Bale-N-Trail 2013 Meet Preview

Well, we are about 1 month away until the State Meet in Tallahassee. It is crazy to think that the season is already over half way gone. This meet at Bartram Trail High School in St. Johns County, FL, for some teams may be their last big meet until the postseason.

This course is flat, fast, and lots of PR’s happen here (mine did when I was in High School). The occasional bales of hay along the course that are about a foot high add a little something extra that most runners find interesting but yet fun at the same time.

This meet always brings in the top talent around the state and even Georgia. With teams like Peachtree Ridge (GA), Providence, Bolles, Nease, Dr. Phillips, Mandarin, Creekside, and others, this meet should not disappoint.

Girls Preview:

This race is Karen Xiang from Nease HS’s race to lose. With wins at Ridgeview, Katie Caples, and the Race of Champions race at the FLRunners 14 Invitational just to name a few, she is in prime shape to run away, literally from the competition.

With a 17:52 SB, the next best time is almost a minute behind. Lily Williams’ course record 17:44.55 from 2011 is also in serious jeopardy here. Some others though that could give her a challenge are McKenzie Wilson from Bolles, Addy Lippitt from Peachtree Ridge (GA), Hannah Giangaspro from Bartram Trail, and Eden Meyer from Providence.

All of these top 5 girls have raced here at least once so the course shouldn’t be a problem for them.

As for the team battle, Peachtree Ridge looks favored to win this on paper and I believe they will. Their top 5 are all under 20:05 and I could see them easily going under 20. They have a great 1-2 punch within 20 seconds of each other with their 3-4-5 all within 10 seconds.

Peachtree Ridge will be tough to beat. Providence and Bolles, both from Jacksonville, will battle it out for 2nd and 3rd. It could all come down to the fifth runner (doesn’t everything), where they are separated by just 6 points on paper. Dr. Phillips, Nease, and Fletcher could all get in the top 5 as well.

Boys Race:

Sukhi Khosla fromLeon HS went 15:08 last week in the ROC at the FLRunners 14 Invitational. I was excited to see him race again and potentially break the 15 minute barrier. Unfortunately, Leon has decided not to come and thus Matt Mizereck’s, from Leon ironically, time of 15:06.28 from 2008 is not in serious jeopardy. Blame the SAT happening in the morning for a few unfortunate absences.

Kevin Mills from Peachtree Ridge is the favorite here with a SB of 15:34. It is his race to lose and he has been here before, so he knows what to expect.  Noah Kemp from St. Augustine, Eric Tallbacka and Wesley Norton from Stanton, John Weaver from Mandarin, and others should all be very close to that top 5. The race for 2-8 should be a good one.

On the team side, Peachtree Ridge is expected to win here as well, and I think they will.

Their top 2 runners are top 10 capable, potentially even a winner, with their 3-4-5 within 20 seconds of each other. Mandarin and St. Augustine will battle it out for 2nd place. St. Augustine is top heavy with their top 2 runners both with faster times so far this season than Mandarin’s #1. But, and this is waht makes it really interesting,  their 3-4-5 are separated by 45 seconds, while Mandarin’s 1-5 is separated by 45 seconds total. All top 5 runners for Mandarin are under 17 minutes, with St. Augustine having 2 over 17.

That should be a great race to see who can get that 2nd spot, because every spot counts. Dr. Phillips, Creekside, Stanton, and Bishop Kenny also figure to get into that top 5 discussion. But I think a clean sweep in the team race by Peachtree Ridge (GA). Good luck to all running and looking forward to the racing about to take place!

Josh Karadeema
Twitter: @mr_deema