Clayton Knight (Ocala Vanguard)
Clayton Knight of Ocala Vanguard was a steady performer this fall for his squad as a sophomore including a season-best 5K time of 16:02, which ranked sixth-fastest among all sophomores in Florida for the season. He started his season with a victory at the Spikes and Spurs Classic in 17:11, which would be one of his few races above 17 minutes flat.
Knight was a top 20 finisher (17th, 16:27) in a competitive Florida Horse Park Invite before top 10 finishes and mainly top 5 showings in the majority of his remaining races before the state meet. Knight placed 20th in his first state cross country race with his 16:25 effort at Apalachee Regional Park ranking 7th fastest among all sophomores at the state meet. He was only 5 seconds off an All-State top 15 finish.