14th Mt. Dora Bible Bulldog Invitational
Let's get one thing straight... while it's not the fastest time of the week by time... Brian Atkinson most certainly gets Athlete of the Week and Performance of the Week (if we had such an award). This Mt. Dora course is absolutely brutal as anyone who has been there knows, complete with its own version of "heartbreak hill." To run a 16:12 on this course is just redonkulous. Yes, I said it.. redonkulous. GREAT JOB, BRIAN!
For anyone who wants to compare to a normal course... shave about 45 seconds off. For anyone who wants to compare this time to a fast course.... this is darn near sub 15 territory. In the first meet of the season? Redonkulous. I said it again... I've now hit my quota for the year for that word.
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Astronaut Invitational
Great opening for Nicole Carpio! It will be fun to watch her on this course in a couple of weeks at flrunners against the best of the best. After an injury plagued freshman season, she's clearly back to the Nicole we are used to seeing!
Tyler Davidson continues looking like this is going to be a breakout year for him also. Great summer pays off!!! Tyler ran over 1000 miles this summer.
I have NO IDEA why they did it or what they are trying to prove, but the Hoover, Alabama men won this race with a 16:43 team average........ less than about 14 hours after finishing second to Dr. Phillips at Mountain Dew in Gainesville the day before. Never seen that before, not sure it's wise.... but it's hardcore none the less.
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Boca Ciega Pirate Invitational
East Ridge/South Lake Open
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Historic Home Opener
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Katie Caples Invitational
The big girls match up between Chiles, BK, Holy Trinity, and Lourdes... and it wasn't even close. Chiles stomped them with a 19:18 team average and sophomores Lily Williams and Carly Thomas leading the way for them. Freshman Mary Ann Brown from Orange Park held her own finishing third in 18:47. Chiles is looking mighty and will only get better.
For the boys, Columbus comes up and pulls the big upset over Bishop Kenny. Remember BK (at least according to the computer rankings) is slated to be the best returning team in the state... and they in fact did have a better team average today: 16:20 to 16:24, but SCOREBOARD. By points it was Columbus by 7... and Armando Del Valle scored 5 points... that could have easily been 1 or 2 on a normal day for him. But for both teams, even under the cool night sky, those are some quick team averages for this early. Trinity Prep and Holy Trinity looked good also.
Colin Barker of BK won individually is a very fast 15:21 that was a course record and beating out Steven Hassen's meet record by 21 seconds. Michael Wallace of BK was third. Who's this in second though? Jimmy Clark of Creekside??? Totally didn't see that one coming... so looks like there's a new name to look out for from Jacksonville!
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Lake Brantley Open
Todd Grasley of WESH Channel 2 was there for online coverage. We will have links to those videos of races and interviews coming up.
Lecanto Invitational
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Lincoln Invitational
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Mitchell Invitational
National Elite Performances
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Pinellas County Opener
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South County Extravaganza
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South Fork Home Meet
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UF Mountain Dew Invitational
Dr. Phillips men looked really good running pack-style with their top five... and getting them all under 16 with a 16:42 average over Hoover Alabama.... interestingly, Hoover came back the next day and won Astronaut Invitational. Belen Jesuit, Charlotte, and Winter Park also looked well.
On the girls side... Lakewood Ranch over Winter Park? Really? REALLY! Lakewood Ranch looked good, yes, not taking that away.... but Winter Park, who some think is perhaps the only girls team in the state with a shot to challenge Chiles, was clearly not firing on all cyllanders. But, yes, in case you're wondering... all of their weapons (except 5/6 Katya Groff) were there. Shelby Hayes of WP won the race in 19-flat... at least it started off well. It's a long season, Wildcats!
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Washington Wildcat Invitational
Great team battle on the boys side between Pensacola Washington and Ft. Walton Beach. Washington wins that battle.... while on the girls side FWB easiliy wins.
West Hillsborough Invitational
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