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Florida State Meet XC Recap 2022Published by
Patrick Koon, Jillian Candelino Fastest Of The Day At Florida State Meet; No. 11 Belen Jesuit Scores Record Low 34 Points By Todd Grasley of DyeStat The Sunshine State's fastest individuals and teams made their way to Florida's Cross Country Playground, Apalachee Regional Park Saturday for the FHSAA Cross Country Finals.
With championships on the line and temperatures for the early races hovering in the mid-'60s, Cambridge Christian freshman Elli Black showed why she is a special talent and her undefeated season is no fluke. Black led from the start, easing her way through the first mile in 5:25.8, six seconds ahead of Ava Wyant of Master's Academy and more than 15 seconds faster than the next wave of runners. Teammate Madeline Gear moved up three spots in the second mile, but Black's advantage grew to 19 seconds. She went on to win her first state title with her eighth sub-18-minute performance of the fall with a time of 17:55.1. Gear earned runner-up honors in 18:09.2.
"This one was special, unbelievable," Oak Hall coach Edwin McTureous said. "They all ran with such confidence and for each other. In one of the deepest 1A team championships that I can remember, I couldn’t have asked for anything more from them. Coming in ranked fourth gave us a little more fuel today. The girls all week believed they could pull the upset off and they did! I am blessed to have been on this journey with these girls this season."
While Black won the individual title, it was her male teammate Braxton Legg who won the boys race. The senior improved on his fifth-place showing from last season. Legg returned home to win the state meet race after competing in Uruguay last weekend and placing second in a World Junior Triathlon event. As a result of his missing the FHSAA Regional meet, Legg was not allowed to be rewarded with state meet hardware. Indian Rocks Christian won the boys team title for the second straight year. The team scored 62 points and was led by a fifth-place showing by sophomore Blake Young. Coach Bobby Labrant described excitement with one word: "Crazy". Bolles Bowls Over 2A
In Class 2A, it was the Bolles show. One of the state's premier programs, the Bulldogs went 4-for-4 winning both the girls and boys individual and team championships, something girls coach Tony Ryan believes has never happened at the Florida state meet. It marked the 14th team trophy for the girls and the seventh for the boys.
Bolles senior and University of Tennessee commit Jillian Candelino took the lead and guided a group through the mile at 5:32.1 with the top nine runners separated by less than a second. Candelino separated herself from the rest of the group in the second mile at 11:16.20 and a seven-second lead over Cardinal Mooney junior Addison Dempsey (11:23.4) with a chase pack of six runners fronted by Candelino’s teammate Ella Mickler. The future Volunteer won with the fastest time of the day, 17:43.3, with Dempsey crossing the line as the runner-up in 17:54.0. Candelino also won the 2A title in 2021 and was second as a sophomore in 2020. Bolles placed three in the top 10 and five in the top 30 for a score of 59 points. Episcopal School of Jacksonville freshman Brooke McCoy was the team's top finisher in 20th place, but their 1-5 depth and spread of 42 seconds was good enough to give Jacksonville schools the top two spots on the podium.
The Bolles boys definitely took notice. After coaching the girls to victory Ryan then watched his son Aidan take the course. The young Ryan was second in last year's meet as a junior but wasn't going to be denied his final time on the Apalachee Regional Park course. In one of the best races of the day, Ryan battled with Montverde Academy senior Riley Novack and Ransom Everglade junior David Serra. Ryan, like Candelino, is headed to Tennessee. The Bulldog boys won with 50 points. "It made for a very exciting day as both a coach and a dad to go from watching (as a coach) Jillian and the girls pull off the individual and team title and then transition pretty quickly as a parent cheering on my son and the Bolles boys to an individual and team title," Tony Ryan said. In 3A, Leon Duo First To Finish A theme of common winners lasted into the second half of the day in the Class 3A finals. Junior Patrick Koon of Leon and senior teammate Lillee Tang both won individual titles. Tang was one of a handful of runners to break 18 minutes on the day with an impressive victory and 14-second personal best (17:53.7) over Ashley Fitzgerald of American Heritage (17:56).
"I thought Lillee had a shot at winning after her breakthrough performance at the regional meet," coach Andrew Wills said. "She ran smart and took control after two miles. It was an impressive performance. That’s a great way for Lillee Tang to close out her senior season. She really worked hard and stayed focused and it paid off in a big way." Koon, the top distance runner in the state all season long, picked up his second straight title with a blistering state meet record time of 14:56.7. Koon ran a course record of 14:50 at the FSU Invitational (Pre-State), and the second-fastest ever in Florida history when he won The Southern Showcase in Alabama in 14:43.09.
"Patrick had another great race," Wills added. "It was a warm day and he was getting over the flu. I wasn’t sure what to expect. When he made the move after the wall I was pretty sure he felt fine and was going to close it out. Overall, Patrick had an incredible junior season. Sub 15 at the ARP is never easy, especially at the state meet."
While Koon dominated the individual scene, no team has been more dominant in 3A than the Belen Jesuit boys and Saturday was no different. Junior Joshua Ruiz was the 3A runner-up while the Wolverines placed all five runners in the top 15 for the lowest team score of the day, 34 points. It was the sixth consecutive title for the team,13th for coach Frankie Ruiz, and 14th in program history.
"They showed up and raced for each other with a tight compression spread," he said. "We talked about how race plans are rarely perfect and that all their training was geared to respond as a unit. All in all, I am humbly proud of their season and especially this win. They broke a state record that had stood for over 20 years. I can’t ask for much more than that."
Osceola Fundamental edged Dillard to win the 3A girls team title. Creekside Puts Memory of 2021 Tie To Rest
In the final classification of the day, the 4A girls final with an individual battle between Boca Raton senior Emma O'Day and Olympia sophomore Emily Knopfle, with O'Day coming out on top in 18:23.9, an incredible improvement over her 50th place finish one year ago.
Buchholz junior Lucy Voss paced her team to their second consecutive 4A title with an 11th place showing. The Braddock girls earned the runner-up spot, the highest finish in program history. "We made some big-time school history today," Braddock coach Alex Shaw said. "We have come as close as third place (never podium), but this is a moment I will never forget." For the second straight year, a member of the Nease cross country team won the 4A individual title. In 2021, it was current Oregon Duck Rheinhardt Harrison, and this weekend the honor went to junior Matt Ryan, who crossed the line in a winning time of 15:35.4.
The Creekside boys, who lost on a tiebreaker to Nease last year, got to the top of the podium with its team title. Creekside scored 92 points. Second place Christopher Columbus scored 143. PHOTOS and INTERVIEWS by David Hicks
Team Champions
Class 4A: Creekside boys 92 points, Buchholz girls 83 points - RESULTS Class 3A: Belen Jesuit Prep boys 34 points, Osceola Fundamental girls 101 points - RESULTS Class 2A: The Bolles School boys 50 points, The Bolles School girls 56 points - RESULTS Class 1A: Indian Rocks Christian boys 62 points, Oak Hall girls 20 points - RESULTS |
