Great American Recap: Florida Edition



Several Florida squads headed north to Cary, North Carolina to compete against top teams from across the country at the Great American Cross Country Festival.



Race of Champions

Colonial coach Rene Plasencia believed coming into this race his boys could compete with the top teams in the nation. The Grenadiers, who are the defending 4A state champions, didn't have an easy days work finishing 16th out of 31 teams. Andres Arroyo placed twenty-third in 15:30.6. John Proffit (96th), Raul Ramirez (101st), and Caleb Licht (108th) rounded out the top four for Colonial. Arroyo was fourth in the event in 2011 posting a time nearly 18 seconds faster, 15:12.13. Holy Trinity running without their number three runner was lead by Andrew Cacciatore a sophomore who finished 132nd in 16:36.90. Holy Trinity's Daniel Moore won the event last year and the squad finished sixth overall.

The Holy Trinity girls also made the trip to North Carolina and were led by 1A defending champion Julie Wollrath. Wollrath finished fifth last year in 17:51.53. This year Wollrath was the top finisher from Florida crossing the line in 17th place and a time of 18:09.4. Emily Headley the sophomore from Olympia, and 4A runner-up in 2011, was 22nd in 18:15.1. Olympia placed 17th in the team standing with Holy Trinity coming in at 21st.

Seeded Invitational

The Boys Seeded Invitational race featured two teams from the Sunshine State. 2A favorite Bishop Kenny had a great day at the Wake Med Soccer Park. Michael Barr placed fourth in a time of 15:58.1 whileDavid Yarborough and Zachary Perry each finished in the top thirty to give the Jackonsville squad a fourth place overall finish and a team average of 16:35.90. Olympia sophomore Sergio Santiago was the Titans highest finisher in 42nd place. Olympia placed 18th in the team standings.

Another Jacksonville school found success in the Girls Seeded Invitational. Bishop Kenny's rival Bolles. Episcopal transfer Mackenzie Wilson won the whole shabang in 18:39.9 over seconds faster than runner-up Allison Huschke. Ally Hajda finished 25th and Lily Arnold 35th as the Bulldogs picked up the runner-up team trophy. All five girls in the top sixty and a team average of 19:51.92. Bolles is definitely a team to watch out for in November at the state meet.

Invitational Red

The Berkeley Prep boys competed in the Invitational Red race and placed all five runners in the to 69 spots. Max Borland was the top finisher for the team crossing the line in 15th place with a time of 17:01. The team finished seventh out of 21 schools.


More Coverage