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On this, the third Saturday of September, 709 runners from 32 teams had converged on a pre-dawn Sperling Sports Complex. As the rising sun gradually gained momentum, its light--which at first seemed diffused--was brought into focus by a retreat of the morning haze. The scene below became a confluence of the planning, hope, desire, ambition and—in at least one noteworthy case—totally unexpected success of five particular athletes (and perhaps others on different levels). In effect, the endless twists and turns of the course, choked thin by runners, coaches, spectators, tents, and cars, was transformed into a crossroads for a season that had barely begun.
Girls Varsity
Almost every distance race begins with a runner who jets to the front of the field, predictably captured for posterity by dozens of cameras, focused from any and all possible angles. Then, after a few fleeting moments of temporary fame, the emotion of the moment is quickly overtaken by the twin realities of athletic ability and level of training…not to mention by a legion of better runners. This was not one of those times. Bryce Seymour led all the way.
The Circle Christian junior came into the race with modest expectations, but left with her second PR in two races (she ran 18:50.96 at the Trinity Prep Invitational a week earlier). Like her other successes, prior to this race Bryce laid the groundwork of her coming cross country campaign by turning to flrunners.com.
“I don’t put too much pressure on myself before a race, but I do read it for perspective,” she told me. “Whenever there’s a preview, I look at it. I see who’s in the race, and decide how to run; to go out fast, or hang with the pack. For instance, today I was supposed to ‘tempo it.’ But after the first mile, I felt loose, and tried doing negative splits. I think I ran a 5:47, six, and six again. They were pretty close, but I tried not to focus on just that.
“Since it was only my second meet, I’m pretty happy with my time. I think I ran 18:25 or 18:30 (officially 18:25.72). I really want to break 18 and be in the high 17s. That’s my main goal for this year. Eventually, next year, I want to get in the low 17s, or, in the very least, stay healthy and keep up the intensity of my training.”
Along with those personal expectations comes a lofty team ambition.
“I’m also looking forward to a great season with the team. Our goal is to make the State Meet as a team. The key runners are me, Denae Chapman (eighth overall at Deland in 20:01.54) —she’s only in eighth grade, but has a lot of potential—Maddie (Jamerson, 75th in 23:19.32*), Ansley (Bos, 78th in 23:30.88*), Kayla (White, 106th in 24:53.14*), Brittany (Forrester, 108th in 24:56.93*), and Blair (Wonderly (124th in 26:21.96*). I hope they keep progressing to improve our team.”
Seymour’s enthusiasm for her team is a clear reflection of that shown by her coach. During the Girls Varsity Race, Chapman was here, there, and everywhere. She could be seen on one spot of the course, encouraging her runners, then she ran up ahead of them, and appealed to them to work harder, and later was further up ahead, applauding their finish. Bryce readily gives credit to her coach for inspiring them.
“Coach Darcy Chapman is in her first year, and she’s done an amazing job of bringing the team together, and bringing in her knowledge of running.”
Certainly, for Bryce, this season has gotten off to an even better start than her 2010 XC campaign—one which culminated in her 13th place finish in the FHSAA 4A Race (she was then at Hagerty) in a time of 19:07.75--and that might, in large part, be because she is benefitting from a foundation which was laid this past summer.
“My mom and dad are very inspiring and supportive. This year I attended Team Prep USA running camp in Gunnison/Crested Butte, Colorado. Camp went from June 26 to July 16th. That was a great gift, and experience, and was very helpful.
“I was then invited to stay an extra 20 days at the After Camp, allowing me to work more closely with Coach Trent Sanderson and a small group of about 20 clients.
“I got to train with some of the best people in the country. McKinzie Schulz, from the University of Notre Dame (ran a 2:12.12—1st place—and 4:49.77—2nd place—double at the May 21, 2009 Indiana HS State Championship) was a camp counselor. There were a lot of Florida runners there. I met Bridget Blake (Dr. Phillips, class of 2013; 2010 4A XC—17:52.90—and 2011 4A 1600—4:59.48--Champion) and Kylee McCoy (the 2010-2011 New Hampshire Runner of the Year); she went to college this year; I think Northeastern. It was awesome.”
It may safely be said that Bryce Seymour, similarly, is on other runners’ and coaches’ lists of “Who’s Who in Florida,” and undoubtedly near the top of said list.
*Place in team scoring, time overall, according to meet results.
