| Boys
- Girls Boysby Committee
Voting, conducted by JASON BYRNE Top Fifteen Teams
1. Gulliver Prep
104 (6)
2. Tampa Jesuit 91
3. Winter Park 90 (1)
4. Flagler Palm
Coast 82
5. Ridgview 78
6. Spanish River 71
7. Bloomingdale 60
8. Bishop Kenny 57
9. Fort Walton Beach 38
10. Columbia 37
11. Miami
Belen Jesuit 35
12. Chiles 28
13. Maclay 23
14. Ocala Vanguard 17
15. Buchholz 6
Also Recieving Votes:
Satellite 5, Estero 5, St. Pete
Seminole 3, Citrus 2, St. Pete Catholic 1,
Mitchell 1.
Top Fifteen
Individuals
1. Ryan Deak (Maclay) 115 (4)
2. Rolf Steier (Berkley Prep)
112 (3)
3. Steven Hassen (Ocala Vanguard) 106 (1)
4. Matt Cianciulli (Flagler
Palm Coast) 86
5. Nick Wilson (Paxon) 77
6. Daniel Parker (Boone) 75
7. Sean Burris (Rockledge) 75
8. Lee Yaracs (Ridgeview) 69
9. Eric Beights
(Lely) 46
10. AJ Wilson (Pine Forest) 44
11. Tyrone Bell (Ridgeview) 29
12. Sam Vazquez (Flagler Palm Coast) 26
13. Ryan Ripley (Belleview) 26
14. Kevin Lyons (Clearwater Central Cahotlic)14
15. Alex Stewart (Satellite)/Alex
Brutvan (Pope John Paul) 8 (tie)
Also Recieving Votes:
Herbert Thiele
(Chiles) 7
Kevin Cook (Lyman) 5
Omar Morales (Lake Howell) 3
Jonathan
Roberson (Spanish River) 3
Omar Osbourne (Upperroom Christian) 1
Girlsby
JOE McKINNEY Top Fifteen Teams
1. Lady of Lourdes, Class 2A
- Come on !! Do I really need to explain this
ranking? If you answered yes,
then you've either been living in a cave or
reading Lee's 3A rankings all
season. Coach Montalvo's group is by far the
best in the state, and they've
travelled all over the state to prove it
all year long.
2. St. Thomas
Aquinas, Class 3A - It was their victory at Spanish River
and decent
times at Disney, not Coach Guarino's pleas that put the
Raider's this high.
Class 3A looks like it may be back to the same old
battle: Guarino vs. Harrison,
Aquinas vs. Plant, coming down to the wire !
What is this the mid-late 90s?
3. HB Plant, Class 3A - Looked great at Prestate, and I know that
a big
part of their loss to Aquinas at Spanish River was Giordano's subpar
race.
These two are a toss up, but I think Aquinas' depth is a little better
and
they get the thumbs-up via a better No. 1 runner.
4. Spanish
River, Class 4A - Wow, what a surprise to see a Coach
Rothman-coached
team this high !! NOT !! The Sharks are on the title hunt
once again. The
waters will be flooded with strong competition, but their
pack is tight and
their depth is strong.
5. Lake Mary, Class 4A - I've yet to guess
on which race will be closer at
the state meet, Class 4A or Class 3A. The
Rams, Bucholz, and Spanish River
are going to be closer than Tom and Jerry.
Lake Mary would have easily
been second to Lourdes at Flrunners with Zabel
and their No. 5. It's going
to be an intriguing race on November 17th. Senior
ladden group will be on
a mission.
6. Episcopal, Class 1A - Top
small-school team is for real, and can run
with any of 2-5 at the first three
spots. Forget Florida, Scanlin is one
of the nation's best, and Debenedet
and Paulk improve with every meet.
Coach Kendall's group looks for the repeat,
and though it won't be easy
with Maclay and a bunch of middle-schooler's
(Holy Trinity) chasing - the
state title stays on the St. John's River.
7. Bucholz, Class 4A - Maybe's it's just me, but Marah Borgman is one of
my favorite runners in the state. The girl races like a warrior and gets
better every time the sun rises. She has one heck of a supporting cast
too, but 4th and 5th runners will be the key. If they can perform up to,
or above, expectations, the Gainesville group will be looking back at
their
4A foes. If not, it may be "wait til next year."
