What an incredible day at the “XC Playground.” Great weather, even greater competition, and memories made for life! Whatever grade you’re in, no matter how many state meets you’ve competed at, congratulations to all of this year’s runners. Through it all, YOU made it here, and that’s something to not only be proud of, but something that no one can take away from you.

Year after year, we enjoy making the trip up to Tallahassee because around November, Apalachee Regional Park is just beautiful. We only come for the trees and the dirt.

Okay, not really. We come for you guys! Take a look below as we go through each classification ─ girls and boys 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A ─ and list some takeaways.

RELATED - Top Teams & Individuals

1A

Boys

A very spread out race overall, the individual title was won by Gabriel Curtis of Mt. Dora Christian, who ran 16:17. Chase Hyland from the Pine School took second in a respectable time of 16:31. Closely following him was Highland Christian’s Ryan Szklany, who took third in 16:38.

The boys of Westminster Academy got the job done this year, totaling 111 points to win the team title. Mt. Dora Christian was able to finish second in the field, and Marathon High School took third.

Girls

A bit of a hard race to watch in terms of the finish. Holy Trinity senior Samantha Folio has had a fantastic cross country season and led ¾ of the race. She got out hard and no one dared to go with her ─ until the end. Folio’s face told the story of the pain she was in but she fought every step of the way. After making it up “The Wall” for the final time, Oak Hall’s Grace Blair, who had been biding her time, went on the offensive, charging after Folio. Folio’s efforts to hold off her competitor came up short when, with about 200 meters to go, Blair passed Folio, and dashed towards the finish. Blair finished first in 18:22, with Folio taking second in 18:34.

What a race.

Oak Hall took the team title with 61 points, with Circle Christian taking second with 113 points, and Maclay finishing third in the field with 116 points.

2A

Boys

One of the many battles of the day, the 2A boys race saw battles for the team and individual spots. The main battle up at front was between senior and FSU commit, Caleb Pottorff and sophomore Charles Hicks. An impressive race for Hicks, both boys ran HUGE personal-bests. The Lincoln Academy senior was able to hold off Hicks up to the final moment of the race, with Pottorff winning the state title in 15:08. Hicks was just a hair behind to take second in 15:09.

That wasn’t the end, though. Throughout the race, the favorites, Trinity Prep, were falling behind in the team race, and it seemed like the real race was between Bolles and Satellite. Bolles hadn’t won a state title since 1985 and Satellite were chasing their first. However, Trinity Prep pulled it out in the end, with Bolles taking second (63 points) and Satellite taking third (66 points).

Girls

Some counted her out, but we counted her in. Caitlin Collier, who’s basically been off the radar this season, sat patiently and with a mile to go, dropped the hammer and won the girls 2A state title, a title some may say, has been long overdue. Coming back after last year’s race where she collapsed just before the finish line has been a testament to her abilities. After the race, she said that “it was devastating, but I took it as a grain of salt. It didn’t define my running career.”

The team battle was a tight race much like the boy's race. The Pine Crest girls made history when they captured their first team title ever in 29 points, which was also the lowest score of the day. They were led by Tsion Yared who finished second in 17:59, and from there, the girls finished in third, fourth, eighth and twelfth to seal the deal. Bolles took second (50 points) and Satellite took third (156 points).

3A

Boys

A tight pack up front early eventually gave way to a 4 way shoot-out with Belen Jesuit’s Joshua Collins, Chiles Michael Phillips, Creekside’s Matthew Clark and Nick Deal. Coming up the “The Wall” and heading home for the final time, Chiles junior Michael Phillips had opened up a lead with Collins in 2nd and the Creekside duo of Clark and Deal squarely in 3rd and 4th. Phillips early move up and over paid dividends as the Chiles junior secured the win with Clark finishing  second in 15:35.

Team-wise, this one was another close one. Before the official results came out, we weren’t sure who won and who finished where? But after the smoke cleared, the 2015 State Champions Creekside defended their title as team champions over Chiles. Creekside finished with 93 points, just ahead of Chiles, who had 103 points. Belen Jesuit took third with 129 points.

Girls

Aside from 4A’s battle between Kayley Delay and Bailey Hertenstein, this was the race to watch. The two freshman ─ Lincoln’s Alyson Churchill and Mater Academy’s Valarie Lastra ─ quickly set themselves apart from the rest of the field. Two of the top freshman battling it out on the course at ARP in a year where freshman girls have scurried up the rankings without abandon ,made for an intriguing scenario.  However, as they began to approach the backside of the course for the final time, Lastra began to fall back and Churchill kept surging forward. But just when you thought it was a done deal, Lastra found another gear and charged back at her rival but it wasn’t enough.  Churchill won the state title (17:55) but in the end, it was one heck of a race. Lastra took second in 18:02, with North Fort Myers senior Kayla Easterly taking third in 18:14. Fort Myers senior Kristlin Gear took fourth in 18:23.

The Niceville girls showed just why they were the favorites coming in. The team took over the field, winning with 63 points. Probably one of the more spread out races in terms of teams running together, the Niceville girls didn’t necessarily have most of their runners in the top 10, but neither did any other team. The girls were able to pack it up when it counted and it proved fruitful. Chiles girls took second place with 75 points, and Fort Myers grabbed third with 137 points.

4A

Boys

One of the races where some of our predictions fell by the wayside. Winter Springs senior Matthew Doyle took the individual title in 15:56. The race for the ring, much like is was last year in this classification, was a packed one. Maybe 4A just likes pack running more. Isais De la Puente, who won 4A region 3, ran well and took second  in 15:59, perhaps a bit of surprise to some seeing this is his first year competing in cross-country.. But then again so was the entire race. Nicholas Rischar from St. Thomas finished in 16:05, Ari Guardascione-Wolf was fourth in 16:10 and Bryce Bell finished fifth in 16:11. What was more surprising was Timothy Doyle’s eighth place finish after winning the 4A Region 1, “Region of Death”. Maybe he just had a bad race but eighth was expected some someone like Doyle.

St. Aquinas, like last year, were the favorites coming in and, in Aquinas fashion, won the boy's race. Basically returning last year’s team, the boys loaded up with the pack running and finished with 82 points to win the team title. Lakewood Ranch moved up nicely to grab the runner-up title with 177 points with Newsome boys took taking with 185 points.

Girls

The battle we were so highly anticipating: Kayley Delay and 2015 State Champion Bailey Hertenstein. Much like the 3A freshman battle, the two took over and ran in their own world. The two were neck-and-neck, but then Delay started to feel the lactic buildup of going at Hertenstein’s pace. With about a half mile or so to go, Hertenstein made a move and never looked back. She strode her way to her second cross country state title, running 17:40, which was the fastest time for girls throughout the entire meet. After the race, she said that she was a little disappointed, but only because she didn’t run the time she wanted. Anywhere under the 17:32 mark would’ve sufficed. Delay took second in 18:20, with Riverview freshman, Alyssa Hendrix grabbing third in 18:33, just edging out Winter Park’s Rafaella Gibbons , who took fourth, also in 18:33.

The Winter Park girls have been the team champions for the past two years and were looking for a third title. However, the Steinbrenner girls had other plans. The girls filled enough spots to take down the reigning champions, totaling 83 points to Winter Park’s 103 points. Plant High School finished third with 144 points.

Congratulations to all of you who competed this year! For seniors, we hope this final race was one to remember. For our returners, we look forward to seeing you at ARP in 2017!