Thomas Howell

Here are some complaints floating around about Thomas Howell. The Niceville junior’s work ethic is too strong. He runs too far, too fast on days he’s supposed to rest his muscles. He doesn’t take losing well. His interview skills, according to him, could be more pol-ished. And, oh yeah, he cares too much about his teammates. (via www.varsitysportswest.com)

We conclude our 2012 cross country coverage by honoring the top male harriers of the season. Congratulations to our 2012 All Flrunners Boys Cross Country Team.

Are you the best freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior? Where do you stack up against your peers? We've tallied up the times and have found out who is at the Head of the Class for the 2012 cross country season. (Rankings are as of 12/3/2012)

The state championships have come and gone and now Florida's top runners will see how they fare against runners from across the southern United States. McAlpine Greenway Park in Charlotte, North Carolina the site of Foot Locker South Cross Country Championships. The Sunshine State has been well represented the past few years sending multiple runners to Foot Locker Nationals in San Diego, California. This year looks to be no different with the strongest hopefuls coming in 4A state champions Andres Arroyo and Bridget Blake.

Poised, collected and displaying an air of confidence that resides only in the most elite and focused of runners, Thomas Howell entered Saturday’s 3A cross country state finals in Tallahassee relaxed and carefree. (via www.varsitysportswest.com)

Wiregrass Ranch senior Nikita Shah and Niceville junior Thomas Howell are this week's Warrior of the Week winners. Shah won her third meet in a row claiming the conference, district, and regional championships. She has been consistently running in the mid 18's this year and will be a contender for the 3A titlet his weekend. Howell has been running very well in northwest Florida claiming a regional title as well in a new personal best time of 15:25.37.

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.

It was a cool crisp morning as most of North Florida met in Marianna for the Panhandle Championships. The top eight finishers in the boys and girls race were named to the All-Panhandle team. Doug Covert was on-site with tons of pictures as was our blogger Trey LaNasa who was running in the race for Fort Walton Beach and provided me with the play by play for the event.

The Escambia Equestrian Center in Pensacola wasn't just home to horses on Saturday morning. Teams from Northwest Florida, Georgia and Alabama, put their thoroughbred runners on display at the 2012 Gulf Coast Cross Country Stampede. It was a great atmosphere as well as the event boasted t-shirt customization, a Running Wild retail area, a graffiti artist, customized spikes, a dance off, and a designated cool down zone! 

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.

Thomas Howell and Marsel Mosley of Niceville claim individual honors, but it's not enough to lead their teams past Fort Walton Beach in the team standings.

Ft. Walton Beach sweeps both varsity team titles. Ivy Chastain of FWB and Thomas Howell of Niceville win individual titles.

Thomas Howell  remembers the first time he ran. It was the mile run in elementary school and it was for a grade. He knew he was quick and as a fifth grader posted the fastest time in the school. Needless to say I'm sure he received a good grade. In middle school his future as a distance runner became apparent when he began winning races his 7th grade cross country season. The Niceville sophomore says from there it was just a gradual climb.

Thomas Howell was used to leading races. It had been his strategy all throughout middle school to go out strong and hope he had some juice left in the tank at the end. It was in his seventh grade year when he came across Niceville coach Mike Warren. Warren saw potential in the youngster, but knew it would warrant changing his plan of attack on the cross country course.