As the cross country season comes to a start we focus on several athletes who will be running for new schools. Several of the state's top female runners will be on new teams comes 2011 and in new classifications.
Mackenzie Wilson - Episcopal
Mackenzie Wilson makes the move to North Florida as she switched from Geneva to Episcopal for her eighth grade year. Wilson, regarded as one of the top middle school distance runners nationwide placed 30th at the 1A cross country meet in 2009 and 11th in 2010. She has a personal best time of 18:39.00. During track season Wilson finished second in the 3200 at the 1A state championships. Her time of 11:10.44 was the third fastest in the country by a seventh grader. It will be interesting to see how she handles the jump from 1A to 2A and competition that includes Cocoa Beach senior Shelby Davidson and Ransom Everglades senior Nicole Carpio.
Mackenzies' Athlete Profile
Emily Edwards - Fort Myers
Former Canterbury star Emily Edwards heads to Fort Myers for her sophomore season. On the track Edwards placed second in the 800 and third in the 1600 at the 1A state meet. This was a huge addition to coach Kelly Britton's squad after the loss of state champion Sarah Spann to graduation. As a freshman she placed sixth in the 1A Cross Country Championships. Her personal best is 18:18.74 for 5k. Edwards, along with seniors Rachel Petrik and Courtney Russo give the Green Wave much needed depth in a competitive class 3A.
Emily's Athlete Profile
Bryce Seymour - Circle Christian
Junior Bryce Seymour is transferring from 4A Hagerty to 1A Circle Christian for her junior year. She says the move was purely academic and the move offers her a chance to take on more dual enrollment classes at Seminole State College.
"As much as I hated leaving the coaching staff at Hagerty, I also had to think about what I wanted academically and what would benefit me when it came time to fill out college applications. After working out with my new team this week I am looking forward to an exciting season with them. They are a great group who works really hard and are extremely close."
Seymour finished 13th at last year's cross country state championships and helped Hagerty place fifth as a team. She says her new school will still compete in big meets such as the Mountain Dew Invitational, flrunners.com Invitational, and Pre-State, and thinks the competition in 1A will be just as fierce as it was in 4A.
Bryce's Athlete Profile
Joanna McCoy - Gulliver Prep
Joanna McCoy makes the move from Coral Shores to Gulliver Prep for her final season as a runner. She says already having friends at the school made the transition even easier. Last year, McCoy placed 6th at the 2A cross country championships running a season best time of 18:48.00. The senior has high hopes for her team and herself in 2011.
"I plan on the team coming with me to states and I plan on taking first place this year as an individual because I want it more than anything."
Joanna's Athlete Profile