Pre-Season Foot Locker South Watch #1
By Darrin DeTorres for DyeStat Florida
In the blink of an eye, the 2015 Cross Country season will be upon us.
Today, in the spirit of preseason rankings, we will be taking a look at our 2014 top 5 Boys and Girls returners from the Foot Locker South Region.
With this new season we will, no doubt, see many familiar faces lead the pack as well as some new faces try to make a name for themselves at the top. As with all Cross Country related rankings, we will be using both data and expert opinion to rank these athletes and will most likely miss one or two along the way. The big thing to remember going in, races are not won until the kids have run. Enjoy...
Boys Returners
1) Andrew Hunter – After a strong track season, running 8:42 for 2 miles and 4:02 for the mile, Hunter looks to be the man to beat this year. Placing 4th in San Diego in 2014, Hunter is the top returning cross country runner in the country. Hunter finished his junior year with PR’s of 14:46 for 5k, 8:42 for 2 miles, and 4:02 for the mile. With his closest rival almost 20 seconds back, it is hard not to be the dominant favorite.
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2) Carter Blunt - Last year at the Foot Locker South Regional Championships, Blunt placed runner-up with a time of 14:54. He went on to place 13th overall at the Foot Locker National Championships. On the track, Blunt ran 8:58 for 2 miles and 4:10 in the mile. He will have to have a good summer if he hopes to close the gap between him and Hunter.
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3) Gannon Willcutts -Willcutts finished 7th at last year's South Regional Championship, just inches ahead of Steven Cross and Nick Diaz with all three competitors running 15:01. At Nationals Willcutts (28th) again finished just one place ahead of Cross (29th). On the track, Willcutts ran 9:21 for 3200m and 4:10 for 1600m. Willcutts might have the most upside in this group as he will have his hands full with Hunter all season up in Virginia. After a few months of having to race the number one runner in America, competing at the South Region won’t be such a big deal.
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4) Steven Cross – Cross was a surprise national qualifier, finishing 8th at last year’s South Regional Meet. Coming from a state not particularly known for its distance prowess on the national stage, Cross was one of two from Florida to qualify for the big dance. Cross will hope that this summer’s training will help him once again qualify for Foot Locker Nationals. Steven is also hoping to claim his first state title as he was second last year to Sukhi Khosla in the 3A State XC Championships.
Steven Cross en route to an 8th Place finish at the
2014 Foot Locker South Regional
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5) Brandon Marquez - At last year’s South Regional Championship, Marquez finished in the absolute worst position you can finish in the seeded race……..11th. Marquez ran a very strong 2.5 miles but fell apart as he made his way around the lake. With less than 5 meters left to the finish, Marquez was in 10th, being passed just before crossing the line. If Marquez hopes to qualify this year, he will need to find a way to race during the season. It is hard to find the competition necessary to compete on a national level when running unattached all season!
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Girls Returners
1) Paige Hofstad - Hofstad was runner-up at last year’s South Regional Championships, just behind senior Ryen Frazier. She went on to finish 4th at the National Championship and was number one among non seniors. Seven days before her big race in San Diego, Hofstad finished 2nd at the NXN National Championships. Based off of times and placements on the national xc level, she is the heir apparent to be the next big thing in high school distance running. Her biggest limiting factor will be the lack of a junior track season due to injury.
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2) Libby Davidson - In 2014, Davidson placed 4th at the Foot Locker South Regional Championships and followed it up with a 6th place finish at the National Championships. On the track she was equally as impressive, running 4:53 in the mile and placing second at New Balance Outdoors in the 2 mile with a time of 10:24. This junior from Virginia will hope to add a third individual Virginia 4A State xc title to her name, before challenging Hofstad as America’s top runner. On paper, she is number two in the South and number three in the country.
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3) Gabriella Karas (Gabby) - This Junior from Kentucky will be looking to make her 3rd national team this year as she qualified both her freshman and sophomore years. In 9th grade, Karas placed 4th in the region and 25th at the national meet. As a sophomore, she placed 3rd in the region and 9th at the national meet. This year she will look to improve on her 9th place national finish, as she has the 4th fastest 5k time in the nation coming back a blistering 16:53!
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4) Weini Kelati - Kelati finished 18th at last years Foot Locker National Championships and was 2nd among freshman. Living in the state of Virginia, Kelati will have to get better if she hopes of winning a state title before her Senior year. Her biggest competition in her state classification is Junior, Libby Davidson. The two will likely see each other many times before lacing up in Charlotte and Kelati will have already raced the nation’s best before ever hitting the national stage.
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5) Emma Grace Hurley - This senior from Georgia placed 7th at last year’s South Regional Championships. She followed up her performance with a 24th place finish at the Foot Locker National Championships. Hurley's main challenger for the spot of top Georgia finisher will be Lindsay Billings, last year’s 11th place regional finisher. For Hurley, as well as the others on the list, the Foot Locker experience will be a huge benefit for them come November.
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