Coach Garlynn Boyd is well known on the club circuit. Her thriving youth program and Lightning Bolt Track Club can be seen dominating many meets throughout the summer months. And the team hosts many of the meets in the St. Petersburg area during the club track season. However, last year that all came to a screeching halt. In February, Coach Boyd fell seriously ill and was rushed to the hospital. Doctors weren’t sure if she’d make it.

Peter Hopfe began coaching high school cross country in 1995, and by the autumn of 2004, he was considered one of the most successful and respected high school coaches in the state of Florida. In the space of ten years, he had gone from a full-time restaurateur, to a part-time coach, to the recognized founder of a distance dynasty at Flagler-Palm Coast High School, and a two-time Florida State Coach of the Year. Who would have even considered gambling that kind of success on a fledgling college program? Knowing Hopfe, however, it was far from a gamble.

Hey, it's the off-season. So while we kill time and get ready to kick off our track & field coverage next week, let's look back at cross country season one last time! So here are the award winners for the 2010 season. Highest emphasis was placed on the end of the year performances; however, also factored in were consistency throughout the year and the contribution the athlete made to their team. I'm sure there will be some good arguments for others who should have made third team... so go ahead, speak up for your favs!

Out of ideas?  Out of time?  Well if may not make it here on time, but here are some options.

When Max del Monte crossed the finish line in fifth place at the state cross country championships his jersey read Chamberlain. However, he is not a student there, just an athlete. From an early age del Monte has been homeschooled.

For Winter Park senior Kira Soderstrom the decision on where to run collegiately came down to two schools, Florida and Southern Cal.  Soderstrom, a member of the 2010 4x8 state championship squad decided earlier this week to head to the west coast and run for the Trojans.

These rankings were calculated by scoring the rankings as a meet. We scored 50 deep for individuals. For example, for individuals 1st place received 50 points for their team, on down to 1 point for 50th place. Athletes whose graduation years are unknown were left out of the list.  

These rankings were calculated by scoring the rankings as a meet. We scored 50 deep for individuals. For example, for individuals 1st place received 50 points for their team, on down to 1 point for 50th place.   Athletes whose graduation years are unknown were left out of the list. 

Melbourne High School cross country coach T.J. Woodbury has been a fixture on the running scene in Brevard County for over a decade. It’s where he first found the sport and where he would retire from that love.

We are excited to announce that we are partnering with Charlotte High School to bring to you the first ever high school track & field meet hosted by flrunners.com! It is our goal to create a distinctive, festive, and highly anticipated meet. We will have elements for both the elite and the mere mortals, unique events, music, live coverage, top notch facility, and lots of fun.

On November 19th, the morning before the state cross country meet Yancey Palmer experienced a different kind of loss. The Fort Myer’s coach lost his home and two cars in an early fire.  A week later he kept true to his promise organizing a west coast bus ride to the Foot Locker South Regional in Charlotte, North Carolina. A cross country and track coach in Lee County for fourteen years, Coach Palmer has given back to the sport. Now in a time of need, the running community can give back.

In one of the top Florida boys finishes in recent history, Jimmy Clark of Creekside and Ryan Pickering of Leonard finished just a second apart taking seventh and ninth place at Foot Locker Nationals in San Diego. Elliot Clemente, the junior from Belen Jesuit, finished a respectable 25th place. For the girls, Kathryn and Erika Fluehr of Community School of Naples finished in 23rd and 27th, respectively. Shelby Davidson of Cocoa Beach was 33rd.

Great weather out here in San Diego and all of the kids are having a great time. Looking toward Saturday's races, our team did a preview show on each region.

The 2010 Foot Locker Nationals are in the books!  Aisling Cuffe and Lukas Verzbicas have put their stamp on history with equally dominating performances with winning times of 16:53 and 14:59.

Some gave him a shot to qualify for Nationals, but it was anything but a sure thing. Clemente embraced the underdog role and ended up with a very impressive fifth place finish at Foot Locker South, a shiny new 15:03 PR, and a ticket to San Diego. Here's what is on his mind leading up to the trip.

Ryan capped off a great one-loss season in Florida with a 10th place finish at Foot Locker South to capture the final boys qualifying spot from the region. On the eve of his flight west, we talked with him about what his strategy and goals.

Shelby Davidson has rocketed from good distance runner to superstar this year. With a strong summer base and great work ethic, she earned a Foot Locker Nationals berth. We talked to Shelby on Wednesday night about the upcoming trip to San Diego.

Jimmy capped his incredible season with the regional championship in Charlotte. He is going into Nationals with a national ranking, but very much an underdog. Despite all of his successes and the regional championship, he still enters under the radar. We talked to Jimmy on Wednesday to find out his emotions, strategies, and his goals going in.

BOSTON, MA, December 8, 2010 – Global athletic leader New Balance is pleased to announce an official multi-year partnership with the National Scholastic Sports Foundation (NSSF) and the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory in New York City in the New Balance Indoor Nationals. The event will bring together the best indoor track and field high school athletes from across the country for a weekend of intense competition.  

I heard about Joshua Gracia's story recently and knew that I wanted to do a feature on it immediately. In my opinion, too many kids get sucked into the D1 tunnel-vision. Nothing against big schools, but the spots at these large universities--especially the top programs--are so limited and so many athletes are going out for it. To me, a graduate of a small college (Florida Southern) myself, there are a lot of kids who should entertain the idea of smaller schools. There they would have a better chance to contribute while furthering their athletic careers, have a great experience, and perhaps even get to compete at national championship meets. Joshua Gracia is a great example of a mid-level distance athlete who was able to excel at the JuCo level. He improved tremendously, won two national championships, and will now sign with Division 1 University of Oklahoma in February.

Complete results are now posted from the FACA All-Star Meet in Tallahassee. The meet brings together most of the top seniors from around the state to compete on North, South, East, and West teams. Flrunners.com was a proud sponsor of this event, providing the athletes with jerseys! 

Our team is on site in Portland for tomorrow's race.  Brandon Miles caught up with Armando del Valle out there on Friday and they talk about the race tomorrow, which by most accounts is going to be the top boys field of the two national meets.  Armando also talks about being there solo this year.

Couldn't make the trip to Foot Locker South? Always wondered what it was like?  Todd Grasley put together this video of the long trip up, registration, spagheti dinner, race, etc. Enjoy!

Wednesday evening the FLYRA Board of Directors met in a phone conference. The group reviewed the cross country championship, deeming it a success. Plans were made for a February board planning retreat. And the organization's first official logo was adopted. Additionally, the initial plans were made to combine forces with flrunners.com for this spring's upcoming tength annual track & field state championship.

It has taken Largo junior Tyler Lewis ten years to achieve just one goal.  Lewis has had success running track and cross country, but it’s not that elusive state title he’s been after.  It is the most prestigious achievement the Boy Scouts of America can bestow, the title of Eagle Scout.

After capping off her senior cross country season with a 3A state title, Fort Myers High's Sarah Spann has announced she will take her talents to the University of Florida. Spann becomes the latest in a long line of commitments to Coach Holloway’s program.  Having had the blue and orange on her mind for quite some time, she decided to make it official Tuesday night.