Hagerty Invitational Meet Summary

 

Like a blind man attempting to envision the whole elephant by touch, mid-season cross country invitationals give us a “peek” at what might be at season’s end, but not entirely so. Thus, while the results of the Boys’ Elite Race may have felt like a trunk, it must be remembered that it is the same basic shape of that pachyderm’s tail. In this race, the two front runners, Eduardo Garcia and Phil Duncan, met for the last time before the State Meet, each trying to ride the elephant, rather than be trampled by it.

 

Phil Duncan is having quite a run this year, including big wins at FLRXI (a 15:25 PR) and the Manhattan Invitational (he won the  Boys Varsity “G Race”  in 13:04.99), so he has had more than enough success to put his efforts in perspective.  But, you can’t run a PR every time out of the start box, and as it turned out, he pretty much would have had to just that to win this race.

 

“I went out in 5:02, 5:03—around there—which was a little slower than usual.  But I thought that he (Garcia) would go out faster....I also thought that Winter Park would be here,” Duncan began.

 

Eduardo, on the other hand, felt, “It was a very fast start; it was on a five minute per mile pace. I was with the lead pack. Phil Duncan and the Spruce Creek kid (Andrew Carpenter) were about 20 meters ahead of everyone.”

 

“I wanted to go out with Phil Duncan, and try to beat him,” said Carpenter wistfully.

 

His Spruce Creek teammate, Mat Miller, added, “He does that in practice, too.” 

 

“But it didn’t happen,” finished Carpenter (13th in 16:41.80).

 

(Miller, incidentally, was closer [17th in 16:46.70] to Carpenter, than Carpenter was to Duncan.)

 

“On the second loop,” continued Garcia, “before the tree line, the guy from Spruce Creek (Carpenter) started to fall back. I was still in the lead pack, and we began to close on Phil Duncan.  When we came out of the woods, I sprinted to catch up to him, and did so around the lake. That was my big move.”

 

“It felt a little harder than usual,” said Duncan.  “I felt a little ‘flat.’  I’ve been putting in some big weeks; around 65 (miles) is typical of what I hit the last two weeks.” 

 

“We ran the whole third loop together—pushing each other—and going fast,” Garcia sounded in.  “On the third lap, with about half a mile to go, I threw in a surge.”

 

When they emerged from behind the lakeside sedges that hid Garcia’s “big move,” Eduardo had a commanding lead. Just in case, however, as he made the next (left) turn, he cast a quick glance over his shoulder.

 

“I was checking to see where he was at.  At that point, I just kept going.”

 

“Eduardo put in a good race,” surrendered Boone’s Duncan.  “He beat me by five seconds (exactly; 15:21.20 to 15:26.20). He certainly wasn’t slacking.  He was running really well, so I wasn’t upset.”

 

Like their team leader, the rest of the Mandarin Varsity also kept going, and going...like an energized elephant (the “other” term is already patented, copyrighted and protected by millions of always ready-to-gnaw Leporidae).

 

“Before we came into this race, we knew this was the last one before post-season,” commented Garcia. “We are not concerned about rankings. We came here to ‘chop wood,’ as our team slogan goes. We knew there was going to be great competition; I knew he (Duncan) was a great runner, and my team was excited to race against them (Boone, Hagerty, and Spruce Creek). This was our best race so far.”

 

And then some.  Eduardo is sometimes referred to as “lightning,” and as lightning is followed by thunder, his PR (15:21.20) was followed by a bus full of Mandarin bests. Brian Hart (16:43 PR), Jeremy Wegener (season’s best of 16:57.20), Michael Aitken (17:03.40 PR), Tyler Mowery (17:07.30 PR), James Shannon (17:21.50 PR) and Aldo Shahini (17:36.80 PR), all ran a race to remember.

 

When asked about his being the “lone holdout” among “Team PR,” Wegener said, “I ran an ‘inspired’ race at Footlocker South (16:23, last November.)” 

 

“He ran in the seeded race (130th out of 224),” explained Garcia.

 

ELITE BOYS TEAM RACE – While Garcia was preoccupied with Duncan, and Mandarin was “chopping wood,” the elephant herd ran by, almost unnoticed. Trinity Prep literally stampeded to the team trophy. Placing four in the top ten (3-4-5-7-17-38), their 36 points were a fraction of everyone else’s.  Mandarin was second (1-13-19-21-23-33-39; 82), and Timber Creek third (8-9-18-31-43-45; 96). 87 runners and 12 teams made it into the results.

