On Saturday, runners gathered in Regional Park, Tallahassee for the cross country state championship. The boys went against 31 of the other top teams in the state, placing second behind Bucholz.
The top eight teams from each of the four regions in the state competed to take first place. The boys ran a 5k, which is a total of 3.1 miles.
“It felt great to come in second place and run well but we were still a little disappointed because first was right there,” senior Jacob Leon, who finished in seventh place with a time of 15:44, said.
The overall score was 160, second to Buchholz’ 143. In cross country, the lowest score is ideal, similar to golf rules. “I felt strong during the race and pushed the last mile in order to place well for my team,” junior Noah Mott said. Mott crossed the finish line with a time of 15:56 in eleventh place.
The boys were just 17 points away from first place “I’m proud of how I performed individually and made the all-state team,” Mott said.
To get to states, on Nov. 2 the team took on the regional championship, placing second.“With a 32-team field, this was the largest race of the year with the most pressure,” cross country coach Jay Getty said.
“Even though we didn’t get first it still felt amazing to get second at states and a lot of work was put in to just put ourselves in the position to run well,” Leon said. After a district championship and a regional runner-up finish, the team felt they had a chance to score high at states.
“I felt excited and nervous about the race knowing the amount of competition that was at this meet all with the same goal,” junior Ricardo Hernandez said. Since the boys have landed in the top three for the district and regional championship, the bar was set high for this race.
Overall, the season was considered a win for the team, this is the highest they have ever finished at states. The team was proud of themselves as a whole. “Trip number 27 for myself as a coach during the 34th season will forever be special,” Getty said.
