Check out over two thousand photos from last years state meet by Cedric Gillette.
Michael Warre takes a statistical look at the Cross Country Finals for the boys. He plans on doing the girls version next year for us due to the short amount of time before the meet!
The Creekside boys won their second straight 3A Cross Country Finals championship beating Chiles by ten points, and a team average of 16:15 Was their performance the best by a team at state? YOU DECIDE. Voting closes September 15th at 11:59 p.m.
Bolles junior Caitlin Collier wouldn't let her misfortune from 2015 stop her from winning the 2A title at the 2016 Cross Country Finals. Michael Phillips of Chiles won his first state title as well. Phillip's dad is the coach for the Timberwolves who were the team runner-up while his mom is the women's distance coach for FSU. Which individual did you think had the best performance from the state meet? YOU DECIDE. Voting closes September 15th at 11:59 p.m.
The top five returning teams from the 2016 Cross Country Finals all made the podium including top ranked Pine Crest in 2A and Niceville in 3A (pictured above). The Panthers lose only one girl in their top five that ALL placed in the top 20. That group consisted of three freshmen and one 8th grader! Niceville loses two seniors, but will rely heavily on roster that includes three seniors, a junior, and a sophomore in 2017. Chiles, Bolles, and 4A champion Steinbrenner round out the top five. Take a look at the top 25 as well as a link to the complete list. Where do you and your team rank?
The Bolles boys finished the 2016 season as the 2A runner-up edging out Satellite by two points. Good news for Coach Rivera and the Bulldogs is that they bring back six of their top seven. They are our top returning team from the 2016 Cross Country Finals followed by Belen Jesuit, Chiles, Bishop Kenny, and a young South Walton team. Take a look at the top 25 as well as a link to the complete list. Where do you and your team rank?
It's easy to see how athletes fared in their respective classifications at the 2016 Cross Country Finals, but we wanted to break down the results even more. Who were the top freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors? You may have finished 15th in your classification, but in the top five against runners your own age. Check out our rankings for each grade and see where your stack up.
Good friends Kayla Easterly and Kristlin Gear finished third and fourth in the girls 3A race. Their times of 18:14.51 and 18:23.01 rank as the third and fifth best times by any senior at the state meet. While Leigha Torino of North Marion High School has the fastest time of 18:03.06. We rank the best times from the girls class of 2017.
Lincoln Park Academy senior Caleb Pottorff wanted nothing more than to get a state title in cross country after finishing 2nd in 2015. Pottorff edged out Charles Hicks of Bolles in the second fastest time EVER during the Cross Country Finals at Apalachee Regional Park, 15:08.12. His time which was only behind Sukhi Khosla's 15:01.80 from 2014 was the fastest by any senior and any athlete regardless of grade. Take a look at the top times by boys from the class of 2017.
The 2016 Cross Country Finals showcased the top individual and team talent in the state of Florida. We saw upsets, freshmen phenoms, champions defend their title, and countless personal bests. Ricky Quintana delves into the state meet with a historical perspective.
Bolles' Caitlin Collier wasn't going to lose the Cross Country Finals especially after her heartbreaking performance in 2015. Collier and fellow junior Bailey Hertenstein of Riverview were the lone juniors to break 18 minutes on Apalachee Regional Park running two of the fastest times ever on the course in 17:44.20 and 17:40.36 winning the 2A and 4A titles respectively. We take a look at the top times by girls from the class of 2018.
Chiles junior Michael Phillips won his first 3A Cross Country Finals state championship in a time of 15:30.54 the fastest of any class of 2018 boy regardless of class. A total of seven juniors ran under 16 minutes with 24 under 16:30. We rank all the times so you can see where you stack up against your peers.
Of the 132 sophomore girls that competed in the 2016 Cross Country Finals, nobody ran faster than Key West's Nicole Matysik who ran the Apalachee Regional Park course in a new personal best of 18:20.84 and a sixth place finish at the 2A meet. We rank all the times for girls in the class of 2019. See where you stack up against your peers?
Isaias De la Puente of Forest Hill High School in West Palm Beach told us the basketball coaches suggest he tried out for cross country after never showing signs of fatigue on the hardwood. De La Puente joined the team this year as a sophomore and even surprised himself finishing as the 4A runner-up at the Cross Country Finals and the fourth fastest class of 2019 boy at the meet. We take a look at the top sophomore performances headlined by 2A runner-up Charles Hicks of Bolles who ran the 4th fastest time in meet history of 15:09.13. Where do you stack up against your peers?
Rebecca Clark of The Villages shares her journey of early season obstacles, feeling sick before the state meet, and ultimately persevering with a sub 19 time and tenth place finish.
If the 2016 Cross Country Finals was any indication the talent in Florida will be around for years to come. Freshmen girls excelled at all four classifications including an individual state championship in 3A from Lincoln's Alyson Churchill and 2A runner-up Tsion Yared who both set PR's under 18 minutes. A total of 12 girls including Creekside's Claire Openshaw (pictured above) went under 19 minutes. Take a look at the best performances from the class of 2020 girls.