 

 

 

While the Elite Race was finishing up, I couldn’t help but notice one of those rare moments that mean a little more than time on the clock.  Off in the distance, in a spot that was otherwise devoid of spectators, were three Geneva girls, cheering enthusiastically for every runner that passed by, regardless of their uniform.  So I decided that, instead of chasing the winner of the race for an interview, I’d chase the cheerleaders who were still out there for the last guys in the race. Being old and slow, I “caught” them in their tent.

 

Left to right in the photo, and all wearing identical halos, are Moira Cloke, Annie Driscol, and Carrie Sloan, each of whom run for the Geneva Girls JV.

 

Moira (an eighth grader): “I like cheering, because it’s fun.  When I get cheered for, it makes me run faster.”

 

Annie (a sixth grader): “When I run, it makes me run faster when people cheer.”

 

Carrie (a sixth grader): “When you cheer, they run faster, and your race is sooner.”

 

So, if I get this right, Running + Cheering = Tempus Fugit!

 

 

In the “fast section,” Mary Kate Ponder literally outran “the herd,” and Mandarin clinched a twofer of the Varsity Elite races.

 

“I started out with a pack…”  ‘O’derms? “…of teammates,” explained Mary Kate.  “My coach told me, ‘When you get to the first mile, go!’ That’s what I did.”

 

“Bryce Seymore, from Hagerty (5th in 18:59.40), and I were running together for awhile….I guess it lasted until the pond on the second lap, where I broke away from her. I was running on adrenaline.  I had no idea what mile I was on.  I just kept going. I remember my Dad and my coach telling me that she was about 20 meters behind me.

 

“I didn’t want to get too comfortable, because anyone could get that ‘runner’s high,’ so I just started to surge.”

 

It turns out that if she had taken the time to look back, her fears might have been realized. Besides Ponder and Seymore, Geneva 7th grader Wilson MacKenzie (second in 18:53.30), Titusville senior Teresa Huff (3rd in 18:56.30), and Lake Howell sophomore Regan Farrow (4th in 18:56.70), were literally right behind her.

 

Mary Kate came in to the race with an 18:56.05 PR at the October 2, 2010 Bale-n-Trail.  However, she will probably remember this race as the one where she “turned the corner,” finishing first in 18:47.80.

 

“I won conference this year and last, and some smaller meets, but nothing this big.”

 

 

GIRLS’ ELITE TEAM RESULTS – Ponder’s overall win helped, but could not seal Mandarin’s attempt to collect the team trophy.  Spruce Creek (8-10-14-16-30-45-59) had nine fewer points overall (78) than Mandarin (1-12-17-26-31-41-44; 85).  Titusville showed great team effort (3-7-19-32-33-38-39), and finished third with 94. Twelve teams and 96 runners scored.

 

 

I would have loved to have seen the finish of this race, for more reasons than I am at liberty to discuss. 

 

When you are a photojournalist, your perspective is quite different,  and “seeing” is, unfortunately, delayed until afterwards, when you load your images onto a computer. (If you stop taking photos long enough to digest what you are witnessing, runners go by, unrecorded.)  Later that day, when the photos pop up on your computer screen, you try to interpolate the significance of their sequence. Such was the case in this race.

 

For 99.99% of the race, senior captain Harsha Torke, of Viera, seemed invincible. (Right up to the posting of “official” times.) He went past, first this way and then that—the scene repeating itself three times in the (approximately) 3X1 mile loop course—waaay out ahead of the field.

 

“Usually I start out too fast,” he admitted, “so today my teammate John Campbell and I tried to go out with the pack, and not lead.  By 800 meters we realized that the pace was too slow, and we broke away.”

 

But the two didn’t stay in contact for long.

 

“He didn’t want to burn himself out too early in the race, so he slowed down.”

 

For the second and third laps, Torke ran alone, in a torrid pace, while an ever-dwindling number of runners valiantly tried to remain within striking distance. Campbell slipped back to fourth (where he finished). Lake Highland Prep junior, Nick Papa, took his spot in second place, while Deland’s Ken Paneira put some distance between himself and the rest of the field.

