Fort Walton Beach is looking for a podium spot when November rolls around for the Cross Country Finals. Last year, the team finished 8th, but that number could be decieiving. Coach Fields' squad went undefeated during the regular season in 3A before the injury bug took a bite out of their state medal hopes. The team has a renewed sense of strength this offseason and are ready for the challenge of Belen Jesuit and the rest of the 3A. The team has had a busy summer, logging over 500 miles, and working on elevation training up in North Carolina at the Brevard Distance Runners Camp.
The Vikings return six of their top seven from a year ago including seniors Alex Godfrey, Tim Bulger, and Brian Day. Godfrey finished 41st at the state meet while Bulger finished 48th. Both have personal bests of 15:43 and 15:47. Rounding out the top seven is Joe Guidry who had a spectacular freshman season finishing right behind Godfrey in 42nd at state, Charlie Shackelford, and Brian Sartz. Coach Fields has informed us they also added Trey LaNasa a transfer from South Walton who was their number one last season, and bring in another freshman face Trace McMullen from Destin Middle School That area has a great middle school feeder program and it has helped Fort Walton Beach become one of the deepest squads in the state and depth is incredibly important when talking cross contry. The depth is evident in their team 1-5 split. According to our preseason team rankings based on 5k times, FWB is number one. From number one to number five their is only a 25 second gap! That is incredible.
3A is one of the toughest classes with the likes of Belen Jesuit, Bartram Trail, and Estero in the mix as well. Fort Walton Beach has a great shot to make the podium and is hoping to continue that momentum into the Nike Southeast regional where they will most likely meet up with Belen and several other teams from around the state.
Coach Fields Says...
"The strength of the boys team lies in their split. They averaged a terrific low 22-23 second split most meets and while we don't necessarilly have a front runner we do have 7 guys who can all place very high in most any meet. Black Cat notwithstanding, their best average was Region with a 16:12 (23 second split). We hope to better that this year (had we run that at State we would have been runner up) and definitely hope to see sub 16 performances."
"We of course are looking forward to FLRunners and FSU where we will get to have an early season measure of our progress agains teams like Belen. They will as always be tough and all the polls in the state can't run our races for us. We know we have to earn it. Of course, our top meets as always are District, Region, and State."
"They are single minded and have only one goal in sight. 3A State Champs. We also plan on a trip to Nationals (region qualifier) this year. They have some unfinished business. Needless to say we are thrilled to be considered top ten in the NXN region, but again, we will look to do all our talking on the course. We are very, very excited about the season and the possibilities."
2012 Returner's Top Times
5K XC
| Fort Walton Beach HS | 111 | |||
| 1) Tim Bulger | 15:43.00 | 10 | ||
| 2) Alex Godfrey | 15:57.00 | 19 | ||
| 3) Joe Guidry | 16:04.00 | 24 | ||
| 4) Tyler Fabacher | 16:06.00 | 28 | ||
| 5) Brian Day | 16:08.00 | 30 | ||
| Average Time: 15:59.60 -- Total Time: 1:19:58.00 -- 1-5 Split: 25.00 | ||||
| 6) Charles Shackelford | 16:10.45 | 35 | ||
| 7) Brian Sartz | 17:23.00 | 333 | ||
Boys 3200 Meter Run |
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|---|---|---|---|
| 9:51.18 | Shackelford, Charles | FSU Relays |
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| 9:57.27 | Godfrey, Alex | FSU Relays |
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| 10:39.12 | Clemens, Frank | FHSAA 3A District 1 |
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| 10:43.41 | Marquez, Javier | FSU Relays |
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| 11:19.46 | Villegas, Aundre | Panhandle Open |
|
Boys 1600 Meter Run |
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|---|---|---|---|
| 4:31.08 | Godfrey, Alex | FHSAA 3A District 1 |
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| 4:34.23 | Bulger, Tim | FSU Relays |
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| 4:38.76 | Shackelford, Charles | FHSAA 3A District 1 |
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| 5:06.66 | Benedict, Demery | Panhandle Open |
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| 5:13.43 | Sartz, Brian | Panhandle Open |
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