TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Leon High School junior Patrick Koon shattered the FSU Pre-State Invitational meet record along with the Apalachee Regional Park course record previously held by former Leon High great Sukhi Khosla with his 14:50 victory in the elite race on Saturday morning in Tallahassee.
After winning last year's meet in a time of 15:09 and running 14:40 for 5K on the track this past track season as well as running a 14:43 cross country 5K best in Huntsville, Alabama earlier this season at the Southern Showcase, there was little doubt that Koon was in shape and capable of taking down the 14:59 course and meet record set by Khosla in the 2013 FSU Pre-State Invitational.
The question was if the conditions would be right and the competition would be enough to push him to go for it. As far as competition, it would be all on Koon as he was able to separate after the first loop from sub 9 minute two miler Marcelo Parra from Texas as well as the rest of the field which included virtually all of the state's top ranked runners in Florida (20 of the top 25 ranked).
The conditions could not have been any better as there was a rare chill in the air for Florida with the 7:40 AM start time in North Florida with temperatures in the low 50's as the race got underway and a still wind. Being the first race of the day, Koon blazed the trails for the remaining 7 high school races on the day.
An Eastbay National finalist last year finishing 37th at Balboa Park in San Diego, Koon hit the mile mark in 4:46 with a pack of runners, but was all by himself when he hit the two mile mark in 9:31 with a 12 second advantage on Parr at that split mat. Koon would ultimately win by 19 seconds over Parra (2nd, 15:09), one of the fastest runners from the state of Texas making the trip to Tallahassee with his twin brother Franco (11th, 15:28). The field was incredibly deep in the elite race at FSU Pre-State Invitational with a grand total of 44 runners breaking 16 minutes including many personal and season best runs.
Fittingly on hand to watch Koon's historic run was the Leon alumni whose record he broke in Oklahoma State University graduate Khosla. Leon has had a rich history of state champion and legendary greats ascending into the national level including Matt Mizereck and Herb Wills prior to Koon and Kholsa.
With Koon's signature win at the Southern Showcase and besting all the prior Florida talented greats that previously raced on the Apalachee Regional Park whether at the Pre-State Meet or FHSAA State Finals, his stock is certainly rising nationally that has be in that discussion among the top 15 or top 10 high school cross country runners in the United States. His season best 14:43 ranks 8th nationally and will likely be looking to book a return trip to San Diego at season's end at the now Champs Cross Country Championships (formerly Eastbay/Foot Locker/Kinney).
We caught up with Koon in an exclusive interview on Sunday morning as well as workout visit soon!