With 2 races left in the Florida High School Cross Country Season, we are starting to really see competition pick up as runner’s fight to make it to State on November 9th. On Saturday November 2nd, runners from class 3A Region 2 will toe the line at Lake Nona High School with hopes of finishing in the top 6 as a team or top 15 as an individual in order to earn a trip to the state meet.

On the girl’s side the race for the individual regional title will be a tough one, as District Champions Adair Lyden (3A District 6), Amber Philpott (3A District 7) and Leah Jostes (3A District 8) will have to compete against a strong 1-2 punch in Audrey Carpenter and Elizabeth Mulford of District 5. Based off of PR’s, Philpott is the favorite having run 18:31 in her district meet.

If we look head to head, Audrey Carpenter would be the favorite as she beat Philpott the only time they have raced. As a dark horse, don’t be surprised to see Kianna Bonnet of Seabreeze mix it up in the front. Bonnet took the lead in District 5 with 400m to go but didn’t have the wheels once the race took to the track.

In the team battle, look for Seabreeze to be the run away favorites. Seabreeze scored an impressive 30 points in 3A District 5 and are currently ranked 6th in the FACA Class 3A Polls. The race for second looks to have Vanguard getting the nod over Lake Region and Mitchell High School.

In the guys race the individual title looks like it will be taken home by a runner from Land O Lakes.  Travis Nichols, Tyler Stahl, and Jake Poore give LOL one of the strongest 1-2-3 punches in the state. All 3 runners were under 16 at the 3A District 7 Cross Country meet. On paper, District Champions David Rood (3A District 5), Jean Carlos Peralta (3A District 6), and Eric Foster (3A District 8) will all be racing for 4th.

In the guys race, Land O Lakes looks to be the clear favorites as it is hard to compete when a team has that strong of a top three. LOL is currently ranked 6th in the FACA 3A polls and will be looking for their 4 and 5 to step up majorly in this race. In the race for 2nd look for Lake Nona, Matanzas, Lecanto and Vanguard all to be very close. On paper Vanguard should place 2nd with one of the strongest #5s in the region, but after a 4th place district it is hard to give them the nod.

The beauty about Cross Country is anything can happen on race day. Make sure to tune in to www.DistancePreps.com as we bring you regional coverage from around the state. We’d also like to thank our Sponsors, Team Prep USA. They will be putting on a Winter Distance Project camp in Florida, for more details visit their web site at www.teamprepusarunning.com