Five Boys who could make an Impact at Pre-State
Cross, Bradtmueller, Jacques, Armstrong, Perkins
Ka’Deem Wynn | Writer
As the 2015 Florida State University PreState Invitational nears, I decided to do a bit of
searching. As I was biking home from practice earlier this week, I came up with the idea of
choosing who I thought would either do something big this weekend, or perform very well. I
decided to look at five males who I personally thought would be fit to be on this list.
First up is Steven Cross.
Coming into the season with the top returning time in the state (15:01), Steven wants to stay on
Though he hasn’t ran that many meets this season, he’s making the ones he does run count. At
the Trinity Prep Cross Country Invitational, he clocked the top time with a 16:13 performance,
and ran 15:27 to win at the UF Mountain Dew Invite, and a 15:21 at the flrunners.com
Invitational 16 meet to finish second.
In a recent interview in regards to the meet this weekend, he said “I’m going into it with a
positive mind, feeling confident in my ability to perform. I’m looking to run how I know I
can and end up out front.”
We all know what he’s capable of, and what he can do in various situations. Steven gave a
sneak peek of what he’s been doing.
“I have a strategy worked out with my coach, and I’ll be pushing very hard for a good
time, that’s all I’ll say.”
A very confident Steven went on to say that he’s hungry after last week at flrunners. Sounding
sort of like Steve Prefontaine’s quote “Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to
bleed to do it,” he said “it’s going to take some serious guts to take me down now.”
One of the things that Steven has done to help him prepare for this race he says, was a workout
he did a few weeks ago. He ran five by mile repeats, all around 4:55 each mile. That’s some
serious work. But when you can do that, you can talk big as well.
When asked what his thoughts on the course, he explained that he’s always excited to run on
the “cross country playground.” He loves the course conditions, and going up north for a little
cooler weather. He thinks that the conditions should be perfect for some fast times on Saturday.
“A win would be terrific, but more than that I want to make it a win with a time shows my
true capabilities.”
Steven definitely seems confident in his abilities, and is ready to run. He will be competing in the
Boys Elite race, along with his team.
Steven Cross - Merritt Island Mustangs
Second on the list is Adam Bradtmueller.
This guy has started off his senior season well, having a winning streak during the first few
meets of the 2015 season. On August 29th, he opened the season with a 16:40 at the Lemon
Bay Invitational. The following week on September 5th, he dropped a 16:07 at the Wiregrass
Ranch run with The Bulls. Then, he took the win again in 15:54 at the Seffner Christian
Invitational.
Over the past few weeks, he’s clocked a 16:14 performance at the UF Mountain Dew Invite, and
a 16:03 at the flrunners.com Invitational 16 meet.
As the season is now fully underway, Adam looks to improve on his performance. In a recent
interview, he said “I’m excited to finally have a good race. I haven’t been racing very well
lately.”
With September being the general time where people get the flu, it wasn’t before long that it
caught up to Adam. He may run fast, but he couldn’t outkick the sickness. Adam says that he
got sick right before the flrunners race, and that despite the time, he ran a bad race at UF.
Adam says that after the past two weeks going not as planned, he’s excited to get to compete
against such a talented field of runners.
“I am hoping to bounce back and be able to truly be in contention to win the race with a
mile to go because from there, it is anyone’s race.”
Considering himself a close runner, Adam looks to hang back a bit during the first half of the
race, and then go to work on the second half. Though he wants a fast time, much like any
runner would, Adam is focusing on placement. He says that in such a competitive field, if he
places well, then the times will come.
During the interview, Adam recalled a workout that stood out to him that he felt helped to mold
and shape him to be ready for this race.
“I haven’t done too many crazy workouts so far this season, but one that stands out to
me was a couple weeks ago when I did six 1K repeats.” he said. “It was just a confidence
boosting workout.”
Adam says that he had to run all the out in lane five of the track because it had been raining all
day and lanes one through four were flooded, so the distance was a bit off.
That’s Florida for you.
When asked about his thoughts on the course, he expressed his liking for it, saying that it’s one
of the only true cross country courses in Florida.
“There’s plenty of room to make moves, and the ground is pretty hard packed so I would
say that it’s definitely one of the faster courses in the state.”
Adam definitely seems confident in his abilities, and is ready to be one of the big boys. He will
be competing in the Boys Elite race, along with his team.
Adam Bradtmueller - Sarasota Sailors
Third on the list is Joshua Jacques.
The Lyman senior has been on the watch list for a while now. The reigning 4A cross country
state champion isn't letting up. He doesn't want to be just the best in 4A; he wants to be the best
in the state, and the only way to do that is to run with the best.
In a recent interview about Saturday's race, he said "I think it's going to be a interesting and
exciting race. I have always loved pre states and the competition is great! I love the
course and the good condition that usually go along with it. As of my goals going into
the race, I would have to say be with the leaders and finish hard and fast!"
Josh says that his strategy is to really run up front with the leaders and run his race. He says
that teammate Jordan Armstrong is always up with him helping and pushing him.
In regards to the course, Josh said "I honestly really like the course. Like I said it usually
has good conditions that come with it but with that being said, I don't think it's easy or
exactly 'fast' for what it is. It has some hills and parts that you have to work, but other
than that my person opinion is that I like the course and I can get into it."
Josh says that success would be great for tomorrow, but races like these are not what "matter
the most" to him, and are not the most important races in mind right now so while winning would
be great, that's not what he has on his mind going in.
Well, at least not yet...
(L-R Jordan Armstrong, Steven Cross and Joshua Jacques at FLRunners.com 2015)
Fourth on the list is Jacques' right hand man, Jordan Armstrong. The Lyman senior has been
tearing up the course, going stride for stride with Josh. Having been on our watch list for some
time now, we're eager to see what he'll put out.
With a PR of 15:45, Jordan is looking to get back down to that. Once there, he wants to go
faster. Running only two meets this year, Jordan is ready to blow out a big one.
"I'm excited for the race."
Last, but certainly not least on the list is Justin Pacifico.
This guy may be seen as an underdog compared to the likes of Cross and Jacques, but this guy
strong. Initially a football player and track runner for Flagler Palm Coast High School freshman
and sophomore year, Justin posted his top time of 16:16 at the region meet last year, and later
ran 16:25 at the state meet. So far this season, he's clocked 16:45, 16:21, 16:54, and 16:19 at
the UF Mountain Dew Invitational after battling a head cold the week leading up to the race.
Now that he's gotten all of the sickness out, he's ready to roll.
"I'm ready for this race Saturday," he said in a recent interview. "I got moved to the Elite
race so I think that I'll get pulled through at a fast time."
Justin says that he looks to just race people and let the clock do the talking.
This week, Justin completed a four by mile repeats workout, and averaged sub5.
Justin is one of those guys who will face any adversity headon, and come out with maybe a
scratch or two, but usually unscathed.
Last year, Justin and the FPC team traveled to New York to run at the Manhattan Invitational,
which fell on the same weekend as PreState, so he's only ran this course once. He says
because of that, he can't accurately judge it, but he does think that there will be great
competition and fast times ran.
Like all runners, Justin wants a PR for himself, but more so, he want PR's for his team. Justin
will actually be running separate from his team, as he'll be in the Elite race, while the rest of
FPC will be in the Select race.
