in another 5:30, add 30 seconds for a tenth, and I felt that I could run a 16:20."
With that--and perhaps more--in mind, Brandon kept pushing throughout the hot summer months.
"I worked hard. I ran 70 mile weeks, and ran two-a-days. It was my last season, and I wanted to do well."
By summer's end, however, workouts seemed to be getting harder, not easier.
"It was right about when school started. I couldn't even run 40 minute workouts. So I went to see a doctor, and he gave me a blood test."
The news was not good; he had mononucleosis.
"Different people have different symptoms. The most common symptom is chronic fatigue. You have a swollen spleen. I researched it and found out that you can burst your spleen (if you exert yourself).
"I had to take off for three weeks. I did basically nothing, because you can't do anything that elevates your heart rate."
Brandon has the heart of an Earle, however, and it wouldn't allow him to be down for long.
"It was the second week in September. We (the team) were doing 800s in practice. I was biking alongside, and finally I said "I'm tired of this! I jumped off the bike and did the last two. That was about the three week interval.
"My first race back was Astronaut (September 19th). That was pretty bad; 18:18.40. I haven't run 18s since my sophomore year. I ran my first mile in 5:40 and thought I had blown a gasket. It was hot, though, and I was sick for that. I had a sinus infection."
Still, less than a month after being diagnosed with mono, he managed to finish in the top third of the field.
"After that, I took off a couple of times, but got in my practices where I could. I focused on my practices because, if you want to race well, you have to put in your practices.
"Our team's next race was Bartram Trail (October 10th). I didn't run. I helped Coach Virgil at getting splits.
"My next race was pre-state (October 17th). I ran 17:01. That was pretty good. Jason (Lust) broke 17 (16:53.79). Ali (Sayed) was 17:11. Pretty much everyone ran their fastest time. Our team did really well too (sixth of 25 teams, with 211 points).
"(A week later) We were in Lake City--Halliday used to coach there at Columbia High School--for the Greater North Florida Invitational (October 24th). The course is really nice. It's in Alligator Lake State Park. The majority of the course is away from the spectators."
"You never see the same spot twice," added Jason Lust.
Brandon was seventh of 66 finishers (17:23.29), and FPC finished second to Bartram Trail.
"The (5 Star) Conference Championship was one I want to forget. I guess I came in with the (wrong) mind set. I was thinking about how my brother (Andrew, who graduated in 2007) was able to run under difficult circumstances.
"Andrew ran here (districts) his junior year and finished tenth in 17:03. At the state meet he ran 16:31 and collapsed at the finish line. His senior year, he ran a 16:29, and we didn't realize until regionals that it was on a broken foot. He had a lot of pain tolerance. He never left anything on the course. He's my brother and I want to do that. I've never pushed myself to the full limits."
Brandon challenged Chris Rudloff, the eventual winner in 16:20.74 (his third 5 Star victory), but faded to eleventh, finishing in 17:42.30.
On his return to Sperling Sports Complex, the same site at the 5 Star meet, he ran a totally different race, and with spectacular results. He let Garcia go, tagging along to make a group of four that was led by Lyman's Rynning. He let him go too, when the pace quickened.
As the finish line came up, it was Peter Licari (Hagerty) and Earle. Licari won the footrace that ensued, finishing in 16:40.08. Brandon, however, in a race against an illness that could have ended his season, set a personal best (16:41.92) to finish fourth overall in one of the toughest districts in Florida. He never gave the wall a chance.
Boys Team Race
Lyman (2-5-16-18-19-24-26; 60) held off a strong challenge by Mandarin (1-11-14-23-30-33-60; 79) to emerge as the team champion. Flagler fought back from a disappointment at their conference meet to finish third (4-10-13-35-39-45-59;101). 112 boys ran, and 17 teams scored.
Footnotes: Andrew Epifanio, in what could have been his last varsity cross country race, laid claim to the last qualifying spot (fifteenth place; in 16:55.83), thus becoming the sole individual qualifier (of 226 finishers in the boys and girls [combined] races) to move on to the FHSAA 4A Region Qualifier….Congratulations (and thank you!) to coaches Jim Lowenstein and Dale Papineau, and the many parents and volunteers who sponsored three spectacular meets this season….And so concludes the final story of the District 1-4A season without having once mentioned the phrase "District of Death!" Ooops.
In a way, the "districts" is a paradox. The race, which is the first level of the FHSAA championship series, is open to the top seven runners of each member school, and is comparatively easy to pass into. Getting past that first round, however, is another story. Either you do so as a member of a team that finishes (roughly) among the top half in team scoring, or you qualify as an individual, which means you must finish in the top 15 overall, team or no.
For some, it is a hurdle, for others, an obstacle, but for many, many runners, the district race is like a wall that awaits them at the end of each season, and they may run an entire high school career without having successfully broken through. This race, in particular, was a study in contrasts for those who may (or may not) have had a different end in sight.
Girls Varsity