The Girls Varsity Team Race
“A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!” (Shakespeare, 1594, from King Richard)
Ever notice that Sir William had a line for every occasion? In perusing the GV results, I couldn’t help but notice that, after Hagerty’s fourth place girl finished, they were down to Spruce Creek 48-47, a phenomenon that would repeat itself twice more before the meet ended. In this race, however, Hagerty’s Brenna Johnson (20:55) was the “horse.” Finishing 25th, she saved Hagerty’s kingdom; the team finished with 71 points (2-13-14-19-23-25-47), compared to Spruce Creek’s 79 (5-8-16-18-32-38-44). SC’s runner-up status proved to be the only blemish on an otherwise “Hawkish” collection of team trophies. (More on that later.) St. Cloud was third (104: 4-22-24-26-28-59-82). 193 runners and 23 teams scored.
Boys Varsity
The mere mention of Peter Licari strikes an almost universal foreboding of dread among fellow high school runners--“Where? Is he here? Uh-oh!”--the reason being, if Licari doesn’t end up winning, the guy who somehow manages to defeat him can look forward to a lot of physical pain, and a long recovery time.
I say almost, because of one Otniel (pronounced O-neel) Teixeira of Lake Brantley.
“He (Licari) is in my conference, so we always run against each other,” explained ‘O.’ “The faster he—or I—goes, the faster the race goes.”
Licari, it turns out, had hoped to win by going very fast.
“The last two races I basically ran with the intention of running negative splits between the first and second halves,” Peter pointed out. “Today, I tried to go full-bore.”
“He ran the race like a fartlek workout,” observed Teixeira. “He’d speed up, then slow down. At 600, I thought he’d go again, but didn’t.”
“I don’t know if it was that I ran out of steam,” Licari wondered, “or that he (Teixeira) had more left. At any rate, the biggest lesson is to try to stay relaxed, because I was a little tight today. But at the same time, I feel that the overall effort that I put forth is something that I can use to grow and mature on. I learned a lot of small lessons. Hopefully, I can put them together and use them in the next few races.”
Teixeira’s learning curve, in cross country at least, proved to be much sharper.
Otniel tried to explain it by stating, “Track is my strongest sport. I’m an 800 meter runner, so cross country is hard for me. I do cross country to help my endurance. If it weren’t for cross country, I wouldn’t have run a 1:53 (.47 at the May 7, 2011 FHSAA 4A Meet), or a sub-4:20 (4:19.46 at the April 13, 2011 Seminole Athletic Conference Championship) in track.”
He continued, “There are 400 runners that run the 800, and 800 runners that run the mile. So they don’t need cross country. But I need the base. You can’t just sprint the whole year. Two years ago I took off two weeks after cross country, and just did mileage until track. Last year, I ran 17:25 in the 4A Region 2 Meet (also at Sperling, on November 11, 2010, where he finished 40th). I only took off two days, and then went right into track speed workouts. It was pretty much like an indoor season. In my first meet (the Lake Brantley Open on February 26, 2011), I ran 4:22, and then 1:56(.37). This year, I’m going to try to go under 16 for cross country, and then 1:50 for the 800.”
On the other hand, Peter Licari says, “I consider cross country to be my favorite. I like the varying terrain, and the distance. I do have some leg speed, but the further I go, the better I get.”
Coach Harris of Lake Brantley tries to put all this in perspective.
“I’ve told Otneil that if he can run track and cross country, his stock rises, meaning, he’s more marketable for a scholarship. Today, everything is about marketing and presenting yourself. We’re looking at a Florida school, maybe USF, but also Southeast regional schools.”
“Coach Harris always pushes me during workouts,” Otneil continued, “and tells me what times to run. It has worked out well so far, and it should have a big impact this spring.”
Or maybe sooner, as Licari speculates.
“Otneil has to understand his potential, because he’s one of those athletes who ‘takes no prisoners.’ When I’m in a race with him, or say Billy Anguish, I know it’s going to be a fun day. Very competitive. I thrive off competition. I do better with competition.”
And on this particular day, one runner with hope and another with desire crossed each other’s paths. With 600 meters to go in the race, Teixeira kicked it in, using his familiarity with the 800 (his strongest event, and roughly the same distance) to score a breakthrough 16:23.47 first place win. That time was over a minute faster than his last race here.