8. Bishop Kenny,
Class 2A - Seven-year state champion streak might come to
an end, but BK's
reign of state prominence does not. My bet is that the
state better enjoy
the Crusaders' rebuilding year, because nearly the
entire team will be back
and Coach Kuhn will have them running and running
fast back to the top. Sophomore
classmates Courtney Hall and Kelly
Marshall are legit frontrunnrers, and
you can bet that this season will
only make them hungry again.
9. Pensacola
Catholic, Class 2A - Wow !! This team just keeps on getting
better. They
may be able to move up about three spots if they keep on with
this stuff.
Cruised to an impressive victory at this weekend's Panhandle
Championships,
just a week after posting an impressive finish at the
Prestate meet. Anna
Gercovich lead the group, but their depth is the
team's key.
10. Maclay,
Class 1A - This is assuming that there will be a Jennifer Emo
sighting in
the postseason, and I would bet both pennies in my piggie bank
that there
will be. Newell is a legit contender to Scanlin's title, and in
my opinion,
the lone legit contender. Some needs to tell these 7th graders
that they
aren't susposed to run this fast. Transfer Adriana Piekarewicz
joins Holy
Trinity's Chelsea Joiner and Oak Hall's Stevie Uribe among the
candidates
for Ryan Deak's girlfriend. Maclay will need Emo to run strong
and for Molly
Drake to have a typical, Drake-like strong race at the state
meet to scare
the Eagles and stave off Holy Trinity.
11. Estero, Class 3A - Have
ran about three different group of kids at
various meets. If you combine
them all together, you get one tough team.
The female version of DDD stands
for Depth, Depth, Depth. Lacking the
frontrunners to compete with the top
six or so teams, but could match
anyone else person for person.
12.
Vero Beach, Class 4A - Team has a good balance of frontrunners and
balance. Led by Schoomer, the team has continually gotten better as the
season
has progressed and should be a force at the state meet. Need's two
of their
three in their "back pack" to step up in order to challenge for a
top-3 spot, but don't be surprised. They all ran great at the state meet
last season, maybe their coach knows the secret formula.
13. St. Pete
Seminole, Class 3A - We're used to the War Hawks' boys team
putting on
a show year-in and year-out, but it's the girls that are making
some noise
this fall. May rival for Aquinas and Plant if we scored the
state meet through
seven. But we don't (just ask Brian Devine) so their
lack of a frontrunner
or two may hurt their chances at a title unless
someone goes down on one
of the top two 3A teams. Nevertheless, it's a
great year for a very strong
team.
14. Cocoa Beach, Class 2A - Class 2A is one heck of a classification
this
fall and the Minutewomen (did I just say that?) only add to the fire.
Everyone knows about Elly Kabbord, the defending 2A state champion and one
of the favorites to capture this year's title once again. But it's Miley,
a transfer from Holy Trinity, and their ever-improving depth that
impresses
me. The only bad thing is that they are exactly five deep.
Better hope everyone
has a good meet on November 17th.
15. Holy Trinity, Class 1A - This
was a close call between Winter Springs,
Mandarin, and Holy Trinity. I go
with the Tigers because of their front
runner and their t-shirts. (Which
I still don't have Doug !!) Joiner is
simply amazing and was seen asking
for Little Deak's phone # at the last
meet, but the key to the team will
likely be the ever-tough Natasha Mann
and strong Heather Miller. If those
two can run with Maclay's two and
three, they'll have a chance to bring home
hardware. Regardless, Coach
Butler should buy stock in Oakley and Ray Ban,
because this team's future
is so bright, he needs to wear sunglasses (Ok,
dumb I know. But at least I
tried) Top Fifteen Individuals 1.
Kara Scanlin, Episcopal (1A) - Can you say UNDEFEATED ?? Faster than
her ex-boyfriend, and even more impressively, her coach - Michelle
Kendall.
In all seriousness, Scanlin has dominated the state all year and
will be
hunting for her second straight Footlocker National berth in
nearly a month.
The difference this year is that she won't be the
underdog. Leg speed, strength,
and smarts. What more do you need?
2. Jessica Hellender, Cooper City
(4A) - The Rodney Dangerfield of girls'
running in Florida has been quitely
destroying opponents all season. She
may not get much respect, but she gets
faster and faster every time she
toes the line. I'm betting that the 4A title
run will be a duel to the
finish.
3. Jenny Gomez, Lady of Lourdes
(3A) - Outbattled Kabbord for runner-up
honors (to Scanlin) at Flrunners.com.
