Avery Lopez

The FLRUNNERS.COM Invitational: 27 Years of Florida XC Tradition. An Historical Preview.

A look at the Top 500 Florida high school boys XC 5K's of All-Time.

The top 25 Florida boys all-time for Indoor Track & Field events!

A list of the top 100 high school boys 5K performances all-time at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee.

Check out the top boys performances in the meet history of Bob Hayes Invitational currently in the MileSplit database.

Check out the top 1,000 Florida boys performances all-time at the Champs (formerly Foot Locker) South Regional in Charlotte.

Check out the top 500 high school boys 5K times ever run at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida.

Check out the top 50 boys performances by event from the Louie Bing Invitational over the past two decades plus of meet results.

We caught up with Frankie Ruiz to learn more about the 2011 Belen Jesuit squad that made it to Nike Nationals.

Ask anyone in South Florida what the most well known course in their area is and they will tell you Larry & Penny Thompson Park simply shortened down to Larry & Penny. The venue in Miami hosts over a dozen events each year. Only ten boys have ever broke 16 minutes on the challenging course. We look at the top of 2016 and the 500 best all-time.

Sukhi Khosla ran the fastest time ever by a Floridian at NXNSE in 2014 when he finished runner-up in 14:56.00. Only two other Sunshine State standouts Elliot Clemente (2012 champion) and Franco Martins (2014) have broken 15 minutes on the Wake Med course during this meet. Check out the state's fastest times at NXNSE!  

Jimmy Clark and Ryan Pickering's epic battle in 2010 produced the top two times ever in meet history, 14:53.29 and 14:55.48, one year after Matt Mizereck and Armando DelValle went 14:56.21 and 14:56.84. That quartet are the only athletes to ever break 15 minutes while 29 have gone under 15:30 in the past 17 years. We take a look at the top 500 all-time best boys times at the flrunners.com Invitational. 

Former Leon standout Matt Mizereck holds the top time in the 3000m and is sixth all-time in the one mile run at the Jimmy Carnes. Mizereck posted times of 8:39.51 and 4:26.78 in 2010 as a senior. Check out the names on these lists some of the best distance runners over the last decade! See the top all-time marks in the boys distance events set at the Jimmy Carnes Indoor Meet.

Top athletes from across the state headed to South Florida for the Sam Burley Hall of Fame Invitational in Miami. Noel Alexander was on-site snapping photos of all the action.

Avery Lopez has been a key compontent in one of the top boy's cross country programs over the past four years, Belen Jesuit. Lopez has claimed three team titles with the Wolverines and has been a part of the 2011 cross country team that made it to Nike Nationals in Portland. He finished fourth at the 3A Cross Country Finals and is looking to improve on his fourth place and second place showing in the 3200 and 1600 meter runs from the 2012 outdoor season. Recently, Lopez ended his college recruitment when he announced he will be running for Coach Bob Bramam and the Florida State Seminoles.

Can St. Xavier live up to their status as pre-race favorites?  Will Tatnall's girls avenge a mid-season loss to Assumption?

Twenty runners have broken sixteen minutes this year and four have gone under 15:30 making 3A one of the hardest classifications of all. Can Avery Lopez follow in the footsteps of last year's champ Elliot Clemente and give Belen another individual title? Is it the year of Palmetto Ridge senior Carlos Miranda or will a member of Fort Myers or Niceville's dynamic duos take home the honors? Will nationally ranked Belen be tested? If so, is it the tight pack of Fort Walton Beach or Fort Myers led by Bennett and Brown? This will shape up to be one of the best races of the day.

Schools from across Dade County headed to Larry and Penny Thompson Park for the Dade County Youth Fair Championships. Host Ferguson came away with the individual champion Katrina Santiago. as well as, team title on the girls side.Belen was near perfect on the boys side lead by individual champion Avery Lopez.

The two favorites going in are probably Carlos Miranda of Palmetto Ridge and Avery Lopez of Belen Jesuit. Miranda hasn’t really shown himself yet this season, but put up a 15:17 at Pre-State last season and had a 15:30 road race win in August. Lopez is the new leader for the Belen Jesuit dynasty and has a couple of wins under his belt already this season including UF and Fleet Feet. He is also coming off of a stellar track season.

We conclude our 2011 cross country coverage by honoring the top male harriers of the season. Congratulations to our 2011 All Flrunners Boys Cross Country Team.

Julie Macedo (DE) and Elliot Clemente (FL) won individually, while Tatnall and Belen Jesuit claimed team titles (photos by Jeff Sides).