Emily Edwards

  Hey Flrunners! The season is well under way and there have been some big meets and fast times. I always enjoy following everyone across the state in all events! Last weekend the team and I competed at the USF track meet.

Fifty-six teams will head to the state capital of Tallahassee for the FSU Relays. The two-day event will feature the state's best along with some out of state entrants in the marquee distance events. The invitational 3200m runs will take place under the lights on Friday at 7:00 and 7:20 p.m. while the invitational 1600's will headline kick off the Saturday competition and will be followed by the college and high school 100 meter dashes. Flrunners.com will be on-site with complete video coverage of all the races as well as interviews and over a thousand photos! Want a sneak peek at how we think the meet should play out? Check out our virtual meet!

The drive from West Palm Beach was going to be a long one. So head coach John Battle III decided to bring his team up the night before so they could relax, get a look at the track and be ready for Saturday’s meet. It worked. The Chargers, boys and girls captured team titles at the massive invitational that drew more than 60 schools from all over the state.

A sixty-four team field will head to the campus of the University of South Florida for the 5th Annual USF/Steinbrenner Invitational. We will be on-site with thousands of photos and a complete recap of all the action courtesy of Jeff Adams and Andy Warrener. Get a sneak preview of how the meet is predicted to play out based on 2014 season bests!

Hello, flrunners! First of all, thank you to Todd for giving me the opportunity to blog for track season as well. Track is my favorite time of the year, so I plan on enjoying every second of my last high school season. Meets are already under way and fast times have been filling up the rankings. Congrats to all on a great first few meets!

Records are meant to be broken. If those records are broken today, tomorrow or not for five years is the big question. In this series we take a look at the top twenty five times marks in our flrunners.com database, which current runners are on the list, how far they can move up, and if the top times are in jeopardy. Today we will look at the distance events with the field events coming tomorrow.

We continue our top ten returners feature with class 3A. Boyd Anderson looked to clean up some titles on both the girls and boys side, but a majority of their runners have transferred to Northeast (Oakland Park) where they will compete in 4A. Kit Lofenski of Bartram Trail looks to make the finals in all three sprints: the 100,200, and 400 meter dash while 3A Cross Country Finals champion is the top returner in all three distance events, but will face tough competition from Caroline Barlow of Gulf Coast. In the hurdles, Daeshon Gordon is one of those transfers, making room for Kimani Austin-Reese of Miami Central and several others to take home titles. Lloydricia Cameron is one of the top throwers in the country and should add more hardware to her collection in both the shot put and discus.

Ten new athletes joined the indoor top 25 national rankings after solid performances at the Jimmy Carnes Indoor Meet. Teahna Daniels clocked a US#1 time of 6.94 in the 55 meter dash, to go with her US#7 in the 60m dash she set at the end of 2013, and her US#12 200 meter mark of 24.87 also run this past weekend. Rockledge senior and LSU commitment Danielle Phillips added her name to the list in both the 55m hurdles and long jump. Stacey Destin's mark of 5-7.75 in tthe high jump set at an age group meet in Alabama at the end of 2013, keeps her in the top ten, tied for seventh.

It was August of 1974 and the Class of '75 would become the first class of young women to be sanctioned and allowed to run train & compete for their respective schools as athletes' in both Cross Country & Track & Field.  The Nation as a whole was in a running boom with running shoes becoming chic and at the Girls Prep level Florida was playing catch-up.  

The 7th Annual Jimmy Carnes Indoor Track & Field Meet kicksoff Friday with the college and open divisions. The youth will compete all day on Saturday and will showcase the state's top talent.

Fort Myers' standout Emily Edwards capped off her senior season with a state championship at the 3A Cross Country Finals. For her spectacular season, Edwards was awarded the Gatorade Florida Girls Cross Country Runner Of The Year. We caught up with Emily to talk about the 2013 season, what the award means to her, and what the future holds.

Emily Edwards leads both the 1600 meter run and 3200 meter run categories. The Fort Myers senior and University of Alabama signee ran 10:45.42 at the 2013 FSU Relays. She is the reigning 3A Cross Country Finals champion and 1600 meter champion outdoors. Can she add a 3200 meter title to her collection? After an incredible cross country season where he won the 3A Cross Country Finals, Leon junior Sukhi Khosla comes in with the top 3200 meter time when he ran 9:16.73 at the Bolles Bulldog Classic. If Khosla, can remain healthy like he did in cross he should have another stellar season on the track.

Florida might be known for its speedsters, but take a look at the numbers on the distance side. Emily Edwards, the 3A Cross Country Finals Champion has the fastest time comine in at 4:53.91 with Daesha Rogers the only other runner to break five minutes. However, look at the remaining 48 athletes! Fifteen seconds separates the top of the third best to number fifty. On the boy's side they are just as close. Timber Creek sophomore Brandon Marquez will no longer have to face Andres Arroyo in this event,  but has the whole field within in 12 seconds of his best. That is 50 guys in the 4:30 or less range!

2013 has come and gone with some major performances as we ring in 2014 we will be taking you back throughout the year to commemorate some of the bigger runs of the year! Thank you for making this year our best to date. Without your support we wouldn't be able to provide the level of coverage we do on a weekly basis. Look for more videos, photos, articles, and even new features in 2014!

The moment you have all been waiting for. With the 2013 cross country season over and the year coming to a close we announce the last installment of our All Flrunners.com Cross Country Team, our first team selections. Congratulations to all those selected and the whole running community for making this season such a success!

Hey Flrunners! I apologize for not blogging in a while; it’s been a crazy past few weeks!  Congratulations to everyone that competed at States this past weekend! It was great to watch all of the races and watch the best of the best compete all in one place.

The individual and team battles in 3A are going to be epic. Sukhi Khosla ran a course record at Pre-State going 14:59. Can he duplicate that success and pick up his first individual honor. With so much talent on the girls side, who will win their first title? Will Belen and Estero, two powerhouse programs, remain at the top of the team standings? We break down the individual and team battles plus crunch the numbers using our rankings and virtual meets!

We are less than two weeks away from the state meet in Tallahassee. Regional competition starts Thursday with Class 2A Region 4 and will continue through Saturday morning. Over the course of the week we will take a look at the road to state for each class. Sit, back, relax, and enjoy our meet previews and virtual meet exclusively for MileSplit Insiders. If you don't have a subscription now is the time to get one!

The college decision is in for Fort Myers senior Emily Edwards. Edwards finished fifth at the Cross Country Finals as a junior and won the 1600 meter state championship, picked the University of Alabama over FSU, and the University of Florida. See what factored into her decision and what she is looking forward to the most about running for the Crimson Tide.

Estero Community Park hosted the 2013 Lee County Athletic Conference Championships. It was a hot and humid afternoon for runners on a very tough course, that will also be the site of the district and regional championships. Fort Myers swept the individual honors with Emily Edwards and Tyler Bennett while host Estero took both the boys and girls team trophies. JJ Delago was on-site snapping photos of all the action! Special thanks to Emily, Tyler, and Coach Sommer for help with the meet recap.

Hello flrunners! I apologize that it has been a while since my last blog.  It has been an overwhelming past few weeks with school. I can’t believe the state-series meets are coming up. Time sure does fly by. I hope everyone has enjoyed the season thus far and has run some PRs!