The future of running will meet at Lakeland's San Lan park this weekend for the Middle School State Championships. Flrunners.com will be on hand with race footage, video interviews, and tons of photos from the event!
BOYS PREVIEW
The Boys Individual Championship will bring in the top three ranked boys in the state. Brandon Marquez an 8th grader at Avalon Middle School in Orlando, FL is having a breakout year by winning two Super Qualifiers. He set his PR of 10:30.15 at the flrunners.com Invitational then 2 weeks later at Pre State, Brandon pushed to a 10:33.60. Nick Jacobsen, last year's 3rd place boys finisher at the Middle School XC Championship as a 7th grader, won the 2011 Disney Super Qualifier in 10:58.01. Daniel Dean, from Tampa, is a relative newcomer to the middle school scene, but not in the road racing circles of the Bay area. Because of no cross country middle school public school programs, Daniel and his brother Judah have had to develop their racing skills elsewhere. He comes to the race with a PR of 10:50.9 set at Pre State. Brandon has raced both Nick and Daniel at separate times in the Super Qualifiers with Brandon taking 1st each time. However this will be the 1st time this season that all 3 will be going head to head.
In the hunt for the team title will be teams from all corners of the state. We have last year's championship team coming back to defend their title. Rams Running Team of Raa Middle School in Tallahassee comes to the meet with a team average of 12:26. Hailing from the panhandle area will be Destin Middle School. Their team average of 12:22 enabled them to garner 1st place in all their races this year. To represent the Southeast, we have Ammons Middle school out of Miami pulling a team average of 13:00 run on a 2.1 mile course. An area not to be left out of contention will be represented by Oasis Charter Middle School of Cape Coral. The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Champions won with a 12:29 average.
Other schools that can come in with an upset are Liza Jackson of Ft Walton Bch at 12:41 and Montford Middle School at 12:38.
The boys race is shaping up to be a very competitive race in both the individual title and the team title. Come out to San Lan Park in Lakeland, FL on Nov. 5th to see which part of state takes home the team title and who will be the boys state champion for 2011.
GIRLS PREVIEW
The girls championship race will be exciting as well. Not only do the Top individual girls in the state win in their respective regions, but they are also members of some of the fastest teams in the state. It will be showdown for both individual and team titles.
Wow is what came out of my mouth when I started analyzing the girls data. My reaction was because of two teams, Liza Jackson, defending title champs and Lake City Middle School. Both teams have top ranked girls and both teams have a team average in the low 12:50's, which would even be competitive in the boys division.
Vying for the individual state title will be girls from all reaches of Florida. We have Emma Tucker from Lake City Middle School, winner of the super qualifier at Disney, 3rd at flrunners, and 1st at Alligator Lake. Emma Rudman, 3rd last year, returns to the state meet this year leading the girls two mile rankings at 11:26.86. Representing the Miami area will be Alexa Cruz, placing 1st in all her races including 1st at flrunners. Maura Rosie Poling of Marco Island Charter School has a two mile average of 12:00 and has been dominating the podium stand in Florida's southwest corner. Another Lake City runner, Nicole Morse, has come on real strong this year with a PR of 12:07 and a 2nd place showing at flrunners.
I am truly excited to see these girls come down to San Lan for some great competition on Nov. 5th.
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