A year after finishing third at the 3A Cross Country Finals behind Belen Jesuit and Chiles, Fort Walton Beach will have a tough road ahead of them if they want to compete at that level in 2014. The Vikings proved you don't need a front runner to dominate, but instead used a pack running philosophy to post the fastest 1-5 split in the class of 22 seconds. Unfortunately, the team loses four runnerse from that team and will rely on senior Trey LaNasa who was 22nd at last year's state meet to carry the load.
LaNasa who owns a personal best of 15:48.73 will be joined by senior Josh McDowell who returns to the program after spending three years in Germany where his father was stationed. Filling out the top seven are Demery Benedict who has a personal best of 16:07, Trace McMullen, Davis McKinney, Stephen Jones, and Killian Clark. David Fenyvesi and Daniel Orcutt could also see time in that group.
Two weeks after the track season ended the Vikings started preparing for cross country. A typical training week for the group starts out on the trails and running by time, taking the stress off of distances to run and keeps them honest in their pace since they have to watch their footing. Tuesdays and Thursdays, the Vikings incoporate tempos, fartleks, interval training. Wednesday is hill day and Friday is their social run day which includes breakfast afterwards. Saturday and Sunday they run on their own depending on how many miles they still need to fulfill their weekly goals. Another important component of their training is cross training three days a week whether its swimming, biking or the use of the eliptical. In addition to this training, they also attended Warrior Running Camp at Berry College.
The big question for the Vikings is who will step up? Our rankings have them as the ninth best team in 3A. However, McDowell changes that equation. If he is able to run in the 16:30 range then FWB goes from just making the top ten, to a potential top five team, falling behind the likes of Chiles, Leon, Belen Jesuit, and Sarasota.
Coach Jeff Fields Says...
"We have three big meets that we would like to do well in - North Port (first time attending and we will stay a second night to go to Busch Garden), Flrunners.com Invitational which is always a team favorite race, and then of course Pre-State. We have balanced our schedule with off weeks and smaller meets so as not to risk burning out. We will also have different race strategies for each of those meets. Our boys have a tough road with as many graduates as we have had the last two years, but are up for the challenge of trying to continue a top five finish as state and maybe surprising everyone with a podium finish."
2014 Returner's Top Times
(Senior Trey LaNasa is the top returner for the Vikings with a personal best of 15:48.73)
| 9 | Fort Walton Beach HS (FL) | 406 | ||
| 1) Trey LaNasa | 15:48.73 | 9 | ||
| 2) Demery Benedict | 16:07.06 | 14 | ||
| 3) Trace McMullen | 17:09.60 | 81 | ||
| 4) Stephen Jones | 17:36.70 | 145 | ||
| 5) Killian Clark | 17:42.08 | 157 | ||
| Average Time: 16:52.83 Total Time: 1:24:24.17 1-5 Split: 1:53.35 | ||||
| 6) Jeremy Pierce | 18:01.29 | 207 | ||
| 7) Davis McKinney | 18:09.10 | 225 | ||
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