(Photo by Victor Arrieta)
Everyone knows South Florida in the summertime is HOT. The talent in South Florida is burning up the cross country courses one week into the regular season. Our South Florida correspondent Eddie Romero takes a look at the top performances from the region.
Joshua Collins (Junior, Belen Jesuit)
Belen Jesuit junior, Joshua Collins, is experiencing some déjà vu. Just like the 2015 season, Collins has won his first two meets and is off to a hot streak in 2016. His most recent victory was at the Fleet Feet Invitational presented by Saucony, where he captured first place. Throughout the race Collins was up in the front against several red Satellite jerseys but in the end would pull away to win by over ten seconds. Crossing the finish line in 16:09.50, Collins has south Florida's fastest time of the year this week.
Collins's personal best is 15:52.21 but he is looking to go a lot faster this season. He has yet to be challenged to the line since both victories have had gaps between him and second. "For my personal goals, I want to try to go under 15 this year" Collins. Breaking 15 minutes in the 5k is a difficult time to reach but with Collins being so close to his PR this early in the season, the odds may be in his favor.
When it can to the team results, Belen Jesuit was second behind Satellite High School. Collins didn't seem to be too worried about the team getting second. He believes in his team and trust that they'll be ready to go for states. "For the team goals, we just have to keep closing gaps and just work with each other. Doesn't matter if we win or lose, we are just going to keep working on those gaps until we hit states." Collins.