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State Meet Previews Rubber Rundowns - Boys 4A - Florida FHSAA State Cross County Championships 2016 - DyestatFLPublished by
By Joey Castagnaro for DyeStatFL The FHSAA 4A Boys State Championship race will take place at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida on Saturday, November 5th. The boys race will be the second to last of the day, going off at 10:30 am. Qualifying Teams
Qualifying Individuals
Team RaceThe clear front-runner in the 4A boys team race is St. Thomas Aquinas. In our hypothetical preview, they score 72 points, beating the next best team, Newsome, by 87 points. St. Thomas Aquinas finishes all five runners in front of the next closest competitor’s number two runner. The Raiders’ top five have all run under 16:40 this season and they should easily come home with the title. The race for second is much tighter. Looking to grab a podium spot are Newsome and Lakewood Ranch. In our hypothetical preview, Newsome scores 159 points and Lakewood Ranch scores 165. Newsome is the only other team outside St. Thomas Aquinas to have five boys under 17 minutes. They have one victory over Lakewood Ranch this year at the North Port XC Invitational, where they beat them by 10 points. Although Newsome is set to finish just in front of Lakewood Ranch in our hypothetical preview, the Lakewood Ranch boys have two wins over Newsome. They beat Newsome most recently at the Region 2 Championships. Both teams know what it is like to beat the other. Lakewood Ranch has the most recent win, but it was only a four-point victory. The podium spot could go to either team, and it is going to come down to which can bring everything they have on race day. CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL TEAMS PARTICIPATING IN THE BOYS 4A STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS Individual RaceOn the boys individual side, leading the way is Bryce Bell of Lyman. Close behind are Timothy Doyle of Freedom, Terrance Sessoms of Sandalwood, and Matt Doyle of Winter Springs. There is a possibility Deshay Fernandes will be competing at State as his team qualified. However, Deshay won't be up for State honors because he missed the District and Regional meets. Bryce Bell has 4A’s fastest time, with his 15:46 at the Buchholz Bobcat Classic. Bell has five wins so far this year and two sub 16 performances. He finished second at the Region 1 Championship race. Timothy Doyle is the District 4 and Region 1 champion. This is a huge win for Doyle, as Region 1 contains 10 out of the top 11 runners in 4A. This was nearly the state meet - individual-wise, at least. This win gives Doyle lots of confidence going in to the State Championships. Doyle's slow season ascent seems to be working in his favor. The question for us is whether he will try to come from behind and strike too late. Alternatively, the other top harriers, if they go too hard early, know Doyle will be lurking off the torrid pace waiting to pounce. Terrance Sessoms has run 15:56 so far this season and has the fourth best time in 4A. However, a 10th place finish at the stacked Region 1 is something to think about when making your State Meet predictions. Matt Doyle ran a PR of 16:01 at the Region 1 Championships to finish third. Doyle has had a very consistent year and is expected to shine at the State Championships. 4A is very deep on the individual side this year, with 20 runners under 16:15 and 33 runners under 16:30. Look for a big pack of runners up front. The State Championships have historically been a place for underdogs to surprise. There are plenty of athletes that can come from the shadows and steal this title. More news |
