Most Memorable Track Moments 

The best of the best from 2011.

Charlotte Boys 4x8: US #2 All-Time - The Charlotte Boys 4x800 relay headed to North Carolina with hopes of bringing home a national championship. Anthony Borrego, Bryan Hilgar, Ryan Schnulle, and Tyler Cardillo came up just shy to an all-star team from Long Beach, California, but have plenty to brag about. Ryan Schnulle brought the group from fourth place to first where he handed off the baton to Tyler Cardillo who ran a 1:50.08 anchor leg to give the group a time of 7:30.31, the fastest time in state history and the second fastest time in U.S. history.

Arman Hall Wins World Youth Championship - Arman Hall proved he is not just the best 400 meter runner in Florida, not just the best in the USA... he is the best youth quarter-miler in the world! The St. Thomas Aquinas rising senior won gold at the IAAF World Youth Championships in France this with a 46.01 performance. That is a new personal best and places him #3 All-Time by a Florida high schooler, behind Xavier Carter and Geno White (the only two to ever go under 46).

Bracy Dazzles In Oregon: 10:05 At Juniors, All-Conditions US#2 All-Time - After running an eye popping 10.16 in the prelim Bracy wasn't satisfied. He had less than an hour to get ready for the 100 meter finals. He says during that time he just rested his legs before it was time to warm up. In the finals Bracy definitely showed out winning the national championship in a smoking time of 10.05. That is the second best all-conditions time EVER for an American high schooler.

Quarter-Mile For The Ages - Arman Hall, Dedric Dukes, and Hugh Graham Jr. lived up to the legacy of Bob "Bullet" Hayes at the Bob Hayes Invitational. The trio wasted no time going at it and a little over 46 seconds later when it was all over... no one in the stands knew who won. After the roar and woots wore down some minutes later, then everyone began to reflect on what they just watched:  one of the greatest 400 meter battles in Florida history!  ALL THREE runners bolted into 46.6 range in a photo finish with less than a tenth separating them. After no doubt much booth review it was finally determined that Hall was the winner by the thousanths place over Dukes--both with 46.61 officially--and Graham was just eight hundreths back in 46.69.

St. Thomas Aquinas/Miami Northwestern 4x4 Epic Battles - Every time these two teams got on the track you know it would be blazing.  The two groups came down to the wire in South Florida at Louie Bing and Sam Burley, and at Bob Hayes, UF Relays, and state, where the winning foursome ultimately determined the team champion!

Del-Valle Turns Out Distance Triple - The FSU freshman capped off a stellar high school career with three gold medals at the 4A state meet. Del Valle used a powerful kick in the anchor leg of the 4x800 to bring it home for the win. Later in the day he came back with an impressive individual double in the 1600 (4:09.49) a new personal best, and a new season best 9:09.08 in the 3200. Both times are state bests.

Quadruple Gold For Freeman and Reynolds - Current UCF freshman Octavious Freeman capped off one of the most memorable high school careers in Florida history winning four gold medals in the 2A State Championships. She won the 100 (11.77), 200 (23.64), long jump (18-10.5), and anchored the team's winning 4x100 relay.  Reynolds picked up four golds at the 3A State Championships to bring her three year total to 11. She repeated in the 100 (11.67), 200 (23.95), 400 (53.91), and long jump (19-11). She could become the most decorated high school track and field athlete in the state if she collects four more golds in 2012.

Makusha Takes Home College Track & Field's Top Honor - FSU star Ngoni Makusha won the Bowerman Award which is track and field's equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. At the NCAA Championships Makusha won the 100 in an NCAA record time of 9.89, posted the second best mark in the world for the long jump,, and added a 4x100 title as well. 
 

Most Memorable Cross Country Moments

The best of the best from 2011.
 

Belen Jesuit Proves Worthy Of National Ranking- Belen Jesuit won their fourth state title in five years and take on the nations' top teams for an encore. After winning Nike Southeast by 52 points over their nearest competitor the Wolverines headed to Portland. Elliot Clemente was the top finisher coming in 20th place out of 199 runners. Belen Jesuit finished in 20th place in the team standings.

Florida Sends Four To Foot Locker Nationals - The Sunshine State was well represented in San Diego. Olivia Ortiz led a contingent of three girls and one guy with a 19th place finish. Bridget Blake and Lily Williams also made the trip out west with Chris Godwin who had the opportunity to go finishing 11th at the regional. Ortiz and Blake return in the 2012 cross country season and hope to make it back to Foot Locker Nationals along with a new crop of Florida runners.

Daniel Moore Sets Great American Course Record - Over the summer Coach Doug Butler said his squad was one of theh deepest he has had and to watch out for Daniel Moore because, "he was going to shock some people this year." The Holy Trinity senior did just that when put up the fastest time of any male runner in 2011. His time of 14:57.60 to win the prestigious Great American Cross Country Festival was also a new course record for the event beating out the likes of Alan Webb and former Florida greats Armando Del-Valle, Ryan Deak, and Brian Atkinson.

