FHSAA Cross Country State Finals 2015

Coach Joe Hazera guided the St. Thomas Aquinas Raider boys to their second 4A Cross Country state championship since 2013. We caught up with Hazera to talk about this 2015 season, the road to the title, and what next year has in store for the Raiders.

Coach Eric Frank has been at Creekside since the school opened eight years ago. In 2015, the Knights won their first state championship in cross country, taking home the 3A team title. We caught up with Frank to talk about this year's team, the season, and the future for the program.

What a difference a year can make. Better health, better training, or a new mindset, a wide variety of circumstances can give you that boost you need. We compiled our list of the top 500 girls and top 500 boys from state and their YOY improvements, but we wanted to take a moment to feature some of those athletes who really stood out to us in this slideshow feature.

Coach Ryan of Bolles (pictured above with team) and Coach Gowan of Chiles moved up the all-time wins list after the 2015 Cross Country Finals. The Bolles girls picked up their fourth consecutive 2A crown giving him his 9th overall while the Chiles girls continued the rich tradition of the Timberwolves program and gave Gowan his 9th as well. Both coaches pass the late Jeff Sommer of Estero to move into a tie for fifth place.

In this series we take a look at state championship coaches, their outlook on the team, and 2015 season. Coach Sue O'Malley has been at Father Lopez for nine years, but is in her fourth as the boys coach. This year the team won their first ever district, regional and state titles.

Riverview sophomore Bailey Hertenstein set a new course record with her 17:32.55 to win the 4A state championship while the Creekside boys ousted defending champion Chiles in a very competitive class 3A at the Cross Country Finals. YOU the running community decided and picked those as our best individual and team performance from the state meet.

The 2015 Cross Country Finals was one of the best ever at the ARP. On the individual side we saw eight runners who won their first ever state titles in the sport while three teams repeated as champions.Which performances were most impressive? Vote in our individual and team polls below and let us know what you decide!

Every sporting event has their memorable moments. At the Cross Country Finals, Walker Thomas of Plant High School went down in the 4A race only to find his peer Luke Whitmore of Plant City do the unthinkable. He carried Thomas 200 meters to the finish line in an example of exemplary sportsmanship, which raises the question when do you help out and when do you continue on?

Our photographers took over 7,000 photos at the 2015 Cross Country Finals in Tallahassee! We wanted to highlight their photos in this Behind The Lens article and say thank you for all their hard work throughout the fall. Check out these awesome images!

Go along for the ride literally and figuratively as Winter Park junior Elizabeth Jenkins takes with the Wildcats as they ride from Central Florida to Florida's capital for the 2015 Cross Country Finals where they defended their 4A team title.

Watch as Caitlyn Collier of Bolles collapses is in the final meters of the girls 2A race. Pine Crest senior Alyssa Pujals passes her for the win, but Collier is determined to finish and crossed the line as the runner-up.

Check out all the coverage from the 2015 Cross Country Finals that will go down as one of the most exciting at the ARP. We saw a new course record set by Riverview sophomore Bailey Hertenstein, an epic finish in the 2A girls race, and all eight individuals were first time cross country state champions. Over 7,000 photos, three dozen videos, recaps of EVERY race, results, performances and more are all here!

Calum McFetridge of Buchholz and Haftom Fliegelman of Durant finished third and fourth in the 4A boys race. Their times of 15:53.75 and 15:54.17 were the top junior times in any race! Check out the top times by each grade!

Watch ALL race video highlights and interviews from the 2015 Cross Country Finals.

Riverview sophomore Bailey Hertenstein sets a new course record while Sarasota's Adam Bradtmueller wins his first state title as a senior. Winter Park girls repeat as 4A champs while STA boys adds another trophy!

We threw together all the races - see the results!

Prior to Saturday, there was only one girls cross country team with 10 state championships to their credit, the Tampa Plant Panther girls. Now there are two. The Bolles Bulldogs out-paced Pine Crest 45-80 for their 10th overall and fourth straight title.

