Trevor Foley believes he is in top notch shape in 2017. Foley transferred to Citrus Park Christian for his senior cross country season and has started out the year with wins at the Babe Zaharias Twilight Challenge and the Lecanto Invitational, both with sub 16 minute performances. He was scheduled to race with his team this weekend, but Hurricane Irma changed the plans.
"My house and family is all okay, but it has effected running quite a bit" Foley said. "I was really looking forward to racing in Ocala with Joey Fitzpatrick and Charles Hicks and trying to run a very fast time against good competition."
When the Horse Park Invitational was cancelled, one of the state's fastest harriers, knew he was in too good of shape to just stay at home for the weekend. His past two races served as easy tempo type runs and he won those convincingly by at least 40 seconds. The meet schedule also coincided with a big training block in his workout plan, so the need for a major test.
"We went onto MileSplit and found this huge meet in Kentucky, the Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational," he explained. "Dustin Horter who is ranked #8 in the MileSplit rankings and many other talented names will be there, so we knew we had to take advantage of it."
Foley, who has track credentials of 4:15.69 for 1,600 meters and 9:23.99 for 3,200m also noticed that speed in the rest of this weekend's field.
"There's so many great guys in the field with sub 4:10 mile times and sub 9:05 3,200 times and guys that have already gone sub 15 so far this season," he added. "It's literally the perfect race."
The Citrus Park Christian senior is currently on his way to Kentucky and is very excited to add his name to the meet's storied history. His plan for Saturday will be to get in with the pack, go for the ride, and see what he an make happen. Based on recent workouts, he's prepared.
"My workouts have been going very well from 3x1 mile with medium rest at a 4:30 average to 5x1 mile at 4:44 average with short rest," he said. "The hing that Coach Ray is really big on is tempo runs and I really like them so anywhere from 6-8 miles at 5:10-5:25 pace. I'm feeling very fit and confident in my abilities."
Coach Ray Friedman echoes that sentiment and feels Foley is ready for the big time.
"His training has gone to the next level, he said". "He's much stronger, more patient, wiser, and the training proves it. We just need to get in a few good races w excellent competition. He's been at 75-80 miles for six weeks already. It's time to race and sub 15 is the goal.
Cheering him along will be his grandmother, who always tags along for Trevor's biggest races.
"Whenever it's a far meet down south, in Tally, our out of state she always takes me," he said. "It's kind of like our thing. We go up two days before and make a nice trip out of it. It's really great time to spend with her and it is something I really look forward too."
More Coverage
- Trevor's Athlete Profile
- 1A Boys Individual Rankings
- Overall Boys 5k Rankings
- 2017 Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational Meet Page