*** Please Note *** This was written prior to the cancellation of the Great American XC Festival.  Once Great American was cancelled, teams such as Winter Park, Ft. Myers, Marist and individuals such as Calvary Christian's Hannah Brookover have now been entered into the meet. ***

The FSU Invitational returns this week with competition on October 2-3. The meeting used to be a one-morning affair, but that was before the Florida High School State Cross Country Final moved to Apalachee Regional Park and Pre-State became part of the Invitational. First, the high school races took over the Saturday program entirely, pushing the colleges to Friday, making the Invitational a two-day cross country carnival. This year, the high school junior varsity races have migrated to Friday evening, and the colleges are competing on Friday morning. Add another high school division or two, and maybe let the middle schools in, and the Florida State Seminoles will get bumped from their own Invitational.

15

Pre-State is the main attraction, though. The best in Florida show up to see the State Meet course, and they often seem to run faster than they do at the actual State Final. There are many theories as to why this is so, and if you ask five people at the Invitational I’m sure you’ll hear five hypotheses. The sixth person you ask will tell you to be quiet so he can watch the races.

Did you miss Noah Perkins' narrow 15:20.80 to 15:21.90 victory over Steven Cross in Titusville on September 26? Don’t worry, because you can catch the rematch at Pre-State on October 3, where Seffner Christian’s Perkins and Merritt Island’s Cross will go head-to-head at 7:40 AM in the Elite Boys 5K. The two also tangled at the Mountain Dew Invitational in Gainesville, but in that race Cross won and Perkins was over 100 meters behind in fourth. You won’t see this match-up at the State Final, because these guys compete different classifications--Seffner Christian is 1A and Merritt Island is 3A.

Of course, this isn’t a match race. Lyman senior Joshua Jacques and Hernando sophomore Trevor Foley both finished ahead of Perkins at Mountain Dew, and both are entered in the Elite race at Pre-State. Last year, Jacques ran 15:16.00 on the Apalachee Regional Park course, faster than either Cross or Perkins. Foley, ranked the best runner in class 2A, could be a factor at Pre-State if he races like he did when he finished second at Mountain Dew.

FSU Pre-State Invitational Boys Elite Race - 2014 - by Brad McCann

One thing that all four of those runners have in common, though, is that they have already raced hard two weekends in a row--first in Gainesville and then in Titusville. A dark horse with fresh legs could make things interesting, someone like Gainesville High senior Blake Lowery. Lowery was in the mix at Mountain Dew, finishing sixth in 15:56.23. But instead of a dogfight in Titusville, on September 26 he was cruising to a win at the Alligator Lake Invitational.

Among the teams at Pre-State you’ll also see inter-classification competition that doesn’t happen at the State Final. Trinity Prep, top-ranked in class 2A, has already beaten class 3A's number one, Belen Jesuit, at FLRunners. In turn, Belen Jesuit defeated St. Thomas Aquinas, ranked best in class 4A, at Mountain Dew. The three will mix it up again in the Elite race at Apalachee Regional Park. Local fans will also be watching the tussle between defending class 3A champs Chiles and their in-town rivals Leon. The two highest ranked schools in class 1A, Father Lopez and Maclay, won’t be in the Elite race, though. Nevertheless, they’ll bump heads later in the morning in the Select Boys 5K.

I don’t like to talk about times in cross country, I have to make an exception for Lake Mary junior Daniela Urzua. Urzua is still the only Florida girl to go sub-18:00 during the 2015 season with a 17:43.30 back on September 12 at the Lions Prowl 2. Other than that, Urzua just wins--four times in four outings, including the Mountain Dew title. Riverview's sophomore Bailey Hertenstein has come close to the 18:00 barrier with an 18:02.40 win at FLRunners. Hertenstein is also undefeated, but with three wins instead of four. However, while Urzua is entered in the Elite Girls race at Pre-State, Hertenstein and Riverview will be at the Don Bishop Invitational this weekend. We may have to wait till the class 4A state championship series to see Urzua and Hertenstein race one another. The 2015 class 4A state champ, Winter Park sophomore Rafaella Gibbons, won’t be part of the scuffle, either; she’s entered at Great American in Cary, North Carolina, that morning. But in addition to Urzua the Girls Elite race will include 2015 class 2A champion Tsion Yared of Pine Crest, undefeated Fletcher junior Kayley Delay, who went 17:58.30 at last year’s Pre-State.

The Niceville girls have emerged from their lair in the Panhandle as possibly the season’s best team in class 3A, and they’ll be taking their perfect record of four wins and no losses into the Girls Elite race. Top ranked in class 2A, Pine Crest will be lining up against them. Unlike the top boys’ teams in class 1A, the Holy Trinity girls will be trying their mettle in the Girls Elite race. In the absence of Winter Park, will Wharton uphold the honor of class 4A? Will Dr. Phillips?

One thing about Pre-State that it’s still early enough in the season that there’s a bit of mystery. There are still surprises at the State Final, but not as many--after all, you have Pre-State performances to go by. Seeking the solution to that mystery is one of the reasons I’ll be happy to be at Apalachee Regional Park till the last race is run on Saturday morning.

Northwest Florida Correspondent Herb Wills

Herb Wills' running career goes back to the 1971 boys' age-group mile at the Florida Relays. Since losing that race he has won the 1976 Florida High School class 4A cross-country championship, 1979 AAU USA junior titles in cross-country and the 10,000 meters, and the 1989 TAC USA 30K national championship. As a distance runner at Florida State University from 1978 to 1982, he was NCAA All-American three times in track and once in cross country, and won a silver medal in the marathon at the 1981 World University Games. Graduating Florida State with a degree in mathematics, in the following years Wills ran in the USA Olympic Marathon Trials in 1984, 1988, and 1992, and placed tenth in the Boston Marathon in 1989. After more than a few years of duty as a hurdle setter and lane judge at track meets, Wills discovered that the public address announcer not only got to sit down at meets but was also sheltered from the rain. Since that revelation you can hear him with a microphone in his hand at several track and cross-country events in the Tallahassee area. Writing is another activity you can do while sitting down, and Wills has written about running for Racing South magazine and Tallahassee's local newspaper, the Tallahassee Democrat.

You can read more running related tidbits in his blog at http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/

Herb Wills NorthWest Florida Reports 2015 ARTICLES / 2014 ARTICLES