 

(When leading a race by a large margin) “It’s not hard to keep your focus, but it’s difficult to maintain an even pace.”

 

Papa and Paneira tried to keep Torke on their radar, but couldn’t. Torke ate up ground faster than Pac-man goes through those little elephants in sheets. 

 

“I was getting pretty tired from the heat,” sighed Harsha, “but I’m satisfied that I managed to stay consistent in the last mile.”

 

Hasha Torke finished first, in—I think—16:35.34. (The jury is still deliberating that, as of this writing.) Nick Papa was definitely in second, perhaps in 16:59.58. 

 

Although it took awhile for the rest of the herd to reach the watering hole, and their dust to settle, as Torke and Papa finished, even bigger things were still going on in the race behind them.

 

Let us begin with a “tale.” Four years ago, a promising 13 year old freshman enrolled at Deland, and while he was to go on and achieve a modicum of personal success in his four years, the one thing that eluded him--much to the chagrin of his hopeful coaches—was a team trophy. Four years and nada.

 

But in August of 2010, the clouds cleared, the sun shone down, and along came a different freshman. But Hark! He was not alone; following him down Jacob’s ladder was a whole team of freshmen (eight in all).  And lo, a place sometimes insensitively referred to as “Deadland” was thereby transformed into a land of milk and honey! (Okay, so I’m getting a little dramatic here, but stick with me, and try to imagine that you are from a school whose running successes have been…well, humble.) 

 

The door that led to Deland’s destiny was thrown open by Paneiro’s third place finish (17:16)*.  He was followed inside by senior DJ Patton (18:25), freshman Giovanni Bubenik (18:48), junior Eric Hudnall (19:04), junior Gage Kasbeer (19:20), freshman Taylor Hack (19:32), and freshman Brandon Russell (19:36). This mostly freshmen (4/7) team’s 89 points placed them first among the field of 14.  Thus a team XC trophy was finally on its way to a dusty, but welcome spot in that Pantheon of High School recognition, the gym showcase.  And no doubt, on Monday there will great rejoicing among the masses in the “Dogbowl!”**

 

Deland Girls coach Jim Lowenstein puts it in perspective.

 

“I don’t know that we have ever won a Boys’ cross country invitational.  Going back to when I ran cross country (1976-77), I can’t remember us ever having won a big meet.  We were once ranked third in the state, but we were behind Lyman.  They were in our conference, our district, and our region.  We always seemed to be at the same meets—there were a lot fewer meets back then—and they always finished one ahead of us.”

 

“Ever since we took the team to Gainesville (the October 9th /10th Annual Bobcat Classic, where they finished fourth), we saw a positive change,” explained Boys Coach, Dale Papineau. Our times weren’t great, but we’re young. We’ve been trying to build on that success, and working hard. If we work together, and stay together, we’ll have lots of fun together.”

 

“It was a real confidence builder,” Lowe continued, “Papineau and I have both been telling them that they are better than they think they are. What has been preventing them from crossing that threshold, is doubt.  We’re finally getting them to believe in themselves.”

 

He went on to point out, “Of the 22 girls that I had running…19 PRd today—some by two or three minutes—and the other three came within seconds of doing so.”

 

“I want to build this into a year-round program,” Papineau added. “I think that the kids are buying into the fact that you have to run year-round--not just during the cross country and track seasons—but also in between seasons and during the summer. We’re also looking into cross country camps during the summer.”

 

 

*The team’s times were recorded by their coach, and may differ from the “official times.” 

**A, more or less, concrete depression just inside the entrance of Deland High School, which serves as a gathering place for Bulldogs, as Deland H.S. students refer to themselves, during their lunch time…have I said too much?).

 

BOYS VARSITY INVITE TEAM RESULTS – As already overstated, Deland won (3-12-17-24-33-38-42; 89).  Nipping at their heels was both Viera (1-4-18-29-44-53-78; 96) and Circle Christian (8-14-21-22-35-56; 100). 111 runners and 14 teams made the result sheets.

 

 

Tenth grader Jacoy Hutto of Wekiva had a simple race plan.

