Region-by-region previews for the 1A meets that begin on Friday.
1A-1 Preview
Sunny Hill Farms in Tallahassee will play host to the 1A Region 1 meet and schools from North Florida. Providence School junior Eden Meyer is coming off of a district championship and looks to be the individual to beat. Meyer has had to step up this year for Providence who lost one of their top runners Danielle Van Liere after she transferred to Fletcher for her freshman year. She ran a personal best three weeks ago at Bale N Trail where she placed seventh in 19:11.74. I think Meyer will get the biggest challenge from Maclay's Kristin Sweeney who is also coming off a district championship. She ran 19:02 at regionals last year and finished 16th at state. Coach Droze always has his girls peaking at the right time so she should be right in the mix along with Meyer and her Providence teammate Danielle Dunn.
The standings might be a little skewed due to some fast times at 1A-District 1. With that being said Providence is the clear favorite to take home the regional title. The Stallions could place their top five runners in the top fifteen spots. Maclay should finish as regional runner-up. The top six teams advance to the state meet.
Travis Covert of Maclay came into the district championship feeling under the weather. Hopefully, the senior got some rest and should be ready for a rematch with Griffith Rutherford of North Florida Christian. Look for a pack of Marauders behind that duo including Jack Rutledge who was fourth at districts as well as Alex Artrecona.
Covert and company are coming in with a team average of 16:56.41 and easily won their district. They should take the team title with Pensacola Christian Academy, Bishop Snyder, Mandarin Christian, Paxson School, and NFC all vying for a state berth as well.
Girls Team Rankings - Girls Individual Rankings
Boys Team Rankings - Boys Invididual Rankings
1A-2 Preview
Trinity Prep's Kelly Fahey is looking to end her senior season a high note. Fahey finished fifth last year and is coming off of an excellent track season where she placed fourth in both the 1600 and 3200 meters. She has gone under nineteen minutes twice this year including a new personal best of 18:18.20 in the flrunners.com Race of Champions. She recently won the 1A-6 district championship. Following closely behind Fahey will be a trio of Oak Hall runners, Britney Olinger, Grace Blair, and Lauren Perry. The thing about these girls are that they will all be in the top three and any one of them can win on any given day. Not a bad problem to have. Olinger is the junior leader, but Blair and Perry also have state championship experience as sixth and seventh graders last year. Denae Chapman of Circle Christian opened up some eyes with her performance at the Jim Ryun Invitational and should be in the top five as well.
Oak Hall finished second at the state meet last year three points behind Providence and return six of their seven girls from that team. They will hoist the regional title and look to be a serious content for the state championship trophy the following week in Tallahassee. First Academy, Trinity Prep, Montverde, Circle Christian and Indian Rocks Christian could be the final teams to make it out of regionals.
In the boys race look for Daniel Salas to continue the Trinity Prep Saints tradition of winning by leading the way. Salas is one of the top runners in the state let alone 1A. His personal best time of 15:17.60 is over forty seconds faster than anyone else in the field. He has been virtually unchallenged in most of the small meets throughout the season and I don't see him being pushed too hard here. The Saints do a hard mile workout leading up to states. Last year, it propelled Ryan Gousse to the title. Could Salas be next in line for the throne? Behind him are a group of three runners capable of hitting the sixteen minute mark. Josh Keenan of Seffner Christian, last week's Warrior of the Week has been having a stellar year, while Garrett Westlake of P.K. Younge and Troy Clark of Mount Dora Bible are just starting to heat up.
Trinity Prep is the clear favorite in the team standings. The Saints could put all five runners in the top ten and their seven in the top twenty. Circle Christian and Seffner Christian have consistentcy throughout their lineups and should battle it out for second and third. P.K. Yonge, Indian Rocks Christian, and The Geneva School round out the top six.
