Guess who's back? It's me Kendall Ellis returning for some post season blogging. Since the state meet a couple big things have happened - senior breakfast, my last track banquet, and biggest of all graduation.

Who is Kendall Ellis? I’ve been blogging for the past two seasons, but I’ve never really talked much about myself. I figured it’s time I let you all know about the Kendall you don’t get to see on the track.  I’ve been told I walk onto the track with an air of confidence about me, I‘ve had officials tell me “Man I wouldn’t want torun against you” as I walk up to the line with my mean mug. But you only know someone as much as they let you know. I know I look mean, I put on a good front huh? Here’s my story.

The road traveled isn't always perfect. For Westminster Academy junior Denise Spann her high school track career has had its ups and downs; from switching schools to battling the injury bug. Spann talks about her road to redemption and being back in the right place as she prepares for the state meet.

Hi Everyone! What a great season this has been thus far. Throughout the regular season we saw many great performances. Districts and regionals have now taken place and many are gearing up for state. Seems like in just the blink of an eye the season was starting. With the state track meet just a week out, the season will soon come to an end. This season I was blessed to stay healthy and travel quite a bit. I've had the opportunity to meet and work with great individuals. I've learned so much within this last year about track and field and especially jumping. This year since there is a week in between regionals and state, I was able to get some extra technique work in. 

Sometimes all you need is a wake-up call. That one moment where your mind tells you “snap out of it.” That one moment that forces you to re-focus and continue on what you set out to do. That wake-up call came to me on my run Friday night. I was by myself, and chose to listen to music for once, and this is when I started thinking.

A spectator at a recent track meet asked me if I was Amir Rasul. Being cautious I asked him why does he ask? By this time, a few friends had caught up with me so I felt a bit more comfortable. He apologized and introduced himself. I guess when he saw the perplexed look on my face, he thought he had better begin explaining. He told me that years ago he played professional football with a guy that had the same name as me. He went on to tell me that he told his wife, who was still seated in the bleachers, that he had to determine if I knew this guy that shared my name. 

Hey ya’ll Kendall Ellis back with my blog. Let me start with last week. Districts were crazy. There’s just no other way to say it. From the weather to the organization, the whole meet was just a lot. Our meet ended up lasting two days and before the race even started the 4x4 was soaked thoroughly. Nonetheless business was handled and the team performed just as we are trained to do. Next stop regionals. 

Hey everyone Kendall Ellis here with my blog. It’s not often that I get an off week and when I do I usually don’t know what to do with myself. But this weekend was different since the STA seniors had prom. I have to say, I think I had one of the best track tans ever seen at a dance. Track problems. The seniors made the best of the night and had fun but now it’s back to the grind. This week really begins the road to state. Spring break starts Wednesday and districts are just the way to pop it off. Of course the Raiders are prepped and ready to perform. 

Hey Flrunners! I cannot believe the bulk of season has already passed and it is down to the home stretch. This part of the season is personally my favorite because everyone is done experimenting with different events and we start to see main focuses. However, a lot has happened in the past few weeks, some big meets and very fast times!

For the past two months my family had been praying for my uncle, Rudy Cambridge, Jr., to recover from a severe stroke. However, on March 28, my uncle passed away. His passing really affected me because we spent a lot of time together when he visited Miami. I chose to attend Columbus because he had always told me about the great times he and my uncle Alonzo Highsmith had while they were there. 

Greetings!  This past week  finished out the regular season of my senior year at the University of Florida Pepsi Relays. I competed in long jump Thursday afternoon finishing first with a leap of 18 feet 9 inches. I returned to the track Friday morning to compete in triple jump. I was blessed to win Friday as well with a distance of 40 feet 8 and 1/4 inches. Overall it was a good meet for me. With a few more weeks of hard work before state, I am prayerful and patient that everything will come together at the right time. 

Hey y'all! Kendii back for my weekly blog. Don't y'all just love track season? It's starting to reach that point when I'm really falling in love with the sport. Last weekend a few members of the STA track team got the opportunity to compete at the Texas relays. Records were meant to be broken right? That's exactly what the Lady Raiders did in Texas. 

GMAC Finals! Dade County’s showdown meet never disappoints. There were some outstanding performances and even greater challenges. I was especially excited to see my South Dade Express teammates freshmen Symone Mason (Southridge), Twanisha Terry (Northwestern) and Kayla Johnson (Southridge) perform so well in their events. Each of them worked really hard over the past seven years to become strong and competitive athletes.

