Chiles' Tucker, Plant's Leverone Finish First At FACA Senior All-Star Meet

The 2015 FACA Senior All-Star Classic returned to Tallahassee Apalachee Regional Park (APR) on Saturday to once again honor and showcase some of the State's best Senior cross country runners. The meet brought together 60 top athletes from 42 different high schools who were selected to four Regional based squads to compete for team and individual bragging rights and titles. The meet would provide one last opportunity to race on one of the fastest and most favored courses in the State.  

With anticipated race temperatures in the 60's and overhead cloud cover for the start, many of the typical conditions to race well (fast competition, cool weather, and a net downhill course) were present.  But there was one more component included that makes this event all the more special and unlike any other in Florida. The FACA Senior All-Star Classic is a time to celebrate. From the moment the athletes arrive at the Meet Hotel, begin greeting one another, view the course together with your new team, and take part in a unique banquet honoring each athlete, it is a time for fun, new friends, laughter, and celebration. Karah Hammontree from Circle Christian School and representing the East Team summed up the experience as a "celebration of us and the accomplishments we made throughout our high school careers. What I enjoyed most was the banquet the night before. It was exciting to hear about everyone's accomplishments, fun facts about their lives and what they hope to do in the future. By the end of the night I felt like I had known them for years."  

On Saturday, these sixty Seniors toed the line at APR one last time.  For most, the course has held many special memories. State Championships have been run and won on it, seasonal and personal bests have been set, and lifetime stories have been created and shared on their annual treks to Tallahassee each year. Saturday, would provide one last opportunity to compete on the course affectionately known as Florida's "Cross Country Playground". 

Girls Race Recap

Much of the pre-meet attention for the Girls Championship centered on the 2 former State individual champions (Alexa Cruz of St. Thomas Aquinas and Julia Montgomery of Pine Crest, along with 8 additional athletes who two weeks earlier, finished in the Top 15 in their respective classifications at the Florida State Championships.  The pre-meet favorite going in was Chiles High School's Emma Tucker who was coming off leading her team to the 3A State Championship with a 3^rd place finish in 18:13 which was the fastest State finish time among FACA race entrants.   

The 8:30 am start under comfortable 65 degree temperatures would see the North's Maddie Fulmer (Fort Walton Beach) take the early lead pulling the four brightly colored teams over the large Seminole logo and down the 700 meter straightaway into the first turn. Shortly thereafter, recent University of Alabama commit Alexa Cruz (St. Thomas Aquinas / South Team) took the lead coming through the first mile in 5:41 with a 2 second lead over Fulmer. By the two mile mark, Cruz, the 2013 State Champion had extended her lead to 11 seconds as she passed through in 11: 58. Meanwhile, Emma Tucker (Chiles HS / North Team), after an opening 5:52 first mile, had moved into second going through the 2 mile in 12:09. Over the next half mile Tucker would close the gap and took the lead with 1000 meters to go surging up the hill ("the wall") to open up a comfortable lead heading down the home stretch. Cruz closed the gap slightly with a strong effort over the last 200 meters but it was not enough as Tucker came away with the 4 second victory in 18:56.83. Fulmer, the 10^th place finisher at the 3A State Meet held on for 3^rd in 19:20.04 holding off the East's Victoria Jung (George Jenkins HS) who finished in 19:20.89. Tuckers Chiles High School and North teammate, Alexandra Wallace would finish strong in 5^th place in 19:23.16. She would be followed by Lily Kloepfer (St. Thomas Acquinas / South) in 6^th place in 19:31.28 followed by  Kaitlin Rocker (Creekside HS / North) in 7^th place in 19:32.57, Shannon Grace (Lyman HS / East in 8^th place in  19:36.87, Abby Reimer (Ponte Vedra HS / North) in 9^th place in 19:50.82, and Anna Grzeszczak (Mandarin / North) in 10^th place in a personal best 19:53.89. 

In the team results, the pre-meet favorite and talented North Squad went out hard and had 5 of their runners in the top 7 through the first mile. By the finish they had placed 6 runners (Tucker, Fulmer, Wallace, Rocker, Reimer, and Grzeszczak) in the top 10 to come away with an impressive and easy win with 25 points and a top 5 team average of 19:24. Their dominate team average would be 30 seconds per runner faster than the runner-up East squad of Jung, Grace, Ashely Castro (Colonial HS / 13^th Place), Karah Hammontree (Circle Christian / 14^th Place) and Elizabeth Cobb (Winter Springs / 17^th Place) who would finish with 52 points and a 19:54 team average. The East squad would finish just 3 points ahead of the South team who would total 52 points and a team average of 20:01. The West team would finish in 4^th with a score of 105 points and a team average of 20:56 but seemed to have the most fun of all the teams competing. 

