Highlights from the 2023 FSU Pre-State Invitational elite races at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee this past weekend.
Patrick Koon is still the man to beat in Florida high school distance running
After laying low for the first month of the cross country season in more lower key local races and not really flash a fast time yet the question was if Leon senior Patrick Koon was sharp and ready to hold off a large group of challengers led by Belen Jesuit's Joshua Ruiz who ran the fastest 5K cross country time in Florida high school history at 14:38 in a victory at the Southern Showcase in Huntsville, Alabama.
Koon found company late in the race with Ruiz and defending 4A state champion Matt Ryan of Nease, but was able to drop them both up the wall and pour it on the final straightaway to become the first 3-time FSU Pre-State Invitational champion and just missing his own course and meet record in 14:50.4 (14:50.0 in 2022 FSU Pre-State Invite).
After dispelling Ruiz and the field, the recent Stanford commit Koon may next try to best Ruiz's 14:38 state leading and record time next at the New World Spectacular on the fast course at Cecil Field on October 14th. Koon ran 14:11 on the track indoors last March for 5K in a state record performance at New Balance Nationals Indoor.
Winning a third straight title in 3A as well as possibly lowering his own 14:50 course at the state meet when he races at the ARP again in November will be a big goal of us, but Koon definitely will be saving something for the post-season push and attempt to qualify for his second Foot Locker Nationals after qualifying as a sophomore but missing out as a junior in 2022 due to an injury suffered.
The top 7 was super fast in the elite boys race with all under 15:20 with Koon and Ruiz both breaking 15 minutes and Nease senior Ryan with his second near sub 15 minute race of the season in third with a 15:00.90 PR. Belen's Marcelo Mantecon clocked the fastest ninth grade performance ever on the course at 15:10 for fourth place, while Jonathan Leon of Hagerty (5th, 15:15 PR), David Serra of Ransom Everglades (6th, 15:17), and Riley Smith of Buchholz (7th, 15:18 PR).
Leon and Smith will definitely be trying to close the gap on Ryan at the state meet after running new PR's including a huge new PR for the recent Florida commit Riley Smith who followed up his significant win from Katie Caples with another great race. Ryan will definitely be favored to repeat and hopefully can dip under the 15 minute barrier team that has been dangling out in front of him this season while also trying to lead the Nease boys to a state team title after their third place showing at FSU Pre-State
Leon and Serra have finished only seconds apart in their two head to head races this season at the Astronaut Invite and FSU Pre-State. Serra was 22 seconds ahead of his next closest 2A finisher in Liam Jordan of Berkeley Prep (11th, 15:37) as the top state title contender in that classification.
Belen Jesuit wins sixth straight FSU Pre-State Invitational
Winning as many 3A state titles as Belen Jesuit has over the years to make them the all-time winningest boys program in FHSAA history is certainly one of their squad's top achievements, but winning the FSU Pre-State Invitational over a six year span which is a meet that includes virtually all of the best teams in Florida regardless of classification might be an even more impressive feat.
Currently ranked by MileSplit as the fourth best team in the country, while owning the fastest 5K team average nationally at 15:11, Belen Jesuit crushed the elite boys team field tallying a team score of 38 points to put them well ahead of the runner-up squad Brother Martin from Louisiana in 124 points and the next highest Florida squad in Nease with 148 points.
Top runner Joshua Ruiz joined only a handful of past runners to ever break 15 minutes at Apalachee Regional Park course in second place with a time of 14:59, while Belen had 4 finishers among the top 10 places including Ruiz and his brothers Justin (9th, 15:33) and Joseph (10th, 15:34) while freshman phenom Marcelo Mantecon grabbed fourth place in 15:10. Evan Torres rounded out their scoring five in 21st place under 16 minutes in 15:53.
In a remarkable show of depth, all 10 of Belen Jesuit's runners in the elite race broke 17 minutes as well as 3 additional runners in the select race for a grand total of 13 under 17 minutes.
With their squad stuck in the conundrum of the state meet and Nike Cross Nationals Southeast Regional on the same weekend in November, this past weekend might the last time that we see the Belen Jesuit boys at full throttle this season on Florida soil. They head to Great American this upcoming weekend to race on the NXR Southeast course in Cary, North Carolina.
Brother Martin made the trip all the way from Louisiana and made the long trip worthwhile packing it up with a 27 second spread for their top 5 runners and a 16:03 team average to earn a runner-up team trophy in the elite race.
Meanwhile, the pecking order of top boys teams in the 4A classification was established this weekend with the Nease boys making claim as the favorites now after finishing third at FSU Pre-State with 148 points to put them ahead of Buchholz (4th, 212 pts), Christopher Columbus (5th, 259 pts), and Hagerty (6th, 272 pts). Nease had a runner-up team finish in out of state competition at the adidas XC Challenge in North Carolina and then proved themselves in state now as the favorites at the mid-season point to be our next 4A state champions, but the classification is hyper competitive with many of the state's top 10 ranked teams regardless of class.
