Kacy Smith has become one of the brightest new stars in Florida cross country this year, after wins at FACA and Mountain Dew and followed by impressive showings at flrunners.com, FSU, and Prestate. This is the first entry of a weekly XC Journal that Kacy will be doing with us. We will keep tabs on what she is going through as the season progresses toward the state championship!
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Well, we are two-thirds of the way through the 2010 Cross Country Season here at Estero High School. It seems like our season just got started and here we are looking towards the last four weeks. After what seemed like a long summer of conditioning the 2010-11 school year started and we are back to our usual 4:45AM practices, which I love.
Our practices are tuff but fun. We are a very competitive team and we all work hard. During practice we push one another to make each other better. We are taught that we are a team and there is no “I” in team so if one person screws up the whole team pays for it. It has made us a stronger team and we have a closeness that a lot of teams may not have because of it. Coach Sommer is always encouraging everyone to step up and run with someone faster than you. He tells us “there is not a boy’s group or girl’s group because we are all athletes and we all need to work like athletes”.
We are a very close team, almost like a second family. We are all good friends, and we all understand that coach has high expectations for us. We all must have good behavior, attendance and do the best we can in school. Before every race coach either looks at our grades or talks to some of our teachers to make sure we are doing what is expected of us. If he finds out differently you could find yourself doing extra at practice or being benched from a race.
Our first race of the season was a blast. We ran the FACA race in Tampa. Not many of us ran a PR due to the fact that it was a nasty muddy course but I loved it. There was hardly any incline throughout the race but it was very muddy. It was my first win of the season as an individual and I couldn’t wait until the next one.
The next big race was the Mtn. Dew Invitational at the University of Florida in Gainesville. In one word to describe that race is “Awesome”. That was my first high school race breaking into the 17’s. The terrain was very hilly since we were running on the University of Florida Golf course. The Estero girls won the seeded race and I came in 1st over all. Being able to watch the college students race the same course before the high school race was an inspiration; it made me want to be able to reach some of the college level times.
Then it was on to our third big race of the season FLrunners in Titusville. The course had not changed at all from last year so I was more confident than I had been the previous year. By this point in the season the Estero girls had proved that we were a team to watch for. We had shown that we deserved to be in the Race of Champions (ROC). I felt that if I “ran smart” I could do very well even though I was running against some of the top girls in the State. It is a challenging race not just because of the runners we were racing against but just the race course itself is tuff. I once again improved on my time and came in 5th overall and our girls team placed second, only 1 point behind Lakewood Ranch, one of the top teams in the State.
Then it was off to the FSU Invitational in Tallahassee. It was a great day to race the weather was perfect and the course was absolutely beautiful. It was more of a trail run with all of the elements that make a great cross country course. From the one large incline at the beginning of the race, to the winding trails through the woods. I once again came in 2nd I guess I have to learn that I don’t always have to be out front that I can let some of the others do the work and make my move further into the race. The Estero Boys and Girls both took home first place trophies by beating out nationally ranked Holy Trinity.
Our most recent race was Pre-States this past weekend in Dade City. I love this course, I’m a very outdoors redneck kind of girl and watching the sun come up over the horse track is absolutly beautiful. Once again we were running in the Elite race against some of the best in the State. We knew this was our last chance of the season to compete against Lakewood Ranch if we wanted to prove that Estero girls deserve to be ranked #1 in the State. This time it was the Estero girls that took home the first place trophy for the elite race 10 points ahead of Lakewood Ranch.
Now it’s time to start thinking about the end of season. During the next four weeks we hope to be competing in District, Regional and the State competitions. The Estero girls team is hoping to make history by bring home the 2010 Girls Cross Country State title which will be the 1st in our schools 23 year history. So stay tuned and we’ll see what happens!!!!