Foot Locker Nationals - Florida History edition by Herb Wills - Foot Locker National Championships 2014

On the last Saturday of November, Merritt Island junior Steven Cross (BIO) and Miami Sunset senior Nick Diaz (BIO Florida signee) finished eighth and ninth in the Foot Locker South race at McAlpine Park, both clocked in 15:01. By finishing in the top ten, Cross and Diaz qualify for the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships this Saturday, 13 December 2014, at Balboa Park in San Diego, California. They join 73 other Florida athletes--38 girls and 35 boys--who have made the Foot Locker Finals since the event was established in 1979 as the Kinney Nationals.

Steven Cross - Merritt Island           Nick Diaz - Miami Sunset

Florida was represented in 1979 at the very first Nationals by Basil Magee. A product of the storied Largo High cross-country program, Magee was seventh in that race, running 15:30. No Florida athlete improved on that finish till 1982, when Winter Park’s Brian Jaeger placed sixth in 14:56. That stands as the best finish by a Florida boy at Foot Locker. It was also one of the seven years that the meet was held in Orlando, Florida, instead of San Diego, California. Maybe we should be lobbying to have the Nationals back on Florida soil.

Nick Diaz and Steven Cross race to the finish in the 2014 FSU Invitational - photo by Bob Murphy

Although no Florida boy has finished higher in the standings than Jaeger, five others have cracked the top ten--Jimmy Clark of Creekside was seventh in 2010, Teddy Mitchell of Lyman was ninth in 1989, Luiz Prestes of Miami Beach was ninth in 1991, Ryan Pickering of John I. Leonard was ninth in 2010, and Matt Mizereck of Leon was tenth in 2009. Jaeger has done them all one better, though. Placing eighth in 1981, Jaeger is a two-time top ten finisher at Nationals. Lyman's Nick Radkewich also finished Foot Locker twice, in 1987 and 1988. The Florida record in this regard, though, goes to another Lyman athlete, Teddy Mitchell. Mitchell appeared at Foot Locker Nationals three times from 1987 to 1989.

Brian Jaeger wasn’t the only Florida boy at Nationals in 1982; he was joined in the race by Billy Convey of Ransom Everglades and Ken Cheeseman of Lake Howell. It was the first time that Florida qualified more than one athlete for the boys’ race. With Steven Cross and Nick Diaz headed for San Diego, this will be the tenth time that two Florida boys compete at Nationals. However, there were only two other years that three Florida boys raced in the Championship. In 2010, Matt Mizereck (10th), In 2009 Leon's Matt Mizereck (10th,15:36), Belen Jesuit's Elliot Clemente (25th, 15:43), and Bishop Kenny's Colin Barker (40th, 16:57) were all at Balboa Park. Their performance as a group was bettered in 2010 by the trio of Florida athletes Jimmy Clark (7th, 15:24) of Creekside, Ryan Pickering (9th, 15:25) of Leonard, and Elliot Clemente (25th, 15:43) of Belen Jesuit. It almost makes up for the ten years when no Florida boy qualified for Foot Locker Nationals.

The Florida girls got started at Foot Locker Nationals in 1980 when Orange Park's Sandra Braasch finished 28th in 19:35. Braasch was back the very next year, finishing 29th in 18:49. You should note that back in Florida, Braasch and the rest of the Florida girls were still racing only two miles in cross country.

Braasch's two appearances at Foot Locker were equalled by Lincoln's Kathi Ward (1991, 1992), Ramona Saridakis (1993, 1995), Plant's Caroline Annis (1996, 1997), Gainesville Eastside's Hilary White (1998, 1999), Keswick Christian's Christa Benton (1999, 2000), Jacksonville Episcopal's Kara Scanlin (2000,2001), Oviedo's Wotld champion and Olympian Jenny Barringer (2003, 2004), Ocala Vanguard's Kelly Parrish (2004, 2005), Wellington's Ashley Brasovan (2007, 2008), Community School of Naples' Kathryn Fluehr (2009, 2010), Community School of Naples' Erika Fluehr (2009, 2010), and Dr. Phillips' Bridget Blake (2011, 2012). Kayla Hale has them all beaten, though, with three trips to Foot Locker Nationals in 2006, 2007, and 2008.

No Florida girl qualified for Foot Locker Nationals this year. That's only happened five other times in the 36-year history of the event. In spite of being represented nearly every year, though, it wasn't until 2003 and the 25th annual Foot Locker Nationals that a Florida girl cracked the top ten. Oviedo’s Jenny Barringer did that in a big way, taking third place with a 17:35. Barringer made it into the top ten again the following year, placing tenth in 18:16. Barringer's 2003 Foot Locker finish stood as the best for a Florida girl till 2007 when Wellington's Ashley Brasovan won the National Championship with a 17:20. Brasovan came within three seconds of a repeat win the following year when she finished second to Jordan Hasay, 17:22 to 17:25. She remains the only Florida girl to ever win Foot Locker Nationals.

Wellington's Ashley Brasovan en route to winning the 2007 Foot Locker National XC Championships

The year that Brasovan won the Foot Locker title, 2007, there were four Florida girls in the race, the most ever. In addition to Brasovan, Holy Trinity's Kayla Hale (19th, 18:05), Cypress Bay's Emilie Amaro (25th, 18:31), and Boone's Brittany Koziara (29th, 18:36) were all Foot Locker Finalists. Florida had sent two girls for the first time in 1982 (Spruce Creek's Carmen Gardner and Boca Ciega's Karol Dorsett) and three for the first time in 1992 (Lincoln’s Kathi Ward, South Fork's Aimee Kagel, and Plant's Beth Brooks), but four was unprecedented.

Hopefully Steven Cross and Nick Diaz will be inspired by the accomplishments of the Florida athletes that preceded them at Foot Locker. I know I am. I think I’ll go out for a run, now.