It was a day of firsts in class 1A as individuals Tucker Hindle of Boca Raton Christian and Hannah Brookover won their first championships. On the team side the Circle Christian girls and Father Lopez made history as well.

Follow all the action of the 2015 Cross Country Finals with LIVE RESULTS from EVERY race.

MileSplit live results available for several of the major state championships this weekend!

The 2015 Cross Country Finals is shaping up to be one of the finest that the meet has been at Apalachee Regional Park since 2012. We will have LIVE RESULT, LIVE UPDATES, and on-site coverage including photos, videos, interviews, and recaps of all the action! This article will be your go to HQ throughout the day Saturday and weekend!

We wanted to know who the had the fastest girls and boys times while the Cross Country Finals were at the ARP from 2012-2014. Rachel Givens of hometown Chiles posted a time of 17:48.78 to win the 3A state championship in 2012. On the boys’ side it was Sukhi Khosla another hometown standout from Leon who ran 15:01.80 to win the 3A crown last year. Ironically, no other boy has run under 15:15. The two closest are Lyman’s Joshua Jacques and Coral Reef’s Carlin Berryhill who finished 1-2 in the 4A race in 2014. Check out the top 500 for each gender!

The culmination of the Florida cross country season will take place Saturday, November 7th at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee with state championship titles for both individuals and teams on the line. Leading up to the meet we will preview each classification with in-depth analysis as well as by seeing how our virtual meets think the races will play out. Today, we look at the 4A classification who will compete in the second (7:55 a.m.) and fourth (8:45 a.m.) races of the morning with the girls and boys respectively.

The culmination of the Florida cross country season will take place Saturday, November 7th at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee with state championship titles for both individuals and teams on the line. Leading up to the meet we will preview each classification with in-depth analysis as well as by seeing how our virtual meets think the races will play out. Today, we look at the 3A classification who will compete in the first (7:30 a.m.) and third (8:20 a.m.) races of the morning with the girls and boys respectively.

The culmination of the Florida cross country season will take place Saturday November 7th at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee with state championship titles for both individuals and teams on the line. Leading up to the meet we will preview each classification with in-depth analysis as well as by seeing how our virtual meets think the races will play out. Today, we look at the 2A classification who will compete in the 6th (9:35 a.m.) and 8th and final (10.25a.m.) races of the morning with the girls and boys respectively.

The culmination of the Florida cross country season will take place Saturday November 7th at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee with state championship titles for both individuals and teams on the line. Leading up to the meet we will preview each classification with in-depth analysis as well as by seeing how our virtual meets think the races will play out. We start with the smallest classification 1A who will compete in the 5th (9:10 a.m.) and 7th (10 a.m.) races of the morning.

Now's your chance to show everyone your knowledge of the sport (or just your powers of prediction)... It's our 2015 XC State Meet Prediction Contest... and you have just two days to enter. Guess correctly and you could be on your way to some sweet prizes. Ready... set... go!

Apalachee Regional Park is hands down the nicest cross country course in the state of Florida. With fantastic footing the whole way, a net downhill course, temperatures in the 50s, and the adrenaline of a state meet we are sure to see some fantastic performances and blistering times!There will be many different racing tactics implemented by the runners. Some will work out and some wont. So let’s walk through the course and talk about some of the strategies that you might witness on Saturday morning.

The FHSAA Cross Country State Finals is this weekend, so let's see what our volunteer pollster's have to say after taking a look at all of the Region meets from this past week...

"Your season is over." The words no athlete or runner ever want to hear, especially when it comes from a doctor. Unfortunately, for Hernando sophomore Trevor Foley is quest for a 2A cross country state championship will have to wait until next fall.

Often times in post-season coverage, we tend to direct our focus towards the state’s top teams and talent while forgetting those mid-level teams to whom just a trip to the state meet is a huge accomplishment. In a new series called Last One In, we look at teams whose goal was to make it to the state meet, not place on the podium.

The Florida High School Athletics Association (FHSAA) cross country championship returns to Leon County’s Apalachee Regional Park for the next two years.