On-Site Coverage
- Complete Coverage & Meet Results
- Photo Album By Teri Bernhardt-Rodriguez (120 photos)
- Race Video By Kerry McClure /Interviews By Zack Bias
On an overcast morning in North Florida, over 350 high school athletes took to the golf course at the University of North Florida to open the 2014 cross country season. The conditions were as good as you could ask for on an early September morning and the times did not disappoint.
Boys Race:
The team race on the boy’s side was completely dominated by Creekside High School, from the mile marker on. After a conservative first mile the Knights took off and put their top 7 all in the top 15, winning with a team score of 27 points. Individually the battle up front was a classic. After leading for 2 and a half miles, Connor Vaughan from Wolfson, was reeled in by Creekside’s Cash Tampa. The two were only separated by 4 seconds, with Tampa taking the win in 16:14.84.
Girls Race:
On the girls side the team battle was much closer. Creekside went out on a mission to establish themselves as the best team in Jacksonville. The Knights led the team battle through the halfway point, before Bolles made a strong finish. A large pack of Bolles girls had a blistering final mile, as they nipped Creekside 32-40. On the individual side there was a pack of 6 runners for most of the race. Eventually Fletcher’s Kayley Delay and Bolles’ Mackenzie Wilson pulled away from the field. Delay came across the line first in a very fast 18:31.97, with Wilson fading back to 2nd in 18:37.76.
All in all the Meet was very well run, and a fantastic experience for all of the athletes. The UNF staff started all the races in a timely fashion, and was extremely efficient with results. An interesting twist that made this years meet unique was the awards. Rather than medals or ribbons the top 10 individual finishers received 110% compression socks, and rather than a trophy the team champions received a metal cooler which gave me an interesting story idea, the legend of the traveling cooler, but we'll just have to wait and see if that pans out . If the times are any indication of what is to come, this is going to be a fantastic year for Florida cross country.
Race Video By Kerry McClure/Interviews By Zack Bias
Elite Performances
Girls Highlights
- 5,000 Meter Run - Kayley Delay (Fletcher HS) 18:31.97 SB; Mackenzie Wilson (Bolles HS) 18:37.76 SB; Colleen Openshaw (Creekside HS) 18:49.14 SB; Rachel Shapiro (Bolles HS) 19:18.48 SB; Tara Openshaw (Creekside HS) 19:22.14 SB; Jessica Taylor (Creekside HS) 19:25.76 SB; Ally Hajda (Bolles HS) 19:29.80 SB; isabela torres-padin (Fletcher HS) 20:13.91 SB;Suzanne Dannheim (Bolles HS) 20:18.83 SB; Ashley DeHechavarria (Bolles HS) 20:21.76 SB; Megan Prangley (Creekside HS) 20:24.44 SB; Mackenzie Baysinger (Rockledge HS) 20:39.62;Brittany Wilkinson (Bolles HS) 20:53.19 SB; Annie Pentaleri (Bolles HS) 21:07.09 SB; Caitlyn Collier (Bolles HS) 21:07.99 SB; Kaitlin Rocker (Creekside HS) 21:10.78 SB; Rachel Heisner(Creekside HS) 21:16.05 SB; Aoife O'Riordan (Bolles HS) 21:21.76 SB;
Boys Highlights
- 5,000 Meter Run - David Cash Tampa (Creekside HS) 16:14.84 SB; Connor Vaughan (Wolfson High School) 16:18.73 SB; Zack Bias (Creekside HS) 16:50.26 SB; Mark Edward (Wolfson High School) 17:08.97 SB; Matthew Clark (Creekside HS) 17:10.65 SB; Dominic Williams (Robert E. Lee HS) 17:20.71 SB; Nicholas Deal (Creekside HS) 17:22.20 SB; Zach Braswell(Rockledge HS) 17:22.97 SB; Michael Davis (Rockledge HS) 17:26.51; Micah Drum (Baldwin Middle-High School) 17:27.18 SB; Reece Duff (Creekside HS) 17:28.15 SB; Brendon Urban(Creekside HS) 17:31.34 SB; Connor McClure (Creekside HS) 17:35.65 SB;