By JOSH HALLORAN
At the sound of the gun, the boys set their pace for the rest of the race. The team looks to showcase their talents at the Hagerty Invitational in Oviedo on Oct. 8.
The boys had their first meet on Sept. 9, at the Déjà Vu Invitational in Tampa. Their top runner was senior Charles Collins who placed 42nd with a time of 17:32.80.
A muddy course made the race more difficult, causing some of the runners to not finish.
Sophomore Davis Coleman did not finish the Déjà Vu Invitational, but set a season high of 21:09.00 in the boys 5000 meter run at the DeLand Invitational meet on Sept. 17. He placed 42nd.
“With being a two year veteran, I feel as if I can show the young ones how to train hard, and race hard,” Coleman said.
With a lot of young talent and few upperclassmen, three year veteran, junior Nathaniel Reiff looks forward to an exceptional season
“For the returning runners we look forward to another season; we’re all determined to make states,” Reiff said.
As the runners look to compete at high stakes, the training is extensive. The boys practice every day after school rotating from the weight room, to the pool, and to the track where they run up to 10 miles a day.
“The team as a whole has been training twice as hard to live up to its stature as a top Florida team,” Reiff said.
“We’re more of a team this year; at practices we run together; we’re not all scattered around,” junior Adam Laxton said.
Laxton ran a 18:49.00 at the DeLand Invitational meet on Sept. 17. He ran his personal best all season while placing 7th out of 26 on the team.
The previous meet the boys raced in on Sept. 30, at the flrunners.com Invitational in Titusville. The boys were lead by Collins with a time of 17:20.26 who placed 17th.
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