The culmination of the Florida cross country season will take place Saturday, November 7th at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee with state championship titles for both individuals and teams on the line. Leading up to the meet we will preview each classification with in-depth analysis as well as by seeing how our virtual meets think the races will play out. Today, we look at the 4A classification who will compete in the second (7:55 a.m.) and fourth (8:45 a.m.) races of the morning with the girls and boys respectively.
Girls Individual Preview
If regionals was any indication of what we can expect to see in the individual race, then we are in for a treat and one I'm most looking forward to. Winter Park sophomore Rafaella Gibbons clocked a state leading and personal best time of 17:27.15. Coach McWilliams told me she could possibly run in the low 17's by the time the season ends (they will run NXNSE and hope to make it to Portland.) Gibbons is the defending state champion and NXN finalist in 2014 where she placed 27th against the nation's best athletes. She's a special talent, but with that comes a lot of hype. Lake Mary junior Daniela Urzua has kind of been in Gibbon's shadow, however you can't count her out. She ran FL#2 of 17:44.31 at that same regional meet and won the UF Mt. Dew Invitational over a stacked field and was sixth last year. Alexa Cruz and Kayley Delay have also run under 18 minutes this year and won't go down without a fight. Cruz, a University of Alabama commitment was second as freshman, and 4A champion as a sophomore. The last name to watch out for is Riverview's Bailey Hertenstein. A sophomore like Gibbons, she hasn't seen any of these athletes run this year. She shocked many when she won the flrunners.com Race of Champions in 18:02.40, but all she has done is win, going undefeated in her last eight races including a 43 second victory at 4A Region 2. Going back to 2014, Bailey competed in four races the Don Bishop Invitational, Districts, Regionals, and the state meet. The only one she didn't finish first? State where she was 15th. Look for her to be right in the mix with the group listed above.
Girls Team Preview
The Winter Park girls claimed the 4A Cross Country Finals team title in 2014 by 14 points over St. Thomas Aquinas. They started out the year as the top team in Florida and are in the same spot as we head into the final week of the season. Luckily for Coach McWilliams all seven of the girls from last year return with an easy chance at repeating. The only team loss of the year for the Wildcats was at Pre-State, but they dominated 4A Region 1 (AKA The Region Of Death) with a 34 point showing, 57 points better than nearby Dr. Phillips who finished as the runner-up. Rafaella Gibbons looks to repeat as individual champion as the rest of the top five are all predicted to finish in the top 25! Their team average last year at state? 18:38 with a 71 second 1-5 split! Dr. Phillips, Sarasota, and Wharton will battle it out for the runner-up spot on the podium!
Boys Individual Preview
Ten of the top fifteen individuals from last year's Cross Country Finals graduated and the remaining five are seniors this year. So who will go out on top in their last season? Joshua Jacques and Carlin Berryhill finished first and second last year and were separated by a mere two seconds. The two faced off at FLR16 and at Pre-State with Jacques getting the best of him in both races. Jacques is coming off a regional championship at 4A Region 1 and has not finished worse than third in any meet this season. We've seen the fight in Berryhill whether it be on the track or cross country course so definitely don't count him out. He was 5th at FLR16, 10th at Pre-State and has won his last three meets.The biggest threat to both of those guys is Adam Bradtmueller of Sarasota who makes the jump from 3A-4A. Like the two listed athlete listed above him Bradtmueller's points will be crucial to the team battle. His 15:23.70 and runner-up finish at Pre-State he described as his best race ever and let him know he can race with the top athletes in the state, beating both Jacques and Berryhill in those races. Although his times haven't been that stellar since, he hasn't had to give an all out effort in the past three weeks easily winning county, district, and regional titles. Other names to watch include Jordan Armstrong of Lyman, who is the sidekick to Jacques, bestfriend, and training partner. These two will work together to their advantage. Andrew Stivers of Hagerty, Trenton Liberty of Mandarin, Jan Figuero of Lake Howell, Cole Prium of Ocoee, and Dominic Williams of Robert E. Lee will all be in contention for a top five finish.
Boys Team Preview
This is one of the hardest ones to predict. Literally four to five teams have a shot at winning the team title and in the end it will come down to the back end of the roster, those number four and five runners. Lyman won the title last year with 118 points, only five more than runner up Coral Reef (123), and 23 more than third place St. Thomas Aquinas. STA and Coral Reef battled it out in 2013 with the Raiders winning the state title by 27 points. Those three teams will be in the thick of things on Saturday as well. Lyman has arguably the top two runners in 4A with Jacques and Armstrong and a strong number three in Bryce Bell. Their fourth and fifth runners will have to pick it up if the Greyhounds want to repeat. St. Thomas Aquinas has the odds in their favor. The Raiders who were 3rd in 2012, champs in 2013, and 2nd in 2014, should win in 2015 if you look at patterns right? Well, how is this for a pattern? The team is so tightly packed 1-5, they are only 18 seconds apart and in a meet where depth is key look at 1-7 and the split is only 44 seconds! They are averaging 16:24.81 as a team. Don't count out the guys from Coral Reef though like we mentioned. Reef's #5 was as good as STA's #5 at the same course last week at 4A Region 4.They return four of their top five from last year ago and are hungry to break a 52 year drought of a Dade County School winning the championship. Last but not least, two teams that will be right in the mix. Mandarin survived the 4A 1 Region of Death with a LOADED field, can they build off that performance with the shortest drive for any of the schools in contention. Sarasota has an ace in their pocket with Bradtmueller, but have a quality number two in Brady Hill and number three in Jordan Gonzalez. The boys won 4A Region 2 by 58 points and will need to continue that momentum this weekend.
4A Virtual Meet:
- Girls (Based On Season Bests) l Boys (Based On Season Bests)
- Girls Top Individuals (Based On Regional Times) l Boys Top Individuals (Based On Regional Times)
- 4A Team Scores/Virtual Meet (Based On Regional Performances)
- 4A Team Scores (Based On Season Bests) - Girls l Boys
4A Top Returners From 2014 Cross Country Finals
Relive all the coverage from the 2014 Cross Country Finals
The culmination of the Florida cross country season will take place Saturday, November 7th at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee with state championship titles for both individuals and teams on the line. Leading up to the meet we will preview each classification with in-depth analysis as well as by seeing how our virtual meets think the races will play out. Today, we look at the 4A classification who will compete in the second (7:55 a.m.) and fourth (8:45 a.m.) races of the morning with the girls and boys respectively.
Girls Individual Preview