TAMPA — Start fast. Push yourself throughout the race. Finish strong.

In recent seasons, this is the advice coaches gave Sickles cross country standout Derek Wehunt. Yet as badly as Wehunt wanted to heed it, his mind simply would not let him.

"I was too scared," Wehunt said. "I was afraid I'd get out ahead and then run out of gas."

But after a subpar performance at a recent meet in Gainesville, Wehunt decided it was time to wave goodbye to his conservative running style.

In the week leading up to the Florida State University Invitational, he tried to paint a mental picture of how he wanted to perform. He visualized a race in which he started at a blistering pace and didn't let up until crossing the finish.

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