Girls Team Rankings - Girls Individual Rankings
Boys Team Rankings - Boys Individual Rankings
1A-3 Preview
Defending 1A state champion Julie Wollrath headlines the list of girls in this race, however you can't count out the next to closest competitors. Last year, Wollrath took home district, regional and state titles, and finished 32nd at Footlocker South. She has a personal best time of 17:20 and has already broken eighteen minutes once this year. Sarah Candiano of Evangelical Christian ran 18:25 at Pre-State to finish three spots and 11 seconds behind Wollrath. She had a bad state meet last year after finishing twelfth as an eighth grader and has that as motivation for 2012. Last, is Alex Eaton of Shorecrest. She went 18:31 in the flrunners.com Race of Champions and showed she can compete with the best. I think this one will be close early with Wollrath pulling away in the second mile. She is the favorite for the overall state title and defending champ so it's hard to pick against her.
Wollrath will lead the way for Holy Trinity as they look for more hardware to add to their trophy case. Mackenzie Dummer should be in the top ten as well as the rest of the top five finishing in the top twenty. Shorecrest Prep, Brevard HEAT, Community School of Naples, Lakeland Christian School, and Keswick Christian round out the top six that will advance to state.
The Holy Trinity duo of Alex Brown and Tristan Kattenberg look to go 1-2 again at the regional meet. Both runners have personal bests under sixteen minutes. Brown is coming off a district championship and had a great tenth place showing at Pre-State. Another runner who could compete with that lead group is Ross Porter of Shorecrest Prep. The junior is coming off a district championship in 1A-10 which he set a new personal best of 16:28.42. He is definitely peaking at the right time setting a new personal best in each of his last three races. His 16:28.42 is the third fastest time in the field. Andrew "Catch" Cacciatore of HT, Jacob Endrulat of Keswick Christian, Cole Oliver and Trevor Kattenberg of Holy Trinity all should break seventeen minutes and finish in the top ten. The top fifteen individuals advance to state.
Coach Doug Butler's squad is just too strong as they are predicted to post a near perfect score of 20 points. The Tigers should place all five of their top runners in the top ten and all seven in the top fifteen. McKeel Academy and Shorecrest Prep will battle it out for second and third. St Petersburg Catholic, Clearwater Central Catholic, Seacrest Country Day, and Admiral Farragut will compete for the remaining spots.
Girls Team Rankings - Girls Individual Rankings
Boys Team Rankings - Boys Individual Rankings
1A-4 Preview
Tha 1A-4 regional is at Westminster Academy and that is why I am going to go with sophomore Amanda Baker. Knowing a course is definitely an advantage and that will help her. She has the second fastest time coming into the meet at 20:41.91. Victoria Camargo the 1A-16 district champion from Florida Christian will be up there in the front challenging her along with Avery Camp of the Pine School and Christine Sullivan of Pope John Paul II. All four have personal bests under 21:00.
King's Academy and Westminster Christian School will duke it out for the team title. TKA looks to have the edge based on their number five runner and 1-5 split of 52 seconds. Amanda Baker and home team Westminster Academy looks to secure the third spot with Pope John Paul II, The Benjamin School, Dade Christian School, and Wellington Christian School all looking to punch their tickets to state.
On the boys side, The King's Academy senior Scott Simpson is the only runner who has broken the seventeen minute mark in 2012. Simpson ran a personal best of 16:33.40 at the Palm Beach County Championships and followed that up by claiming back to back district championships. Adam Ramos of Dade Christian School ooks good as regional runner-up with Devon Bradford of Jupiter Christian rounding out the top three. Charles Otto, Brandon Bejarno, and Pasha Gulibert are all in the 17:20 to 17:30 range which should make a fight for those spots competitive.
Bejarno looks to lead Westminster Academy to a district championship on the boys side. They are strong 1-4, but will need number five Adrian Ricketts to step up if they want to be a contender at state. Miami Country Day and Calvary Christian will be a very close fight for second and third place. Dade Christian, Highlands Christian, and Westminster Christian round out the top three.
Girls Team Rankings - Girls Individual Rankings
Boys Team Rankings - Boys Individual Rankings