 

“I just wanted to come out and run well,” she said, matter-of-factly.  “I was coming off an injury, tendonitis—something minor--and wanted to push myself and run well. For the first mile (which she ran in 6:18), I wanted to stay with the pack, pick it up a little bit (she ran a 6:36 second mile), and in the third mile (an approximately 6:46) push for a good time.

 

“I was running by myself, trying to keep my pace fast….”

 

Although she really wasn’t challenged, that is something that, time and again, can be a runner’s biggest problem.

 

“…So I was rubbing my arm against my bib (race #), so that it would sound like somebody was behind me…like footsteps.”

 

An imaginary foe….Certainly, her clear-cut plans also extend into the post-season.

 

“I’m looking for my time to be in the low 19s, and place wise, to do well in the State Meet.”

 

Jacoy’s PR—19:34.57, which she ran on November 7, 2009 at the 4A District 3Meet in Claremont—is such that she may certainly be within range of an even better time, perhaps an 18.

GIRLS’ VARSITY INVITE TEAM RACE – Jacoy’s lowest finish place, along with the performances of team mates Sarah Stephens (fifth in 21:28.25) and Alexandra Ping (seventh in 22:18.20), gave Wekiva (1-5-7-15-32-35; 60) just enough of an edge over a strong, but tightly packed Winter Park (9-12-17-18-26-28-34; 82) to win.  Deland, with a slew of PRs, was third (11-14-16-22-40-44-51; 103). 85 runners and 11 schools scored.

 

JV Boys’ Race

 

Although Spruce Creek junior Brandon Marris won his second race in 11 days, it wasn’t the “won” he would have liked to be in.

 

“I have to make up seven or eight seconds to make varsity,” he explained.  “We’re always ‘fighting’ (for the top seven spots).  I’ve only been on varsity once, and have been trying ever since…but I can’t….” he trailed off.

 

Although his finish time of 17:36.40 isn’t exactly shabby, the Spruce Creek Boys Varsity is on a roll, and all seven of them were between 16:41.90 (Andrew Carpenter) and 17:21.50 (Tyler Kameh). Right now, they are one of the toughest teams in 4A to make. But the 5 Star Conference Freshman/Sophomore Champion is still trying. He had to beat a senior to win this race.

 

“Some kid (probably second place finisher Donald Buffkin, Mandarin, in 17:44.21) got in front of me, like ten seconds (into the race), and he ran beside me for the whole race. The second loop, going around the lake, he started to fall back a little, and I picked it up.”

 

With a PR of 17:24.77 (12th at the Dade City Pre-State Meet on October 10th), he is in the right place, but at the wrong time. 

BOYS JV TEAM RACE – Mandarin placed three in the top ten (senior Donald Buffkin [2nd in 17:44.21], and  freshmen Austin Pitts [5th in 18:14.95] and Sam Mack [10th in 18:34.51]), to Spruce Creek’s two (Brandon Marris [first] and teammate [ninth grader] Preston Smith [seventh in 18:21.98],: Result: Mandarin (2-5-10-15-20-23-29; 52) by 12. Spruce Creek was second (1-7-16-18-22-24-27; 64) and Boone third (6-9-11-30-31-32-37; 87). 156 runners and 12 teams scored.

 

 

No meet would be complete without a story about a young, fresh-faced and bubbly Middle School girl and her first win.

 

“It hit me pretty soon,” Cassie Ketchum said of her victory.  “It was kind of scary during the race…worrying that someone might pass me. But it was a good feeling.

 

“Usually, I run varsity—I’m first on my team—but my coach (Ken Foster) wanted some of the JV runners to run varsity because it’s their last meet of the season.  Also, they get to run earlier in the day, when it is a lot cooler, and they ran better.”

 

Cassie dominated the race.

 

“There was one girl who went out a little faster, but I caught her at 100 meters.”

 

Perhaps because the Circle Christian phenom was running pretty much alone, her time (21:40) was nearly two minutes off her best of 19:50 (16th of 108), which she ran a week earlier at the Holy Trinity Invitational on October 16th.

 

 

JV GIRLS TEAM RACE - Spruce Creek had a trunkful of top ten finishers (1-5-8-9-14-21-26; 37) to win by 19. Mandarin was second (3-4-12-15-22-33-35; 56) and Boone third (7-11-13-18-41-42-43; 90). 133 runners crossed the finish line and 11 teams scored.