Last fall was a rough one for Poinciana High School. The campus was torn apart after the hurricane season. On a less important level, most of the sports teams were terrible, including the boys cross country team that finished in last place in the Orange Belt Conference.
After the rough season, a sense of normalcy has returned and it is showing off on the cross country course where it is finally producing winning results. The team that finished last out of 16 teams in the Orange Belt Conference last year finished third in the conference meet two weeks ago and Carlos Torres has a strong shot at advancing to states.
Poinciana has a long and proud history in cross country but the program has fallen hard in the last several years. Former Osceola standout Brian McLoughlin was brought in to coach the girls team four years ago and made the switch to the boys in 2003. The team struggled at first, but is now one of the better teams in Central Florida.
McLoughlin said the change isn't just a matter of having better runners.
"We are much improved, and the new kids have come through for us, but there's a change of attitude here,'' McLoughlin said. "I talked to the new kids about the importance of being positive because everyone was disappointed with last year. They all came together with a new attitude and made it work.''
Over the summer, McLoughlin took some of his runners to New Orleans for a running camp and said it brought the team together and put the runners in a positive frame of mind that is now paying off.
Torres is the team's top runner and a standout soccer player and was told by his soccer coaches to get in shape by running. He's a native of Columbia and ran a little when he was younger, but even he didn't see the success he'd have at Poinciana in his first year of competitive running.
"I never expected this,'' Torres said. "I'm feeling pretty good about my chances to move to a higher level. If I can get into the low 15 (minute mark) I can do something.''
Without anyone else to set the pace, Torres makes his own and is solid through the middle part of the race. He admits he needs to work on his late kick, but he's Poinciana's best shot at a runner in the state event.
Thomas Alvarez loves to box and has spent some time in the ring training. He's competed in one contest, but said he wants to get back in again against an opponent and was told cross country running would help his endurance. He had lost interest in cross country after running as a freshman, but decided to come back after skipping a season.
"I just want to be in the best shape possible for boxing,'' Alvarez said. "This keeps me in shape and my times are getting better.''
Teddy Gebeyew, a native of Ethiopia, is a senior with little cross country experience, but he's a naturally gifted athlete who also plays soccer. He's had some problems adapting to his new country, but McLoughlin said he's a hard worker who is getting better at the right time.
The future also looks bright at Poinciana. The junior varsity team won the OBC meet last week, so the program is in good shape.
Pretty soon Torres and Gebeyew will be back on the soccer field and Alvarez will be back in the boxing ring, but for now, the Poinciana runners have a good reason to look ahead, not behind as the program makes fast strides back to prominence.