FHSAA Cross Country Season Preview Boys and Girls 4A
Cross Country season has officially started here in Florida. I have posted a variety of rankings articles regarding overall pre-season returners rankings, individually and for teams. Here is a Preview of 4A. Remember that no ranking system is perfect and no season preview is perfect. One can't account for injuries, big jumps, transfers, breakthrough runners that we haven't seen yet and middle schoolers joining the varsity as incoming freshman, and in the case of some schools being able to run varsity. It is difficult to predict a season but one of the great things about Florida MileSplit is that we have a great ranking database that allows one to quickly and easily view rankings and XC and track PRs. Here is a look at what we may see in 4A this season.
4A Girls Team
The Buchholz girls are the #1 squad in 4A. They are the defending team champions and are seeking their 5th team title. They return four of their top five scorers from last year. The experienced squad is led by Sr. Eleanor Whisler. Whisler was 24th last year at State and comes in as the #6 ranked 4A girl in the pre-season rankings. She is joined by returners Ashley Hamilton, Jr. Annika Caedington, and sisters Sr. Kaitlyn Goslinga and So. Karsyn Goslinga. Last year the girls had a 1-5 split at State of just :35 seconds. Statistically, based upon returning times run last year, they are 99 points in front of the 2nd ranked East Ridge girls, 104 ahead of #3 Chiles, 108 ahead of #4 Plant, and 140 ahead of #5 Creekside. It would appear that East Ridge, Chiles and Plant would be fighting for the #2 and 3 spots on the podium. Plant was 4th last year, East Ridge 5th, and Chiles 6th. However, and it's a big speculative however, watch out for Creekside. Here is what Creekside may look like with a talented and competitive Fr. Sydney Johnson joining the squad this season.
Creekside HS (FL) 192
1) Alyson Johnson 17:49.29 1
2) Sarah Rose 18:35.20 9
3) Sydney Johnson 18:35.20 10
4) Abigail Clark 19:40.70 45
5) Valeria Tafurt 20:39.30 127
They will be on the podium and just may challenge Buchholz for the team title. The 4A Team race should be an exciting one. A few positions either way at State may determine the outcome.
4A Girls Individual
Jr. Alyson Johnson of Creekside is the #1 ranked girl in 4A and the #4 ranked girl in All-Divisions. Arguably, she is the best girl in the State at this time. She is the defending 4A State champion, running 18:22 in her win, and is the only 4A girl who ran sub-18 last year. She followed her 4A title with a 17:49.29 in the Footlocker South Regional. She had an impressive spring on the track as well. She defended both her 1600m and 3200m titles running a 4:53.34 in the 1600 and a 10:30.08 in the 3200. At the RunningLane Championships, she ran a 4:46.24 and a 10:19.00. She should defend her title.
The #2 ranked girl pre-season is Jr. Addison Elwell of Viera. She was 6th in last year's State finals in 18:49.30. On the track, she has run 5:00.38 in the 1600m and 10:58.18 in the 3200m.
The Roy twins, Mackenzie and Arianna are ranked #3 and #10 respectively. Mackenzie was 4th at State in 2023 with an 18:42.30. On the track in 4A, she was 2nd in the 1600m and the 3200m. She has PR's of 4:54.86 and 1o:53.10. Arianna was 5th last year at State in 18:45.20 and on the track she was 3rd in the 1600m and the 3200m with PR's of 4:58.10 and 11:02.02.
Jr. Sarah Rose of Creekside had somewhat of a breakthrough year in the 2023 Cross season and on the track in the spring at the 4A State meet. She was 2nd to her teammate Alyson Johnson at State in 18:35.20 in XC and on the track she ran the difficult 1600m/800m double with a 4th place finish in the 1600 in 5:00.29 and a 1st in the 800m with a 2:11.67.