Annabella Tomasic becomes the youngest FSU Pre-State champion ever
Lake Highland seventh grader and 13 year old Annabella Tomasic made history in becoming the youngest elite girls champion in the FSU Pre-State Invitational's meet history with her 17:35 cross country 5K best victory.
In a highly anticipated clash between all of the 2A's top stars with Tomasic, Addison Dempsey of Cardinal Mooney, and Mackenzie De Lisle of Bishop Verot, the trio was also joined up front with last year's 3A state runner-up Ashley Fitzgerald of American Heritage and this past spring's 4A state 1600 and 3200 meter champion Alyson Johnson of Creekside.
The lead pack battled for position amongst each other many times over the two loop course at Apalachee Regional Park, but Tomasic always seemed to be right there in the front or quickly respond when someone else tried to make a move. Coming up the wall, the pack of five was still together and striking distance to each other before Tomasic poured it on into the down hill finish to win by 5 seconds.
American Heritage's Ashley Fitzgerald seems to run her best races always at Apalachee Regional Park as after two sub 18 minutes races last year at FSU Pre-State and the FHSAA State meet, the University of Florida commit dropped a 17:40 PR to scoot ahead of Dempsey (3rd, 17:41), Johnson (4th, 17:49), and De Lisle (5th, 17:51) amongst a top 5 of finishers all under 18 minutes remarkably.
After losing her first race of the season to De Lisle at Cecil Field, Tomasic has not lost since including four straight sub 18 minute performances. She will get her next big challenge at the flrunners.com Invitational this weekend when she faces off against last year's FSU Pre-State Invitational in Eliana Black now running for IMG Academy. Tomasic's big win though in Tallahasee and prior performances this season certainly has pushed her quickly to the top to be considered Florida's best in cross country at a young age.
The best packed squad is the best team in Florida in Bishop Kenny girls
The Bishop Kenny girls have gone undefeated for the 2023 cross country season when racing their full varsity lineup including two major team wins at the Cecil Field Summer Classic and their home meet in the Katie Caples Invitational, but the big test was coming in Tallahassee this weekend with the opportunity to race out of the shadows of their 2A rivals from Bolles who have been one of the state's most dominant programs over recent years in their classification.
While the Bishop Kenny has had a rich history of success and past state champions including 8 team titles, the Bolles rise and reign over dominance over the last two decades has often made the Kenny girls play second fiddle when it comes to Jacksonville area private schools in the 2A classification. After the Bolles girls saw a great class of senior runners graduate this past spring that led them to an active streak of 3 straight state titles, the Bishop Kenny girls have pounced on the opportunity to rise to the top once again. Their team has not won a state title in cross country since 2008.
After Saturday's team victory at the FSU Pre-State Invitational that drought could be snapped in their next trip to Tallahassee come November for the 2023 FHSAA State Cross Country Finals. The Bishop Kenny girls were the best packed squad in the elite race at the FSU Pre-State Invitational with only 39 seconds separating their top 5 runners.
The power of their pack propelled them a very decisive team win in field featuring many of Florida's top ranked girls teams across all 4 classifications with a team score of 100 points. Bishop Kenny's seventh finisher came across the line ahead of the runner-up team Ponte Vedra's fifth finisher. The Jacksonville area was well represented with the top 3 finishing teams in Bishop Kenny (1st, 100 pts), Ponte Vedra (2nd, 149 pts), and Bolles (3rd, 174 pts).
Emily Wheldon was the top team finisher for Bishop Kenny in 14th place with a time of 18:55 and followed in the finish line chute by teammates Davis Johnson (30th, 19:16), Tessa Massa (32nd, 19:19), Stephanie Grden (34th, 19:24), and Alexis Wilson (38th, 19:35). The team might lack a true front runner that other top squads have, but they certainly do not lack depth as their 10th runner in the elite race ran 20:20 and finished inside the top 100.
Ponte Vedra won last year's FSU Pre-State Invitational and is hoping to win their second state title in three years in November for the 3A classification. Their team fared well on Saturday with a runner-up finish behind arguably the best team in the state regardless of class, but the meet was also notably missing last year's 3A state meet podium squads in defending state champions Osceola and last year's runners-up Dillard. The key for their team success at season's end will be their #4 and #5 runners closing the gap on their stout top three.
The Bolles girls in third place with 174 points had an admirable showing with their young squad lacking a great amount of state meet racing experience but had four girls on the state meet course breaking 20 minutes on Saturday. If they cannot catch Bishop Kenny by season's end, the consolation still can be a state meet podium top 2 finish with a squad that will not be losing any runners for the following year due to graduation.
Maclay School girls finishing fourth with 177 points might be in the driver seat for a competitive 1A classification as despite Pensacola Christian missing from the meet, the Maclay girls led by 1A girls top ranked individual Caroline Couch in sixth place at 18:14 were able to distance themselves from 2021 state champions Cambridge Christian (5th, 240 pts) and 2022 state champions Oak Hall (10th, 361 pts).