Florida state cross country: Buchholz girls look to defend, Oak Hall boys and girls worth watching
The Buchholz girls seek to continue their recent success when the FHSAA State Cross Country Finals are held Saturday morning at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee.
Other Gainesville-area runners hope to bring home individual medals and team trophies.
But the Bobcats have the best chance of winning a state championship. The defending state champions return the scoring members of last year’s surprise state winner. This came on the heels of having finished third and missing qualifying for the state meet by three points in 2020 - the COVID year which limited the number of qualifying teams.
If the Bobcats win, they will take home their second consecutive title, third in school history and the eighth title by an Alachua County school.
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Senior Kate Drummond and junior Lucy Voss were part of that team and have used that defeat as inspiration to never relive that experience again.
Drummond will lead the way for the Bobcats. The veteran has run on the course since her seventh grade year and is looking forward to one final competition with her teammates. She currently has the fastest time in the area, 18:26.97, and if she can produce that at state, could be in contention for the state title.
Lucy Voss, Emma White and Eleanor Whisler have been the backbone to the Bobcats’ success this season as they have won the district and region titles against some of the top ranked 4A teams. They will give Bobcats the firepower up front to provide the cushion they may need to beat challengers Niceville and Braddock (Miami), Newsome, and Sunlake.
The Bobcats have very little room for error and will need a top showing from sophomores Ashley Hamilton and Kaitlyn Goslinga. Last year Hamilton caught 40+ runners over the last mile to secure the victory. Goslinga has steadily improved and provided added insurance to the team should any of the top five falter.
On the boys’ side, Bobcat senior Emerson Miller will enter as the favorite in one if not the most competitive 4A finals in state history. Some 25 runners have dipped under the 16-minute standard and Miller is the only one to have run under 15. His 14:57.41 at the Asics Alexander meet in Georgia on Oct. 1 was the fastest in area high school history and was the 23rd fastest performance in state history.
His main competition will come from Matt Ryan of Nease who he beat last week to win 4A Regional 1 title with a good sprint finish; Sunlake senior Alex Pena who he beat by seven seconds four weeks ago at the FSU Prestate meet; Palmetto Ridge senior, Bernardo Barnhart who he beat at FSU PreState; and Hagerty junior Jonathan Leon who he beat by 4 seconds at the 4AR1 meet last week.
If Miller wins, it will be the first state title for a Buchholz boys athlete and the eighth title by an Alachua County runner.
Also, Oak Hall boys and girls teams should finish high once again and have an outside chance of winning individual or team titles.
Eagle senior Caden Montini will face favorite Braxton Legg of Cambridge Christian in the Class 1A race. Montini has eased to wins in the District 3 and Region 2 meets, but he will have his hand full with Legg. Montini will look for the spark that led him to the 3200 meter state title as a sophomore and attempt to join his brother, Austin, as a state cross country champion. The Eagle boys are ranked third and could surprise if they have a near perfect day.
The Eagles girls’ team will face last year’s defending state champ, Cambridge Christian, and the No. 2-ranked Maclay. Senior Sydney Miller will lead the way for the Eagles and looks up to the task. The 800 meter state runner-up has gotten significantly better in cross country this year and beat the fourth-ranked ranked Ava Wyant of the Master’s Academy and sixth-ranked Morgan Cox of Trinity Prep to win the 1A Region 2 title.
The Eagles will look to counter with veteran sophomore Alivia Dragstedt and junior Mackenzie Klein. These two will need to post personal best to give the Eagles a chance at the state title. However, two eighth graders and a junior veteran may provide the surprises the Eagles will need to truly pull off the upset. The two middle schoolers, Lola Murfee and Valeria Beaver, have continued to improve over the course of the season and showed the tenacity to mix it up with their older teammates and competitors. Eisner has a personal best under 20 minutes and if she can reproduce that effort again, the Eagles could be soaring on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida State Cross Country Meet Tallahassee Gainesville Buchholz