Other girls to watch:
#4 Sr. Ava Schmitt
Wiregrass Ranch HS 18:17.15
#5 Jr. Malia Hambrick
North Port HS 18:19.00
#8 Jr. Rhyen Foley
East Ridge HS 18:33.30
#10 So. Natalia Gaona-Zelaya
Wiregrass Ranch HS 18:38.10
NR Fr. Sydney Johnson Creekside
4A Boys Team
The top 3 Pre-Season returning teams in the rankings are Christopher Columbus, Chiles and Sunlake. Christopher Columbus was 3rd last year and is looking to win it all this year. Chiles was 6th. Sunlake 14th. What a difference a year makes. This is one of the toughest divisions to preview. Christopher Columbus returns this season with one runner who has gone sub-16. Jr. Alexander Lopez is ranked 16th in the pre-season rankings with a 15:59.31. The team's strength is their 1-5 Split of :50.00 and their team average time of 16:18.47. Just 12 points back of them is Chiles. Chiles is a very similar team. No returners are under 16:00 minutes, but their average time is 16:21.36 and their 1-5 split is just :24.30. Sunlake has the #1 and #4 ranked returners in Christian Hindman and Cade Culpepper, but Hindman is out right now with an injury. Culpepper will have to step up to lead the team. This brings Creekside and Buchholz into the mix to get onto the podium. Buchholz and Chiles both have 4 team titles to their credit. Buchholz may have an advantage however, with the #2 and #14 returning runners in the 4A rankings. Sr. Gino Palazzolo is ranked #2. He was 10th last year in 15:45.10. Jr. Samuel Freas is ranked #14 with a 15:58.70. He was 16th last year at State with a 15:59.70. We will have to let the season play out and take a look at these teams again before the State meet. A lot can change, but this should be an interesting 4A Cross Country Season.
4A Boys Individual
The 4A boys division has 17 boys that have gone sub-16 last season. Jr. Christian Hindman of Sunlake has the #1 preseason ranking with a 15:22.47. He did not have a good State meet last year, placing 53rd in 16:35. It is my understanding that he is injured at this time. Hopefully, he will be back soon. The top 9 finishers in 4A last year all graduated. The 10th place runner was Gino Palazzolo of Buchholz. Palazzolo ran 15:45.10 and is the #1 4A returner from last year's State meet. The 4A boys individual race, just as the team race, is up for grabs and we will have to see how the season plays out. It will be interesting to see who steps up. In addition to Palazzolo, there are only four other returners from last year's Top 20. Sr. Braedyn Wormeck of Flagler Palm Coast was 11th in 15:48.40, Sr. Caden Baker of George Jenkins was 15th in 15:59.00, Jr. Samuel Freas of Buchholz was 16th in 15:59.70 and Sr. Brandon Witherow of Bloomingdale was 19th in 16:03.50.
Others boys to watch: Sub-16
FHSAA Cross Country Season Preview Boys and Girls 4A
Cross Country season has officially started here in Florida. I have posted a variety of rankings articles regarding overall pre-season returners rankings, individually and for teams. Here is a Preview of 4A. Remember that no ranking system is perfect and no season preview is perfect. One can't account for injuries, big jumps, transfers, breakthrough runners that we haven't seen yet and middle schoolers joining the varsity as incoming freshman, and in the case of some schools being able to run varsity. It is difficult to predict a season but one of the great things about Florida MileSplit is that we have a great ranking database that allows one to quickly and easily view rankings and XC and track PRs. Here is a look at what we may see in 4A this season.
4A Girls Team
The Buchholz girls are the #1 squad in 4A. They are the defending team champions and are seeking their 5th team title. They return four of their top five scorers from last year. The experienced squad is led by Sr. Eleanor Whisler. Whisler was 24th last year at State and comes in as the #6 ranked 4A girl in the pre-season rankings. She is joined by returners Ashley Hamilton, Jr. Annika Caedington, and sisters Sr. Kaitlyn Goslinga and So. Karsyn Goslinga. Last year the girls had a 1-5 split at State of just :35 seconds. Statistically, based upon returning times run last year, they are 99 points in front of the 2nd ranked East Ridge girls, 104 ahead of #3 Chiles, 108 ahead of #4 Plant, and 140 ahead of #5 Creekside. It would appear that East Ridge, Chiles and Plant would be fighting for the #2 and 3 spots on the podium. Plant was 4th last year, East Ridge 5th, and Chiles 6th. However, and it's a big speculative however, watch out for Creekside. Here is what Creekside may look like with a talented and competitive Fr. Sydney Johnson joining the squad this season.
Creekside HS (FL) 192
1) Alyson Johnson 17:49.29 1
2) Sarah Rose 18:35.20 9
3) Sydney Johnson 18:35.20 10
4) Abigail Clark 19:40.70 45
5) Valeria Tafurt 20:39.30 127
They will be on the podium and just may challenge Buchholz for the team title. The 4A Team race should be an exciting one. A few positions either way at State may determine the outcome.
4A Girls Individual