Trinity Prep brothers Kayamo and Mamush Galloway were two of the top freshmen in the state all season long and they continued that trend at the 2016 Cross Country Finals. Kayamo placed 7th with the best class of 2020 time crossing the line in 15:46.20. Mamush was 26th in 16:21.76 as the teams' sixth runner and an integral part to the Saints' 4th straight 2A team title. We look at the best freshmen from the state meet. See where you stack up against your peers.
It's no secret every year that some classifications are stronger than others. That is why we took the results of all four classes from the 2016 Cross Country Finals and merged them together. Would you have finished higher in another race? Take a look at the top 500 girls and boys times overall.
The Pine Crest girls broke the streak of runner-up finishes after finishing behind Bolles the past four years. This year, the Panthers defeated the Bulldogs running an 18:41 team average, the 4th best team average in Florida State Finals history, scoring 29 points (8th lowest in State history). We merged the results of every classification to find out the top girls teams regardless of class. Where does your squad stack up?
The Trinity Prep boys notched their fourth straight 2A championship scoring 50 points and boasting a team average of 15:56.17 and a 1-5 split of 45.50s. The Saints edged out Bolles (64) and Satellite (66 points) to win the trophy and rank number one in our boys combined team scores. The Bulldogs and Scorpions were the second and third best teams regardless of class, meaning 2A was LOADED this year. We merged the results from every classification to see which teams were the best of the best.
Riverview junior Bailey Hertenstein defended her 4A Cross Country Finals championship with the fastest time of the day of 17:40.36. A total of four girls broke 18 minutes including 2A state champion Caitlin Collier (17:44.20), 3A state champion Alyson Churchill (17:55.22), and 2A runner-up Tsion Yared (17:59.49). We merged the results of all four classifications to find out the top 500 girls times and who won the week.
The 2A boys race was the first boys race of the 2016 Cross Country Finals and also the fastest. FSU commitment Caleb Pottorff, the 2015 runner-up, battled it out with Charles Hicks of Bolles for 5,000 meters to produce the top two times regardless of class in 15:08.12 and 15:09.13 with third place finisher Trent Mandato's 15:28.29 the third fastest. We merged the results of all four classifications to find out the fastest 500 boys times and who won the week.
Grace Blair led the Oak Hall Eagles back to the top of the podium after a 4th place team finish last year. Blair picked up individual honors as well to win her first state title. On the boy's side Mt. Dora Christian Academy's Gabriel Curtis won and helped the Bulldogs place second as a team behind Westminster Academy who won for the first time in over three decades. Andy Warrener recaps all of the 1A races.
Check out the weekend's fastest performers
Bailey Hertenstein and Kayley Delay came into the 4A Cross Country Finals with the top two times regardless of class. In the end it was Hertenstein who came away with her second straight title. On the team front, Steinbrenner ended a two year run by Winter Park at the top of the podium. Matt Doyle of Winter Springs won his first state title to end his senior cross country season, while St. Thomas Aquinas took their third team trophy in four years. Andy Warrener recaps the class 4A meet.
Freshmen Alyson Churchill and Valerie Lastra battled it our in the girls race as Niceville captured the team title. On the boy's side it was a rematch of regionals as Creekside edged out Chiles for the team trophy, but the Timberwolves crowned the individual champion in junior Michael Phillips. Andy Warrener recaps class 3A.
Check out the top 500 boys cross country times across the country at the 5K and 3 mile distances from meets held between October 31st thru November 6th.
If you want photos from the 2016 Cross Country Finals we have you covered with over SIX THOUSAND from three different photographers. Cedric Gillette was on-site and captured over TWO THOUSAND including this image from the girl's 3A race that pitted two of the top freshman in the state in Lincoln's Alyson Churchill and Valerie Lastra of Mater Academy Charter. Churchill won the race in a new personal best of 17:55.22.
2A was one of the most exciting classifications of the day. On the girl's side Caitlin Collier revenged her heartbreaking loss from 2015 while the Pine Crest girls finally defeated Bolles after four years in a row as the runner-up. On the boy's side, Caleb Pottorff and Charles Hicks battled it out for 5,000 meters with Pottorff winning his first XC title. The team trophy came down to the narrowest margin as Trinity Prep took their fourth straight 2A crown. Andy Warrener recaps all of the 2A races.
The 2016 Cross Country Finals lived up to the billing of exciting races, individual match ups, and team battles that came down to the wire. Don't miss a minute of action with all of our race highlight videos.
Tyler Copeland was on-site at the 2016 Cross Country Finals and snapped over TWO THOUSAND photos from all eight races including this one of Rutherford's Davide Genette in the 2A race who was dotted with motivational messages. The senior finished 45th out of 191 runners.
