Antonio Brandon

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

Emilie Amaro, the senior from Cypress Bay, headed westward this weekend to compete in the famed Arcadia Invitational's invitational 3200 meter. The two race favorites, Jordan Hasay and Christine Babcock (had not Florida's Ashley Brasovan dropped out it would have been three favorites), surged to the front from the gun and gapped the pack within 600 meters. Amaro ran a smart race and did not fall into the temptation of trying to match the blistering pace the two leaders set (the leaders went through four laps in 4:57!). So Amaro set the tone for the chaser, leading the pack for most of the race. She took that determined, self-set pace and took fifth place in the prestigious meet with a new state-leading time of 10:31.18. It was Emilie's second best time ever in the event, next to her 10:28.72 at Nike Outdoors last year. Great job to Emilie! Nice way to end the regular season! Hasay and Babcock, by the way, battled it out up front for all 8 blistering laps. It culminated with a kickfest the last lap with Hasay finally pulling away slightly in the last 100 meters: 10:03.07 to 10:04.03. The only other Florida competitor at the meet, Antonio Brandon of Wellington competed in the 800 meter invitational division. He finished in 15th place with a time of 1:56.34--the fifth fastest from a Floridian this year. Congrats, Antonio! Full On-Site Arcadia Coverage from MileSplit US...

Our national editor, Scott Bush, is on site at the Arcadia Invitational in California today and he called in that rumor had it that Ashley Brasovan had pulled out of the much anticipated 3200 out there. We have confirmed this with another source: we will not get to see the Brasovan vs. Jordan Hasay rematch this weekend. While Brasovan managed to run a completely uncontested 10:33 last week (which followed a solo 5:06 1600 just hours earlier), she and her new coach decided to pull plans for the trip. The reason stated was that they did not feel she was yet 100%, since she missed so much time due to her injuries, therefore she did not want to face Hasay at this juncture and potentially lose by 10+ seconds. It was looking to be a great race--and still be a great race with some of the other talent in the field--and another look at the battle we watched at the end of Footlocker Nationals where Brasovan came out victorious. While we might question the logic in opting out of a trip that was already paid for and a chance to (win or lose) get more big race experience... ultimately, she and her coach did what they felt was right for her this season. While Ashley might not be competing, there will be a ton of amazing showdowns at this storied meet. Representing Florida will be Antonio Brandon of Wellington (800m) and Footlocker Finalist Emilie Amaro of Cypress Bay (3200m). Look for on site coverage from the Arcadia Invitatinal on our national portal MileSplit.us. Good luck to Ashley at district/region/state (and beyond)!