At flrunners.com we've had high school bloggers, college bloggers, but never before had we had an alumni turned pro blog for the site. We are happy to announce that we will be joining former 2009 Tampa Jesuit graduate and Haverford College alumni Jordan Schilit in his experiences as a professional runner with Nike's Oregon Track Club-Elite.

Good evening! I hope everyone's season is going great thus far. With state only being a few weeks out now my goals are beginning to come to flourish. I'm very excited! This past weekend I competed in New York at the Armory for the New Balance Indoor Nationals. I had pretty descent competition days. 

Some people call me Kandii, some people call me Kendi. I didn’t give myself either of these nicknames, but hey take your pick. Either way Kandii/Kendi always coming back for my weekly blog. This is me switching it up. 

My friend and teammate, Danny Areces, tagged me in a post about Steve Prefontaine. “Pre”, the nickname given to Prefontaine by his friends, was one of the best distance runners of all time. He once held the American record in the seven distance track events from the 2,000 meters to the 10,000 meters. Pre was very outspoken and those in the “track world” loved him because he pushed his body to its limits. 

Freedom senior Connor Ferrentino is eager to return to the state track meet. After finishing third in the 1600 meters as a sophomore, the University of Alabama signee had an injury plagued junior year. He is coming off a 2013 cross country campaign where he was district and regional runner-up and finished 8th at the 4A Cross Country Finals. In only his third meet of the year, Ferrentino has run a personal best time of 4:21.47. Over the course of the season Connor will be blogging for flrunners.com and sharing his experiences!

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!

Bolles senior Ashton Butler will not be competing for the Bulldogs this season, but that doesn't mean he is hanging up his track shoes. The FSU signee will be competing in open meets as an unattached athlete. He kicked off his season with a personal best of 23"5' in the long jump as well as a personal best from short approach in the triple jump 46"10'. Over the course of the year he will be blogging for flrunners and taking us a long for his senior year.
 

Hey everybody! Kendall back again for my weekly blog. Last weekend Saint Thomas Aquinas competed at the Sam Burley Invitational. Congratulations to the boys for winning overall and for my girls coming in second.

While riding to church on Sunday morning, my sister, Meara, handed me a note she’d written that read: "love Sundays because I get to praise God. Then, He does awesome things for me.” Because she is only seven years old, I was shocked by what I had just read. 

What a busy week of track and field! I began my season this past Tuesday at Lincoln competing in both long and triple jump from short approaches. There was much excitement as I was nearing the start of my senior track and field season. 

Hey everyone! Kendall Ellis here back for this week’s blog. This past weekend Saint Thomas Aquinas competed at the Louie Bing Invitational. I’d like to extend a congratulations to Miami Northwestern for winning on the girls side and another congratulations to my girls team for placing second. Another huge congratulations to the STA boys team for winning on the men’s side. There were some amazing individual performances as well as relay performances last weekend so be sure to check out the results. This Wednesday Saint Thomas hosts a dual meet at home against Coral Glades and Pompano. This weekend we’ll be at the Sam Burley Hall of Fame Invitational expecting some more fast times.  

Hey y’all! Many of us have our first meet this week, whether it be a dual meet or a larger meet. As for Saint Thomas Aquinas our first dual meet is Wednesday against Blanche Ely, South Broward, and West Broward. This weekend we’ll be competing at Louie Bing where schools from all over will come head to head to show what they’re bringing to the season. 

I was recently awarded USATF’s Florida Athlete of the Year. To receive the award is quite an honor and I thank all those individuals who voted for me. But, as you all know, sometimes there is a story within a story. This is one of those occasions.

Welcome to the 2014 Track and Field Season! My name is Amir Rasul, Jr. and I attend Christopher Columbus High School where I am a double sport sophomore athlete. I am a running back for the Explorers’ football team and I am a sprinter. My freshman track season was great! I learned new sprinting techniques and was able to compete against some of the top sprinters in the state. 

Hey everyone! Turn us trackletes all the way up because it’s finally track season! Allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Kendall Ellis and I am happy to blog for flrunners again. Just a little about me; I’m a senior (S/O to class of 2014) at Saint Thomas Aquinas (go Raiders) who has officially signed and committed to the University of Southern California (fight on Trojans).

Over the course of the track and field season, several athletes will blog for flrunners and take us along on their journey. One of those athletes is North Florida Christian senior Darrielle McQueen. McQueen is a six-time state champion, winning four consecutive 1A titles in the triple jump, and two in the long jump. She has committed to the Univeresity of Florida. Thanks so much to Darrielle for blogging and we look forward to the first of many blogs this year!