The win by the North Team (Region 1) would be a series leading 8^th Championship in the annual FACA Senior All-Star Classic which dates back to 1997. They now hold a two win lead over the East (Region 2) who has taken home 6 championships over the last 19 years. The South team (Region 4) brought home some early wins in the series and a nice win in 2013 and remain in third with 3 Championships. The West Region is still be looking for their first win as they enter the 2016 season. Statistically, 26 of the 28 FACA Meet finishers competed at the Florida State Championships and ran an average of 22 seconds slower than their State time. Eight (8) of the girls ran faster in the All-Star Classic than they did at the State Championship with two girls, Anna Grzeszczak (Mandarin HS) and Ashley Castro (Colonial HS) setting personal bests in their final Cross Country meet at Apalachee Regional Park. 

Boys Race Recap

Although the boys race lacked a State Champion in the field, it did boast two State runner-up finishers with Class 1A Luke Peterson (Shorecrest Prep) and Class 4A Justin Pacifico (Flagler Palm Coast) along with 17 others who finished in the top 25 in their respective classifications at the Florida State Championships on November 7. This race had the makings of a highly competitive event. 

As the race went off at 9:00 am under clear and sunny skies with temperatures in the high 60's it was clear that this would be a well-paced tactical race as a group of no less than 18 came through the first mile in 4:56. The group began to stretch out over the next mile as the lead group came through in 10:11 that included West teammates Rob Leverone (HB Plant HS) and Marshall Dillon (Charlotte HS) along with Ilio Sanchez (John I. Leonard / South) and Pacifico. With 1000 meters to go Leverone had a slight lead over Pacifico with Dillon in close contact. As they came through the 3 mile mark it was clear Leverone still had an extra gear left in the last 200 meters to control the lead from the hard charging Dillon and  take home the win in 16:10.20. His time would be 5 seconds faster than his 10^th place finish in the Class 4A State Meet two weeks earlier. North teammate Dillon (6^th at the 3A State Meet) would finish in the runner-up spot just ahead of Sanchez (South) in 16:19.01. Trenton Liberty (Mandarin HS / North) would sprint past teammate and University of Florida commit, Pacifico in the final 20 meters to finish 4^th place in 16:21.80 as Pacifico would slip to 5^th to place in 16:23.03. Fellow North teammate Dominic Williams (Robert E. Williams) would finish in 6^th place in 16:26.30 just in front of Brady Hill (Sarasota HS / West) who would finish 7^th in 16:27.30. The East team would then take the next 3 spots as Lake Howell's Jan Figueroa finished 8^th in 16:30.79 followed by Joel Santiago (Winter Springs HS) in 9^th place in 16:36.42 and Andrew Stivers (Hagerty HS) finishing in 10^th place in 16:38.01.      

The team race was a tight and spirited battle with 20 points separating first through fourth place. With their strong 1-2 finish, up front with Leverone and Dillon, the West team captured a 9 point win over the North squad 41-50. Their win would come in a close matchup with the North team as they managed to finish just ahead in 4 of the 5 key team positions while averaging 16:28 through their Top 5 compared to 16:34 for the North. The East team powered by their 8-10 place finishers and a 0:22 top 5 split, took a close 3^rd place finish with 58 points and 16:39 team average just ahead of the South team who would finish with 61 points and a 16:40 team average. The 20-point team margin finish was the closest and most competitive in the 19 year FACA Meet history. When taking a closer look at the team averages and individual finishes it is clear how close this Meet was. The top 5 team averages were separated by less than 12 seconds per runner while the top 14 overall individual finishes were separated by 30 seconds and the top 24 spots were separated by less than 1:00.  

The win by the West Team (Region 3) would be their 3^rd in the FACA Meet series and would break a tie for 3^rd on the all-time list with the South (Region 4) which has not brought home a title to South Florida since 2000. The East (Region 2) leads the series with 7 Championships while the North (Region 1) is second with 5 wins. Statistically, this year, 30 of the 31 participants in the FACA Meet also competed in the FHSAA State Championships and ran on average just 13 seconds slower. Nine (9) of the boys would run faster in the All-Star Classic than they did at the State Championships   

Special Thanks

A big thank you goes out to everyone who helped make the FACA Senior All-Star Cross Country Classic such a joyous 2-day event for these athletes. It seemed clear each individual was honored well with such appreciative attention upon each runner while celebrating their impressive career accomplishments and successes. These talented young men and women competed well and seemed to enjoy themselves getting to know one another and celebrating their passion for running as they closed out their high school cross country running career. A special thank you to FACA and executive director Shelton Crews, FACA Cross Country Chair Kristin McWilliams, and FACA Rankings Representative Ryan Raposo for all their tireless efforts in coordinating this event as well as all the volunteers who give up their time and talents for these awesome young men and women such as the great coaches who represented each Region, meet timer Chris Sumner, photographer Joe Mizereck, banquet hosts Lincoln High School, and the wonderful cooperative efforts of FSU, Coach Bob Braman and his staff, Leon County, Visit Tallahassee, and the Gulf Winds Track Club for creating such an amazing venue for cross country. Thank you to all who created this well-deserved memorable experience for each of these Seniors Cross Country runners.