Boys Preview
Individuals:
The boy's 4A state race this year should be a good one since the top 15 runners from regionals all ran under 16:15. With the top two runners breaking 16 and several guys right on the edge of breaking it, this 4A a race will be anything but boring. Starting with Timothy Doyle, the junior from Freedom High School, will be coming into the state race with the fastest time ran at a regional. He placed first at 4A Region 1 with a time of 15:50 and increased his winning streak to three. He also set a new personal best after running that time.
The win didn't come easy for the runner they call "Flash" as he powered past Lyman's Bryce Bell with his state champion 1,600m speed in the final meters by five seconds. Bell has a PR of 15:46.51 from that same regional course and has not finished lower than fourth in any of his eight races this season which includes five wins.
Both guys have a good chance to win, but Doyle will be right with them. We don't mean Timothy Doyle, we mean Matt Doyle, who's from Winter Springs. Doyle came in third at the 4A Region 1 race and finished with a time of 16:01.30 which is his new personal best. He has been getting better throughout the entire season and the state race looks like a perfect time for him to break into the 15s. Behind Doyle came Cole Pruim and Tyson Harper, who finished in 16:02.80 and 16:03.30. Both boys had huge PRs that day. 4A Region 1 had 14 of the fastest times of the week.
Don't sleep on St. Thomas Aquinas' Nick Rischar. Rischar won the 4A Region 4 race with a time of 16:14.89 on a notoriously hard Larry & Penny course in Miami. He hasn't raced as much as other runners in the field, but he's won the last three races he has competed in. You can argue that his PR of 16:12.52 might just be good enough for a medal and not a podium spot,but he has yet to be pushed in a race. He's peaking at the right time and the state race can be his for the taking, but only race day will tell.
Team:
As far as the team battle goes, St. Thomas Aquinas is the sure pick to win. They have been performing really well this year and should defend their title with ease. Timber Creek might have been the surprise pick winning 4A Region 1 with their pack style mentality, much like the Raiders do. Lakewood Ranch beat out Newsome by the slimmest of margins in 4A Region 2 and could battle again this week with a podium spot as the stakes. All three of these teams need their 4-5 runners to have their best performance so they can close that gap and leap past the others.