In a race featuring many of the state's top ranked returning runners and teams in the state of Florida, initial strong impressions were made but definitely much is left unsettled to use the next few months of races to sort out.
From the gun, Cambridge Christian ninth grader and FL #2 ranked Eliana Black was ready to roll and no one was going to keep up with her. Black crossed the finish line in a new personal best and course record time of 17:46 to set the tone for the season that she's going to have. After running behind the likes of graduated teammates Caroline Lehman and Mary Ellen Eudaly, Black certainly has the potential to exceed their historic high school careers at this pace.
The state's top preseason ranked runner and reigning 2A state champion Jillian Candelino was instructed by her Bolles coaches to tempo the race early on before moving up and finished second in a solid time of 18:13 despite holding back in the first half of the race. Will be interesting to see if can get another matchup with Black and Candelino later this season and see them let it rip for sub 18 minute races.
Candelino also led the Bolles girls to another team title at Cecil Field while neither at full strength (#2 returnee Elizabeth McClure competed in varsity race coming back from injury) or going full tilt (other varsity runners also treating race as tempo). One runner that appeared back at full strength for them and not racing it like a tempo run was Ella Mickler. Mickler had an exceptional sophomore year of cross country (18:22 5K PR), while having a setback year as a junior (19:15 season best). She appeared fully back on track with a sixth place finishing time of 18:28 on Friday night as the #2 finisher behind Candelino.
Rounding out the scoring five for the Bolles girls to give them a total winning score of 109 points and 19:13 team average after Candelino and Mickler were Elizabeth Csikai (32nd, 19:43), Estella Bruneau (33rd, 19:43), and Lexi Henderson (40th, 20:00).
The Cambridge Christian girls were the state's best squad last fall before setting the all-time team average state record at 18:06 from their top 15 finish with the RunningLane Championships last December in the post-season and despite losing major Division 1 college signees Lehman and Eudaly, reloaded to start their 2022 season with a 19:15 team average and runner-up finish at Cecil Field with 140 points.
Behind individual race winner Black, FL #5 ranked Cambridge Christian had two more top 15 finishers in the loaded field with junior Madeleine Gear in 5th place at 18:27 and Avery Pham in 13th place at 19:06 running lifetime 5K bests. Amirah Johnson (44th, 20:04) and Madelyn Spadaro (82nd, 20:54) rounded out their scoring and if they can improve their #4 and #5 spot as the season goes along, Cambridge Christian could potentially close the gap on Bolles for the spot as best team in the state and certainly appears as the favorites to repeat as 1A state champions.
Three of top five finishing squads were 1A schools including Cambridge Christian (2nd), Maclay School (4th, 195 pts), and Pensacola Christian Academy (5th, 258 pts) while Circle Christian was in 8th place with 318 points to showcase how strong the smallest classification in the FHSAA will be this fall for girls' cross country.
The FL #2 ranked Buchholz girls, last year's 4A state champions finished 3rd in the team standings and only 11 points off Cambridge Christian with 151 points and a team average of 151 points. Buchholz was one of only 2 teams in the race including Bolles to have 4 girls break 20 minutes on the day led by last year's race winner Kate Drummond in 9th place at 18:55 and followed by teammates Lucy Voss (12th, 19:05), Emma White (14th, 19:08), and Eleanor Whisler (29th, 19:41). With a fifth finisher at 21:14, Buchholz definitely has more room to solidify their squad to repeat as 4A state champions to compliment their strong top four as the season progresses.
There were a total of 10 girls in the race to break 19 minutes. Ponte Vedra junior Lindy White competed separate from the rest of her squad which raced on Saturday (Saturday was an SAT testing day conflict for many runners this weekend) in the Spikes & Spurs Classic at Flagler Palm Coast and she rolled to a new 5K PR of 18:23 keeping the momentum going from a track season when she nearly broke 5 minutes for 1600 meters. She had a prior PR of 19:42 from the New World Fall Spectacular last fall.
Rockledge's Malinda Underwood dropped 40 seconds from her win last weekend at the Wickham Jamboree (19:06) to place 4th overall in a time of 18:26 in the Cecil Field elite race. The sub 11 minute two miler Underwood could be a state title contender this fall in 3A and have to also throw in Ponte Vedra's White into that discussion after her breakthrough race at Cecil Field finishing 3 seconds ahead of Underwood.
Tallahassee area runners Lily Moore (7th, 18:44) of Leon and Susan Gracie Koeppel (8th, 18:54) of Maclay School both had strong individual races finishing among the top 10 at Cecil Field.
Bishop Moore's Paige McCaul was the 10th and last girl to dip under 19 minutes as she got into the 18 minute range for the second time ever with a 18:57 performance.