Great job to everyone!  Our first track meet of the year was held in Gainesville today... and our only indoor meet in the Sunshine State this year!  Thanks to Ricky Quintana, Scott Peters of Half Mile Timing and all of the others who pulled this one off.  Great to give Floridians at least one shot at an indoor meet!  And this year's meet had a lot of talent including many stars from around the country.

After coming through with a big track season last spring that culminated in a 9:35 3200 at region, Steven Fernandez had even bigger plans for cross country. The Colonial High senior was one of the top cross runners in Central Florida and the 4A. He ran a PR of 15:35 at flrunners 10, had impressive runner-up finishes at Orlando Metros and the Disney Classic and took the tape at Edgewater and District before finishing 8th in the state with a 15:58 at Little Everglades. In this interview I talked with Steven about the past season, his training, and what's next for this up-and-coming distance star.  

Kayla Parker, a senior at Pt. St. Joe High School, has had an absolutley stunning high school career.  She has earned a whopping 8 state championships with her senior season yet to go and is also part of what has become a strong track & field tradition at Pt. St. Joe.  With her final season with the Tiger Sharks fast approaching, we talked with Ms. Parker about it.

Here are top entries in the Jimmy Carnes Track and Field Meet scheduled for January 30 and 31 at the O'Connell Center on the University of Florida Campus as of Wednesday, January 20.

Wilamena had a fantastic throwing career at Buchholz High School, graduating in 2009.  She closed her high school career with PRs of 142-9 and 46-9 in the disc and shot, respectively.  After having to deal with fellow All-Decade Team member Zakeya Stinson at state for thee years, her senior year it was all Wilamena.  She went home with two golds in the throws.  Hopkins stands as one of the greatest shot putters in Florida history, throwing over 45 feet in her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons.

Garrett Johnson had a most distinguished career at Tampa Baptist and later at Florida State University.  He was dominant in high school, winning the shot put state title his junior year and then swept the throwing events at state his senior year before capping his career off with a 65-11.75 throw at adidas Outdoor Nationals (also threw the discus over 192 feet earlier that season).  Four years later, he ended his fine career at Florida State by winning the NCAA title in the shot put both indoor and outdoor! However, perhaps more impressive than his on-the field performances is his academic prowess.  Among many other accolades, he was named a Rhodes Scholar and Academic All-American before going on to study at Oxford University.  He is a fine example for our young athletes on and off the field.   Congrats to Garrett!  The latest athlete featured from our flrunners.com All-Decade Team.  

  As a little girl, Shelby Hayes dreamed about playing soccer for the Lady Gators, but in 2010 she will don a different jersey for the University of Florida.  Winter Park Senior Shelby Hayes has committed to the University of Florida Cross Country and Track and Field programs.  Shelby will return to Gainesville where she was a standout runner for Buchholtz High School and Oak Hall before she transferred to Winter Park her junior year.  Shelby captured the 2009 4A 1600m State Championship and 2009 4A Cross Country Championship and led her team to the 4A CC title.  She had a stellar 5th place performance at Footlocker South, which earned her a bid to 2009 Footlocker Cross Country Nationals.  Shelby is the top returner among all classifications in the 1600m this spring and looks to capitalize on her first full year of healthy training.  She has personal bests of 2:14, 4:55, 11:00 and 17:12 (5k CC). 

We will once again be hosting a state track & field championship for middle school athletes. The championship meet will be held on May 8, 2010 in the Orlando area—the exact venue is TBD.  Though the same concepts will still be in place and most athletes and meet directors mostly unaffected, there are some significant changes to qualifying and entry.

We received word today that they have picked up two solid verbal commitments for their Mens Distance team.  Metro Conference champ Steven Fernandez of Colonial High School and 3A All-Stater Connor Bauer of Sebring High.  At the state meet last fall Fernandez was 8th in 15:58 (4A) and Bauer was 7th in 16:00 (3A). Congratulations to Steven, Connor, and USF!  Go Bulls!

It was announced last night that Bishop Kenny star Colin Barker has committed to run for Auburn University next year.  Barker is coming off an excellent cross country season, despite early season setbacks when he was impeded by nagging illness.  He finished the season with flair by winning the 2A state championship and then surprising many by qualifying for Foot Locker Nationals.  That was his second state title, after winning the 3200m crown in the spring.  Barker's PRs include 4:14 1600m, 9:11 3200m, and a 14:53 5K at Foot Locker South.  Congrats to Colin, his family and coaches, and to Auburn!

We continue our series of interviews to honor the members of our All-Decade Team.  Today we feature Jeremy Criscione, whose illustrious career on the high school scene was continued through his college career at UF. 

Last summer we announced the flrunners.com All-Decade Team to honor our state's finest high school cross country and track & field athletes from the 1999-2000 through the 2008-2009 season.  Since we are now in the off-season here in Florida between cross country and track & field season, it's time to pick back up on those interviews!  We will talk to as many of these legends as possible. Here's one of the greatest cross country and 800 runners of the decade and Olympian from Haiti, MOISE JOSEPH!