Coral Reef freshman Kurt Convey wins his first regional championship. Columbus boys and Ferguson girls dominate the team standings.

Columbus’ boys are hoping to be ready to challenge for a fourth consecutive state cross-country championship next month. The Ferguson girls looked like they were ready to win it Friday morning. (via The Miami Herald)

Three Florida teams made the NHSCA Top 50 Rankings, released in conjuction with XCNation.com. On the guys side,  Belen Jesuit continues to move up the ladder from tenth to sixth with the site calling them perhaps one of the best teams in Florida history! Columbus drops two notches to numbe 50. On the girls side Estero also maintains a strong position at number twenty-two, two spots higher than they were in the last edition.

Former Miami Columbus standout Mark Gulesian is making a name for himself on the collegiate level. In his first meet of the year at the New England College Invitational, the Babson College freshman beat out a field of 49 runners in a time of 16:17. He says the shortened 5k was one of the toughest courses he's ever ran on.

Belen Jesuit pack a punch this season! Four of their top five return with plenty of firepower to fill in the gap and then some. Elliot Clemente will lead the way (likely for the entire state) with his 15:03 season best from last year, pacing Belen to a 15:58 team average. Colonial and Estero ring in at a somewhat distant but certainly not insurmountable #2 and #3 position in our computer rankings. 

This past Friday at Larry & Penny Thompson Park in Miami, two young faces that are making names for themselves in the South Florida running community came together for a little Question & Answer session. That day there were three consecutive District Championship going on at the park (3A-D8, 4A-D7 and 4A-D8) and these guys sought out some of the winning individuals and coaches for a quick interview. This article tags off of The 10-Day Recap of Miami XC article that has the results of those meets. So without further ado, here's what they came up with...

Jason has been looking for more South Florida XC coverage this season and due to the lack of interest I decided I would try to put a few articles together for everyone. And seeing as how I was without a computer last week I figured I would put together a 10-Day Recap of what’s been going on with cross country here in Miami-Dade County. (I really wanted to put together a nice write up of the GMAC Championship last week, so I’ll start off with that and lead into the various district championships from this past week).   Now without further delay, here’s what’s been happening down south…

Yeah yeah... I know.  You can't compare times in cross country.  Different courses, different conditions, blah blah blah.  But... just for fun... I was wondering.  Trinity Prep, Columbus in a dual meet.  Who would win right now based on times?  Check it out...

Columbus made the trek to freezing Portland, Oregon and competed at NXN today.  It was not the performance they were hoping for, but we are sure proud of our lone qualifying team from Florida!  Here is an interview by Chris Nickinson of RunnerSpace with the team.  On a high note, Armando Del Valle had a great day and finished in 14th place.

MileSplit US will have on-site coverage at the Nike Cross Southeast Regional in Cary, North Carolina this weekend from Brandon Miles of MileStat.com and various photographers. Expect race videos, photos, interviews, and complete results to be posted soon after the completion of the meet. An in-depth meet preview highlighting the top ten teams and top dozen individuals is now available.          

  Photo courtesy John Olson, SCRUNNERS                                                    

Kathryn and Erika Fluehr go 1-2 yet again with times of 17:16 and 17:44 in the Elite Girls race.  Jana Stolting has the third fastest girls time on the day in 17:51 out of the small school race.  The highly anticipated battle in the boys race saw a great Jimmy Clark and Matt Mizereck battle it out.  Mizereck answered Clark's strong move and wins 15:20 to 15:23 up the final long incline.  Team-wise Chiles girls were well in front of Winter Park and Dr. Phillips once again beat out Columbus (by just 2 points) to prove they are top of the heap in the state.

This weekend a couple thousand of runners, including many of the best in the state of Florida, will be headed to an out-of-the way ranch in dimly populated North Pasco County.  Down the small dirt, wooden path they will venture, hoping their bus does not get stuck.  And then finally over the railroad tracks, the woods open up and they will see it:  the beautiful Little Everglades Ranch.  Some hate the course, some love it.  But there is no denying it is one of the most beautiful spaces of authentic Florida that you will find.  No tourists.  No urban sprawl.  Just a serene natural setting filled with the greenest grass, wetland ponds, blue herons and other water birds, along with a few hundred head of cattle! 2096 athletes and 80 schools are entered, coming from as far away as Key West and Fort Walton Beach.  Some of them are perennial powers.  Others are small but developing programs.  All coming together for this preview of the season culminating state championship meet just over a month from now. Here is your first look at the competition.

This is going to be a fun year to watch in the 4A! Can Melbourne fight off the depth of Columbus? Will Winter Park pull of another successful reload or will Mandarin or Bartram Trail take what is oft called the "Region of Death"? Can Sarasota surprise Melbourne in Region 2? Can anyone catch Park Vista in Region 3? Will Coach Raposo be with or without the 'stache in Region 4? Only time will tell, but get a first look here!