(Photos by John Calderon/Jeff Adams)
BOYS WINNER: Kurt Convey - Freshman @ Coral Reef
Coral Reef freshman Kurt Convey is no stranger to the spotlight. Convey was the middle school state champion in the 3000 meters as well as during cross country season. This year he has continued that success on the high school level finish second at the GMAC Championship and winning both districts and regionals. Coach Bill Wilson knew he would compete with the Miami Columbus crew, but to win the whole thing came as a bit of a surprise.
"I was actually impressed and surprised because I knew he was going to get into the Columbus top five and initially I thought he'd just get in there somewhere breaking into the two or three spot. At the 1.55 mile mark on the Larry and Penny course he was in second place and that point I knew we were in good shape. He has a stronger second half so I knew he was going to get them. The only thing that surprised me was that he beat them by 18 seconds. He didn't kick them down or anything he basically destroyed them."
Convey's time of 16:12.45 was a great accomplishment, but even better was the impact his win had on the rest of the team. The Barracudas finished fifth with a team score of 123, thirty-four points better than Varela, and earning them a spot in the state finals.
"I told him whatever you give us up front we need it because at one point on the virtual meet we were on the sixth or seventh spot. For us to get fifth place was a big relief because I felt the team thought they might not make it. Fortunately at the end we all got healthy and believe it or not that was our third race with our team back together since the beginning of the season."
As a freshman Convey has rose to the challenges put in front of him and become a leader of the Coral Reef team. Coach Wilson says the youngster has some characteristics that are hard to teach and put him well beyond his years.
"The impressive part is he comes to this team and the high school cross country scene much more advanced than the average 9th grader or even a good 9th grader. He has taken the transition to becoming a runner on a high school team very smoothly. He's been very good and the team loves him. It's very important to him that the team qualifies as well.
Convey's genes might play a role in his athletic ability. His dad Bill Convey is a three time state champion and one of the first Foot Locker finalists from Florida. Coach Wilson thinks he has the tenacity that some seniors can only hope to achieve.
"His ability to run thru pain, still remain focused, and execute a race strategy at such a young age is incredible. There are some 12th graders who have put the whole four years in that don't get it like he does. I think he will slaughter the school record of 15:39 set by Dylan Cook. The things he wants to do I believe he is capable of doing. I really believe he will be one of the best runners in Dade County and the end he can be a future state champ, and can go D-1 at some high profile school of his choice. He is going to be something incredibly special."
Kurt's Athlete Profile
GIRLS WINNER - Ashley Heitling - Junior @ Mount Dora
Mount Dora junior Ashley Heitling studied the rankings and read the articles. She saw all the talk about Kari Grippo and about how she was supposed to finish runner-up, but it didn't bother her. Coach Andy Douglas says that only fueled the fire.
"Going into the race it had been a long week for her because of all the articles and she saw Kari's interview that said there was no competition and that fired her up. All week long we told her if you can't visualize winning you can't win. She came to practice Friday and said I know this is weird but I can't imagine anything but winning this race on Saturday. We knew she'd be ready to conquer it and she ran her best race all year."
Heitling had won the district championship the week before and now was regional champion. Her time of 18:31.55 was 12 seconds faster than she ran at the same district course. Douglas says she is used to going out fast so it was an adjustment to sit back and change your strategy for one race.
"We knew by Kari's interview she was thinking she was going to lose Ashley after the first mile. We wanted to stay with her for the first mile, be within five meters, and then go past her after second mile and turn it into second gear. After she hears the gun she kind of freaks out and goes out fast, but I told her to not forget about what we talked about and just conserve her energy so she can have that kick at the end of the race."
The Mount Dora hills have definitely helped Heitling improve as a runner. She has seen her time drop over TEN MINUTES since her freshman year. This year Douglas gave her little rest for most of the season, but now they are starting to taper down and focus on speed work for the postseason.
"I cut down her mileage about twenty percent and instead of two hard workouts we do one quality workout as far as track workout and speed workouts. We're just resting her legs and doing more up tempo stuff with less mileage so her legs will be fresh."
This weekend at the state meet the Mount Dora junior will once again be an underdog for the 2A title. That is okay with both her and her coach because he believes it will just make her stronger and hungrier.
"It lights another fire in them to prove you wrong. She is mentioned with some great runners, but she is at the trail end of that list. Hopefully she proves she should be mentioned with those top runners. She is peaking at the right time and I think she'll be ready to compete with them."
Ashley's Athlete Profile