The Lady ’Canes traveled to Larry & Penny Thompson Park to participate in their first race of the season on Aug. 30, and it was a very different team than it was one year prior. The Hurricanes are reaping the benefits of their work last season, when a very young team paid their dues and built speed and stamina, but struggled to catch up to teams who had been at it for longer.
In race number one, Coral Shores already had a top-five finisher in Ali Wheatley, a freshman who clocked in at a respectable 22:39. Tess Hill, Kate King, Kai Guth and Hayden Teal all managed to complete the course quickly enough to take fourth place overall, setting the tempo for the rest of the season.
“I can’t wait to watch their next race,” said second-year head coach Lyndie Meyers, whose enthusiasm for running and her team are contagious. “We are in a much better position than we were at the beginning of last season.” The Lady ’Canes run again Thursday, Sept. 5 at the FNU Invitational, also held at Larry & Penny Thompson Park. This time they will be joined by the boys team, running their first race of the season.
While the Hurricanes were tearing up the varsity race, Basilica School’s new cross country team opted to toe the line in the junior varsity division of the Race of the Thoroughbreds. Sophomore Noah Wright crossed the line first for the Mariners, finishing in 23:26. Sebastian Davis (eighth grade), Caden King (eighth), Joseph Gauron (seventh), Owen Wright (ninth), Killian Donnelly (11th), Gregory White (eighth) and Max Pluccinek (seventh) rounded out the young crew of Mariners last week.
The inexperience of the team stands to benefit them in the coming weeks, as the newer the runner is, the more their times tend to drop in a single season. The Mariners’ youngest runner took the top spot for the girls team. Campbell Cooper, a sixth-grader, finished the 3.1 miles in 31:41. Junior Gloria Slavik, seventh-grader Alise Lumen and sophomore Zofia Zeledon also competed in the JV race.
The Mariners weren’t the only team with sixth-grade success. The perennial powerhouse Lady Fins ran strong in their opening race at Palmer Trinity School on Aug. 28. The runners slogged through high grass, puddles and thick mud, which slowed down the pace, but not the Fins’ resolve.
Molly Joly finished first for the girls. The sixth-grader edged out senior Ella Dunn, a multi-year state qualifier, by seven seconds, finishing in 25:33. Sophomores Maeve Merryman and Sara Robinson were next, followed by eighth-grader Rebecca Merryman, sophomores Madelyn Thornton and Mylana Loza, then another sixth-grader in Adrianna Dworniczak. Sophomore Lizbeth Garcia rounded out the Lady Fins’ participants last week.
The top finisher for the boys was no surprise; senior Vance Bursa completed the course in 17:29, good enough for third overall and well in front of younger brother Tony, who finished next for Marathon. Allan Taylor took the team’s third spot, and junior Caleb Shelar was fourth for the Fins. The top four Fins were all in the top 20 overall, but before the rest of the pack could finish, the race was called due to nearby lightning strikes.
Despite the unpleasant conditions, head coach Jim Murphy found a silver lining. “We got to open up where districts will be held this year,” he said. “The course was soaked, which made it much more challenging. The kids got to prove to themselves that they can still perform when the conditions are not ideal, which is a great thing to learn at a first race and to remember later on.”
Marathon was on the road again on Sept. 4 for the Miami Country Day Invitational before hosting a meet on Wednesday, Sept. 11. The races start at 3 p.m. with middle-school girls, with staggered start times until 4:45 when the varsity boys take off.
Cross country fans, running enthusiasts and anyone hoping to catch all of the Keys teams in action in one place should be at Sombrero Beach, where the races begin and finish. Marathon, Basilica School, Key West, Key Largo School, Sugarloaf School, Coral Shores and Florida Christian are all scheduled to compete.
