Week In Review: Ow Ow The Season Is Heating Up!



From South Florida to the Panhandle runners across the state were turning in some very impressive times for the first week of October. The countdown to the state meet is on and the big day is almost a month away. Check out our awesome coverage, results, and performances for the week of September 30 - October 6, 2013.

Avon Park Home Meet

On-Site Coverage

Avon Park Meet Marks Start Of Season For Some Runners

A hot Monday afternoon greeted seven local schools at the Avon Park Cross Country Invitational. The race conditions were fair considering the rainy weather the area had been experiencing the week before hand. The course was just the same including a predominantly road section that would carry the runners out and back for pretty much the entire race. Times were good and emotions were high as local teams raced for the first time of the 2013 cross country season.

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights

Bale N Trail Cross Country Original

On-Site Coverage

Xiang Keeps Streak Alive, Scores One for Florida

On a day dominated by out-of-state invaders, Karen Xiang scored a redemptive one point.  Her 18:17 win in the Girls Varsity race was the only one of Saturday evening not owned by Peachtree Ridge. And it kept her undefeated streak alive.

Peachtree Ridge Sweeps Florida's Bail N Trail Classic

123 Points. That might be a pretty good cross country team score in any large invitational. But it was the collective team score from Peachtree Ridge this weekend down in Jacksonville, Florida. The Georgians came down and swept all races. 

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights

Buchholz Bobcat Classic

On-Site Coverage

Buchholz Bobcat Classic Meet Preview: Can Sarah Eden Defend The Home Turf?

Buchholz Coach Ron Norris has been running meets longer than I have been running. …. that is a long time. In the early 80’s while at Newberry High School, he was one of the first to stage a large invitational of 25 or more teams. Offering ribbons and medals to the top 25 and then 50 individuals, his meets valued the hard work and effort that the kids had put into the sport he loves so much. Then, with the move to Buchholz in 2001, he continued with his Bobcat Classic which grew in numbers.

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights

Cardinal Gibbons Invitational

On-Site Coverage

Girls Highlights

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights

Don Bishop Invitational

On-Site Coverage

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights

Fleet Feet Invitational presented by Saucony

On-Site Coverage

Fleet Feet Invitational Meet Preview

South Fork will gather a strong group of teams from around south Florida for the Fleet Feet Invitational. This is always one of the top invitationals in October, with a lot great little touches to go with the strong competition.

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights

Great American Cross Country Festival

On-Site Coverage

Florida Teams Compete at Great American

Belen Jesuit, Holy Trinity, Oak Hall, and Bishop Kenny made the trek up to Cary, North Carolina this weekend to compete at the Great American Festival. All in all the teams did okay, with Holy Trinity's girls finishing 8th and Oak Hall girls and Belen Jesuit boys finishing 9th in the Race of Champions.

Rhode Islanders make some noise at Great American

In the Race of Champions, two races that featured some of the best athletes from the east coast and beyond, top finishes were plentiful for R.I. Further proving that the girls’ state meet next month should be one of history’s best, three harriers placed in the top seven and five were among the first 25 to cross the line at WakeMed Soccer Complex in Cary, N.C.  

Virginian Invasion of North Carolina Weekend

We might as well label the first weekend of October every year as Virginian Invasion of North Carolina weekend as a significant number of the state's teams and individuals venture to several invitational meets to our neighbors to the south between the Great American Festival in Cary, the Wendy's Invitaitonal in Charlotte, and Hagan Stone Classic in Greensboro. Below are some quick highlights so far from early reports from those meets.

Great American KY Style

Saturday many of Kentucky's best are traveling to compete at the Great American XC Festival in Cary, North Carolina, home of Nike Cross Regionals for the Southeast.

North Carolina, Here We Come!!!

One of the most prestigious regional meets on the east coast includes a strong contingent of Rhode Islanders. The teams of Bishop Hendricken, La Salle Academy and Barrington and Classical senior Maddy Berkson are down south this weekend for the Great American Cross-Country Festival in Cary, North Carolina.    