Pre-State Surprises: Ortiz Over Williams, Arroyo Outdoes Clemente- Lily Williams was one of the most consistent runners throughout her high school career so it came as a shock when a junior from Lakewood Ranch passed her coming up the green monster at Little Everglades Ranch. Olivia Ortiz used her powerful kick to win in an impressive time of 17:45. If one "upset" wasn't enough Andres Arroyo provided round two. The Colonial junior said all season long he wanted to be mentioned with the best the state had to offer and at Pre-State he proved it. Arroyo played mind games with Belen senior Elliot Clemente throwing in surges periodically and used that mental edge to run a new personal best time of 14:59.18 just off Jimmy Clark's course record.

Battle For The Team Trophy:  As exciting as the race to cross the finish individually, the quest for a team title proved even more interesting. In the 3A girls race which was pegged as the most competitive from the get go it appeared to be a battle between Chiles who were looking for their fourth consecutive state title and Estero who was the reigning 2A champ and newest member to 3A. Chiles saw Lily Williams, Carly Thomas, and Rachel Givens all cross the line before Estero's Kacy Smith, but it was the depth of Estero's number four and five runners that proved to be the difference. The 4A girls race had the next three fastest times of any teams. Four points separated the winner Plant from third place St. Thomas Aquinas.  Ferguson which finished second with 75 points was just two points away from a title.
 

Gone Too Soon

The people and things we'll miss and never forget...

Jeff Wentworth and Steeple Timing
In December we received the shocking news that distinguished timer and servant of the sport, Jeff Wentworth passed away unexpectedly. A few weeks later his wife Marcia announced that Steeple Timing, one of the most prolific timing companies over the past decade in Florida, would be closing its doors.

Jimmy Carnes
Former University of Florida coach and founder of the legendary Florida Track Club, Jimmy Carnes, lost his battle with cancer. The impact of his long career spanning four decades was felt deeply both in Florida and across the country.

State Meets at Showalter Field
The FHSAA awarded the state met to UNF after a long tradition at Showalter Field spanning back to the 1970s. Winter Park, weary from the years of hard work in putting on the state championship, decided not put in a bid to renew as host. The state meet moves on to a beautiful new facility at UNF, but its sad to see it depart from the history-filled hallowed ground at Showlater!

flrunners.com Primetime
I'm being half factitious by including this, but after one year of hosting the flrunners.com Primetime meet we decided to suspend it. It was a well-received, fun, but money-losing event that saw some fast times and non-standard events. Chin up, it may possibly be reborn in future years!

Taking High School Sports for Granted
2011 was a wake up call for those of us who believe our high school seasons are safe from budget cuts. It was originally announced in March that all sports would be cut in Duval County, that was later revised to only cutting some sports including cross country, before finally a local effort headed by 1^st Place Sports saved the season. But one thing not saved was our days of naïve bliss where we believed that our sports were an integral part of the high school experience that no one would dare put on the chopping block.

Coaches

The coaches who made a big mark in 2011...

Roy Harrison Wins 10^th Girls Title
Coach Roy Harrison has guided a strong resurgence of the Plant girls program, which was dominant in the 1990s, and notched his tenth cross country state championship. His team used tremendous depth to overcome a hotly competitive 4A field. The win widened his lead as the winning-most Florida girls coach in history and tied him with the legendary Brent Haley for the most single-gender cross country championships.

Doug Butler Records 11^th Team Championship
With the Holy Trinity boys winning another 1A title, that gave Coach Doug Butler his 11^th title between his five boys and six girls team cross country state meet wins. The victory moved him to the top of the all-time combined list over Gary Droze of Maclay, Brent Haley of Largo, and Roy Harrison of Plant.

UM Coach Amy Deem Named to Head Coach of London Olympic Team
The Hurricane's head womens' track & field coach, Amy Deem, was selected to head Team USA's women's team at the 2012 London Olympics. Deem has guided the UM women for the past twenty years.

Coach Frankie Ruiz of Belen Caps Season by Opening Running Store
It was a good year for Miami Belen Jesuit coach Frankie Ruiz. The season saw Ruiz and the team being nationally ranked in the top ten, winning the state championship in dominant fashion, winning NXN Southeast, and being named Florida Dairy Farmers Coach of the Year. Less than a month after NXN Nationals, the coach and Miami Marathon meet director opened the door to his new Miami running store, SoleRUNNERS.

Miami Northwestern Coach Carmen Jackson Wins 8^th Girls Track Title
One of the most dominant track & field dynasties in the country over the past decade, Miami Northwestern seems just about unstoppable most years. The team earned back-to-back 4A Championships the past two seasons to give Coach Carmen Jackson eight in her career. The team has been in the top two at state for 13 out of the last 15 seasons.