Nearly 1500 runners competed for a state title over the weekend in Tallahassee on the home course for Florida State University.
In Class 1A it was Circle Christian’s girls team who made school history, winning the team title for the first time in program history.
For the boys it was Volusia County’s Father Lopez following suit clinching the boys’ 1A team title too, for the first time with a team averaging a 5k time of 17:52.50.
In 2A Trinity Prep senior Charles Cook ran the table—crossing the finish line for gold with a time of 15:53.49—his teammates not too far behind coming in at 2, 7, 12 and 18 for the best boys team finish.
After finishing the race last year as the runner-up Merritt Island’s Steven Cross dominated the 3A race this year finishing 15-seconds ahead of the pack to earn his state title –and after the race he’d also make his college commitment to the Seminoles.
The biggest race of the day came in 4A where Tampa Riverview sophomore Bailey Hertenstein completed the course at 17:34.55 —setting a new course record and becoming the first Hillsborough County cross country girls state champion since 2006.
Before the day was complete it was the Winter Park High School girls team, who entered the race as a favorites, aligned nicely clinching their second consecutive team state crown in the largest division.
To see a full list of all the results from the weekend's finals think here.