(Photo by Will Anguish)
The Winter Park boys had their season end earlier than expected last year by barely missing out on the state meet with a 7th place finish in 4A Region 1, AKA the Region Of Death. They are poised to make it back to the state meet and make some noise with the return of a healthy Alex Boucher. Coach Will Anguish gives us a scouting report on this year's team.
How did your team fare last season and what did you take away from 2015?
We didn't do very well actually. One of our best runners, Alex Boucher , who is back this year, was injured for a good portion of the summer and wasn't able to log many miles. Our other two best returners didn't have a lot of miles either for one reason or another. We ended up missing state by 1 point.
How is the team looking this year?
We're looking pretty good so far. Alex (Boucher) and Tommy Daly, our top two runners, have had a great summer. Both have run over 500 miles so far in only 12 weeks. A number of other guys are near that as well. Hopefully, we'll be competitive.
What are your tentative top seven?
Our top 7 should be those two (Boucher and Daly), Ethan Stephenson, Cameron Gangle, Omar Alkadry, Matthew Kuczajda, and Brandon Rengifo.
What are the strengths of this team?
I think most of them are finally understanding what it takes to be good. They have a much better appreciation for the work it takes to reach your goals. Also, in every single meet this year we will have the absolute best punter/kicker in the race. Tommy Daly is the kicker on the football team. Hopefully, he's like most kickers/punters and won't make any tackles on returns or blocks.
What has the summer training been like? Have you gone to any camps?
Training has been good as I mentioned above. We went to the Brevard Distance Runners Camp again this year. Most importantly, we finally won the dodgeball tournament (Tommy Daly, Alex Boucher, Daniel Ubinger, Will Fitzgerald, and Clay Kramer). We also emerged victorious in the Team Olympics, Corn Hole (Alex and Tommy), and Gladiator (Sterling Anderson). A pretty dominating performance overall. We ran some too.
Any new additions who may contribute or surprise non-returners?
We have a number of new 9th and 10th graders. We'll have to see how they do. Sterling Anderson has improved a lot from last year as has Matthew Kuczajda.
What are the team goals and meets you're keying for this year?
Our two most important regular season meets are Pre-State and FLRunners. Our overall goal is to get back to the state meet and finish in the top 10. Fingers crossed.