Workout film shot, edited and produced by Cyrus Hannah
Workout Wednesday visit with the Sarasota High School boys and girls cross country team.
The workout included 3 sets of 3 minutes at tempo pace, 3 minutes easy, 2 minutes at 5K goal pace, 2 minutes easy, 1 minute at 3200 meter pace, and 1 minute easy at Payne Park in Sarasota.
Guiding their team through the workout is head coach John Stevenson. Stevenson has been coaching since 2010 and coached a state cross country champion boys squad in 2018 at Sarasota, 3 state runner-up girls squads (2012, 2015, 2018), 3 individual state champions (2015, 2017, 2018) in cross country, another 3 individual state titles on the track, and won double digit district team titles as well as a handful of regional team champions in cross country.
The Sarasota boys come into the season ranked #8 in the 4A classification and #17 overall in the state of Florida after finishing 13th in last year's state meet. Their squad is led by two talented runners in Alec Miller (16:47 5K PR) and Will Hartvigsen (16:42 5K).
Miller really hit his stride this past track season as the 4A state champion in the 1600 meter run clocking a personal best of 4:13, which ranks him among the fastest returnees in the state and looking to make a big time drop at the 5K distance this fall.
Meanwhile, Hartvigsen is stronger the longer the distance and was a state qualifier in the 3200 this past spring with a 9:36 best. Behind Miller and Hartvigsen is a pack of runners who have run in the 17 minute range and looking to move up this season.
The girls squad similarly has a solid duo up front for them in sub 20 minute 5K runners Ella Menke (19:20 PR) and Indy Grajalez (19:47). Menke was only 6 spots of All-State honors last fall with a 21st place finish in the 4A race and went onto run personal bests of 2:19 in the 800, 5:19 in the 1600, and 11:41 in the 3200 on the track showcasing her range and eventual state qualifier and 10th place finisher in the 800.
Grajalez should be even stronger than a year after finishing her first year of high school running and trying to be a consistent performer in the 19-minute range as a sophomore in cross country. A group of girls who ran in the 21-minute range last season return and will be looking to fill out their team's top seven to make them competitive this fall in races.
Sarasota will open their 2022 season on Friday at the Babe Zaharias Twilight Challenge in Tampa, which flrunners.com will be on-site with race video and photo coverage.
The workout shoot was filmed, produced and editor by our contributor Cyrus Hannah, who we are going to be utilizing to film more workouts with more teams regularly this season in the state with his clear shooting skills.