Great American CC Festival Preview

Blacksburg's girls already have one win at WakeMed on their 2013 resume, and another would be a big step toward the ultimate goal at the end of November.

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights

Greater Louisville Classic

On-Site Coverage

Ann Eason Wins Greater Louisville Classic

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky University junior Ann Eason won the women’s Gold Race at the Greater Louisville Classic cross country meet on Saturday at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park, defeating a field of 288 competitors with a season-best 5K time of 16:51.39.

Greater Louisville Classic: KYtrackXC.com Live Updates

KYtrackXC.com's Matthew Folsom will on-site at EP Tom Sawyer Park covering the Greater Louisville Classic tomorrow.  He will be posting live updates up the action tomorrow. Justin Grooms will be taking pictures galore tomorrow as well for KYtrackXC.com.  Check back on this article for all the action. 

Greater Louisville Classic College Preview

Louisville, KY- The Louisville Sports Commission (LSC) will host 112 colleges and universities from 20 states and Canada in the 12th  Annual Greater Louisville Classic (GLC), which should be the second largest college meet contested in the United States in 2013. 

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights

IMG Academy Cross Country Invitational

On-Site Coverage

Meester-Kitterman Dominates The Inaugural IMG Academy Cross Country Invitational

Athletes and fans alike were greeted to a beautiful, cool Florida morning as the world famous IMG Academy in Bradenton opened the doors of its new stadium for the Inaugural IMG Academy Cross Country Invitational. The course, which features one of the state’s largest hills, has the potential to become one of the area’s premier cross country venues. 

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights

Junior Orange Bowl Invitational

On-Site Coverage

Junior Orange Bowl Invitational Recap

The Junior Orange Bowl Invitational became a much larger affair for the 2013 cross country season as many event sponsors helped make this competition a better and more memorable experience for all of the participants.

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights

Land O Lakes Gator Invitational

On-Site Coverage

McKeel, Estero Win 2013 Gator Invtiational

The story line coming in was the Estero Wildcat girls sending shockwaves through the cross-country community. After dominant performances at the Flrunners.com Invitational in Titusville a week ago and at the North Port Invitational a week before that, the Estero girls were not just favored to win, they were favored to sweep the top four spots or at least take four of the top five spots. 

2013 Land O' Lakes Gator Invitational Should Forecast Cross Country Season Finale

With conference championships a week away and district tournaments just a week after that, the 2013 Gator Invitational will give many Florida athletes their last big test before running races that count. The margin for error and window for experimentation is closing quickly. Teams and coaches will have their last chance to tweek lineups and tie up loose ends before the races become do-or-die.

Videos

Interview: Selena Leon - Girls JV Champion Land O' Lakes Gator Invitational: Girls JV Race Interview: Kendal Williams - Boys JV Runner-Up Interview: Arye Beck - Boys JV Champion
Land O' Lakes Gator Invitational: Boys JV Race Interview: McKeel Academy Boys - Boys Varsity Team Champions Interview: Astro Vallette - Boys Varsity - Fifth Place Interview: Tyler Stahl/Jake Poore - Boys Varsity - Third/Fourth
Interoview: Jack Guyton - Boys Varsity Runner-Up Land O' Lakes Gator Invitational: Boys Varsity Race Interview: Katie Slater - Girls Varsity - Fourth Place Interview: Kari Grippo - Girls Varsity - Third Place
Interview: Audrey Carpenter/Elizabeth Mulford - Girls Varsity - Interview: Araceli Leon - Girls Varsity Champion Land O' Lakes Gator Invitational: Girls Varsity Race Interview: Travis Nichols - Boys Varsity Champion

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights

Panhandle Championship

On-Site Coverage

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights

Southwest Florida Cross Country Invitational

Meet Results

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights

St. Cloud Invitational

On-Site Coverage

Girls Highlights

Boys Highlights

Titan Trail (Orange City)