Meet Recap

by Ka'Deem Wynn

2015 Foot Locker South Regional

What an exciting day it was at McAlpine Park for the 37th Annual Foot Locker South Regional Championships. Athletes from all over the region flocked to this special place to get a chance to run. Some came running for time, others came for the experience, and a few came looking for a trip to Foot Locker Nationals, held at Balboa Park in San Diego, CA.

Dreams were made, and dreams came true for many who were able to grab one of the 10 qualifying spots. At the end of the day, it all came down to who wanted it more.

The Sunshine State is proud to say that they’ll be sending two Foot Locker Finalists to San Diego in two weeks.

Joshua Jacques, a senior out of Lyman High School and the 2014 4A State Cross Country Champion, and now returning for round two, Steven Cross, the senior out of Merritt Island and the 2015 3A State Cross Country Champion.

In the boys race, unlike the girls, the winner was never in doubt.

Andrew Hunter of Virginia took it out in a ridiculously fast pace of 4:27 at the mile. 

2.1 miles later he broke the course record in a time of 14:26, previously set by Sean McGorty in 2012 (14:28).

The rest of the chase pack came through around 4:40 at the mile, and 9:40 at the two-mile. At that point, it was anyone’s race for second, and it looked as though Florida would qualify three boys to Nationals. Brandon Marquez, who finished 11th at last year’s race, was sitting in about seventh, Jacques was in ninth, and Cross was by himself in about 11th. The pack then began to separate during the third mile, and that’s when things changed.

Brandon Marquez began to experience complications a bit after he passed the 4K, and was unable to finish the race. Jacques held on and pushed through, moving up to eighth, and stayed there the rest of the race.

Cross, who was still a bit in “no man’s land” had a strong finish to round up the 10th and final spot.

Florida had a great showing overall, having four guys finish in the top-20, and four finish in the top-30. Florida also finished second as a team overall behind Virginia.

Sarasota senior Adam Bradtmueller gave a strong effort throughout the race, but narrowly missed qualifying by finishing 12th. Blake Lowery of Gaineville finished 18th overall in a time of 15:36. Trevor Kattenburg of Satellite Beach finished 30th in a time of 15:51.

“This was the hardest 5K I’ve ever ran,” said a clearly exhausted Cross.

It’s unclear about what the problem was. Though he was able to overcome and qualify, it was apparent that Cross wasn’t himself during the race.

Cross and Jacques shared the moment of signing their names to compete at Nationals.

Jacques says that the whole experience was surreal for him, and things got emotional as his longtime righthand man, Jordan Armstrong, came over to congratulate and celebrate with him.

The girls race was full of battling as well. Each girl who crossed the line in the top-10 went from having a strained face, full of gritting teeth and fiery eyes, to relief and joy.

Weini Kelati, DyeStat's US#1 of Virginia claimed the girls’ title in a time of 16:43, dropping second place finisher Nevada Mareno, who finished in 17:03. Kelati is now a two-time finalist, and looks to get a third shot at Nationals in 2016.  The top three girls are all juniors and will look to return in 2016.

Unfortunately, no girls from Florida qualified to Nationals this year. As a state overall, the girls were led by Pine Crest senior and Florida signee, Alyssa Pujals. Pujals was the 2015 2A State Cross Country Champion, and finished 14th in a time of 17:56.

Lake Mary's Daniela Urzua battled hard and finished 21st in a time of 18:07. Chiles senior Emma Tucker finished 34th in a time of 18:30. Fletcher’s Kayley DeLay ran a strong race, finishing 55th in a time of 18:50.

Whatever the case may be, or whatever the outcome was, all of these athletes ran hard on this historic course. Being able to tackle this course is commendable, and all of the athletes should be proud. Congratulations to Florida’s two Foot Locker Finalists.  Good luck in San Diego.