This kid has gotten better with each
race and will have a chance to stamp
her ticket to Disney on November 24th
as well. Right now, she's focusing
on securing the team/individual Class
2A sweep for Lourdes. She seems to
be the class of a VERY, VERY tough
class.
4. Zita Magloire, Chiles
(2A) - This girl has faster wheels than Goodyear
and NASCAR. Elly Kabbord
got first hand knowledge of the slender speed
deamons' quickness in the homestretch,
as Magloire used her second (and
third) gear to take the Prestate Elite title.
If she's close coming off
the "dirt hill" on November 17th, we'll
likely see a repeat.
5. Elly Kabbord, Cocoa Beach (2A) - The Class
2A state champ and will not
relinquish her title without a fight, you can
count on that. A tough
competitor and strong as they come. She'll need to
put some distance
between herself and Zita in the rematch, but she's more
than capable.
Consistency is her fortay. You know that she's going to be
ready in three
weeks.
6. Jessica Zabel, Lake Mary (4A) - Isn't
there a soccer game on the third
Saturday in November? If not, Hellender
better watch out. Something tells
me that the always persistance Zabel is
going to do actually what she does
every time she steps to the starting line
at the state meet - bring her A
game. Watch out, too !! When that happens,
few and far between have been
able to beat her.
7. Kara Newell,
Maclay (1A) - Has looked like the Kara Newell of old the
last couple of weeks,
storming to a strong race at Flrunners.com and
placing second to Magloire
at the Panhandle Championships this weekend.
You can count on one hand the
number of Florida runners to beat her this
season and with one finger the
number of Class 1A runners. Great kid,
great personality, great times = great
runner.
8. Melissa Kotchman, Indian Rocks Christian (1A) - Somebody
please tell
these middle-schoolers that they aren't susposed to run faster
than me
until they're at least 14 years of age !! This kid is awesome and
keeps
getting better. Was on Newell's heels at Flrunners.com and could smell
Zabel's waffles at Prestate.
9. Gabrielle Polhemius, Spanish
River (4A) - Race at Prestate overcomes
race subpar performance at the Sharks'
home meet. Sophomore topped Angela
Pichardo by 16 seconds at Prestate, throwing
down a PR of 18:16. Leading
the pack of 4A runners hoping for third place
at the state meet, will
certainly be a key cog in Spanish River's title hopes.
10. Michelle Brouilett, St. Thomas Aquinas (3A) - If she ran for a
West
Coast school, she'd be ranked in the top-3 in Lee's Class 3A rankings.
Strong races at Disney and more importantly - Spanish River - put her
among the state's best in my book. With Plant's strong top-3, her
performance
at the state meet will be key if the Raiders want to bring
home the Class
3A gold.
11. Angela Pichardo, Stranahan (3A) - Has looked good all
year and should
be right in the front group in the wide-open individual race
on November
17th. Just behind Polhemius, and slightly ahead of Karen Edmonds
at
Prestate, Pichardo has a shot to break the tape at the state meet with
a
good showing.
12. Marah Borgman, Bucholz (4A) - Keeps on getting
better and better and
from watching her run, it seems to me that you'd be
hard-sought to find a
runner in the state with as much guts or heart. The
pint-sized sophomore
will lead her team and her race against Polhemius and
Zabel might set the
tone for the state title between the three standout's
teams.
13. Karen Edmonds, Clay (3A) - Consistent as they come. Edmonds
(I finally
spelled her name right) has been a mainstay among North Florida's
best and
will be once again in three weeks. Just two ticks off Pichardo at
Prestate, which surprised the heck out of me. Whether or not she can
convert that into success on the same course with more at stake remains to
be seen. I'm not going to bet against her.
14. Lavera Morris2, Oak
Ridge (4A) - Got the best of Zabel earlier in the
year, and would rival Magloire
for the title if we held this thing on the
track. Lacks seasoning and experience
in big meets, but could be a dark
horse in the big-schools competition.
15. Courtney Hall, Bishop Kenney (2A) - Making people forget all about
Natalie Kotula and the sophomore may be mentioned in the same breath as
Mason Cathey is this kind of progress continues. She's dropped and dropped
PRs throughout the year, blazing to a lightning-fast 18:31 at Prestate and
a 18:15 to capture the title on the fast St. John's Country Day course.
Consistency
edges her ahead of Diane Avigne (Santa Fe), Lindsey Bowerman
(King), and
Lindsey Moffenbier (East Bay) for final spot. for complete coverage of
Florida, go to Jason Byrne's flrunners.com Return
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