Licari’s second place time—16:28.01—was not a complete loss. Remembering that he alluded to those “little lessons,” and his “growth and maturity,” we can be almost certain that in his next test he will run a “different kind of race.”
Boys Varsity Team Race
Over the past few years Spruce Creek has shown steady improvement, progressing from a good local (conference-level) team to one that has made an impact all the way to the district level. In 2010, they swept all six 5 Star Conference races (FB, FG, JVB, JVG, VB and VG), then the 4A District 2 Boys title (with 44 points: 2-5-10-13-14-19-21), just missing in the GV (placing second to Vero Beach, 43-38). This year, they seem to have survived the graduation of three members of last year’s Varsity Boys, and despite an injured #1 runner (he ran a full minute slower than expected), they were able to score first in a field of 27 teams with 71 points (6-7-12-20-26-28-35). Second was Hagerty with 101 points (2-21-22-24-32-60), and third Oviedo (151: 4-14-36-43-54-66-80). 207 runners and 27 teams made the results sheets.
Girls Junior Varsity
If you attend enough 5 Star Conference cross country meets, there are two things that you can expect to see: (1) there will be a whole lot of Spruce girls entered in the JV race (with enough SC girls up front to make all the white shirts seem like a race within a race), and (2) it’s almost a certainty that a young, fresh (and perhaps totally unfamiliar) face will take the lead of this long, white line, winning fame and glory for herself, her team, and her country…okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a little, but not by much. In other words, this is a truly ambitious JV team, one that always has one more runner to take your place if you falter. It’s a lot like corporate America.
This week it was 16 year old Alycia Loriz, despite it being her first cross country raceever, who became the CEO of the Girls JV.
“This is my first year of cross country, but I did track my freshman and sophomore years,” she responded to her first-ever interview question. “But my friend Bradley Koberg (he ran the JV Boys race) and Coach Gallon encouraged me to come out. I’m soooo glad I did. I feel a lot more proud of myself in this sport than I ever did in track.”
And why should that be? First there’s the win (a first in her first), then her time (21:42.30), and finally the fact that that time would have scored seventh, team wise, in the varsity race.
“I think I could probably help the varsity. I’d have Spruce Creek people in front of me, and catching them would be my goal. When I run with the varsity girls, they really help and motivate me, and we’re much more competitive in practice.
“Right now, my goal is to break 21 minutes by the end of the season.”
An ambitious goal at that.
Girls JV Race
After scoring in the first five places (15 points), the flood of SC runners “eased up” a little; the next two were seventh and 15th , respectively. In all however, Spruce Creek comprised 20% of the JV field. They were followed in the scoring by Lake Mary (69: 9-11-12-14-23-24-33) and Hagerty (88: 10-16-17-19-26-29-30). 138 girls ran and 11 schools scored.
Boys JV
Spruce Creek Senior Skyler Reese never expected to win.
“Not at all,” Reese said emphatically. “Going into the meet, Kevin Keyes (2nd in 18:50.75) and Garek Church (4th in 19:01.89) were definitely stronger, and they practice at a higher level. I didn’t think I could beat them.”
But then Skyler did the unexpected.
“Somewhere just before or just after the two mile mark, while they were running side by side in front of me, I busted through. Then I just pushed it as hard as I could for the rest of the race. I hoped and prayed that they wouldn’t catch me.”
When he crossed the finish line in 18:38.43….
“It was my first time ever in the top…and this is my fourth year of cross country.”
“Why today?” I asked.
“It’s a new season, and I trained a lot harder this year,” he explained. “I also concentrated more, used ‘tunnel vision.’ I guess in previous races, I focused on the other guys, and in this one I focused on running my own race.”
Is varsity a possibility?
“I think I might have a chance right now. There are a few guys who are not competing at the level they should be. I think I could come close, and at least be a good alternate.”
Every JV runner’s ultimate goal.
Boys JV Race
Spruce Creek wasn’t perfect, but they were close to it. Placing 1-2-3-4-7-11-14, they scored 17 points, while the next nearest, Boone, scored 75 (5-10-13-18-29-32-36). Bishop Moore was third with 110 (8-19-22-30-31-55-58). 171 runners finished, and 11 teams scored.
Footnotes: With 32 schools sending all or parts of their team to this meet, Sperling’s well-used cross country course was bursting at its seams. It might be time to add an addition to “The House that Lowe Built.” Anyone know a good contractor?