So It Begins

I'm not planning on blogging every week about the high school cross country season but since the News-Press decided that the season opener was only worth a slew of great photos, and yes they were great, I thought I should write something.  Before I dive into what I saw in Buckingham I want to write about Robert Chatham.  You've never heard of him.  He was my first high school cross country coach.

Mr. Chatham passed away over the weekend.  He was a great biology and a great cross country coach in Abilene, Kansas.  I only got to run part of my freshman year for him as our family moved back to Lawrence.  The team was a good one finishing third in the state.  He nurtured my love of the sport by sharing his knowledge and even a book, "The Long Green Line," by legendary York XC Coach Joe Newton.  

Now as to the Dunbar Tiger Jamboree.  The course was short, probably by more than 100 meters.  It was seriously muddy in parts of it.  But for a mid-August morning the weather was fairly forgiving.

The girl's race went according to form.  ECS junior Ava Povich won easily.  The top returning area runner, Fort Myers senior Amy Meng is coming off an injury and finished 7th.  I think Meng will be back to her dominating self by the end of the season but I don't think Povich is going to lose very often this season.  Their rematch at the Fort Myers Invitational in three weeks will be a better test.

The surprise of the meet was a diminutive freshman from Bishop Verot. In her first ever cross country race Mackenzie De Lisle finished tenth.  She's a former gymnast who appears to have loads of upside.  Verot appears ready to give Fort Myers all it can handle for bragging rights in Lee County.

The boys race didn't go according to form.  The pre-meet hype focused on Osceola senior William Stone.  But Fort Myers senior Colsen Palmer wasn't having any of it cruising to an easy victory and leading his Green Wave squad to a team title.  Fort Myers is going to be tough this year but if Dunbar ever finds a fifth runner things could get interesting.

 

Cross County 2021

If you read the Fort Myers News-Press/Naples Daily News preview of the upcoming high school cross country season, you have a pretty good idea of the athletes who should be making an impact this fall.  The News-Press changed my copy a bit because I declared that the King and Queen of Southwest Florida XC are coming back this fall.  That would be Kolton Pickard of Estero and Amy Meng of Fort Myers, both seniors.

I don't see anyone challenging Pickard for supremacy on the boys side this season.  The next two, three, four and five will be a real interesting mix of some pretty solid seniors.  Evan Meyers of Lehigh and Colsen Palmer of Fort Myers seem like the two guys of giving Pickard a real run for his money.  Meyers has took Pickard's scalp once last season.  Then if Dunbar coach Ray Romero peaks his guys like he did last season, Ryan Livingston and Ivan Marin-Padilla will have a say in the matter.

The thing that could hurt Pickard this season is a lack of a supporting cast.  The ranks on the boys side at Estero are painfully thin.  Fortunately for the Wildcats, the girls team is loaded with talent and should make a run at making it to Tallahassee for States.

Speaking of girls, Amy Meng is the consummate cross country runner.  She's not afraid to run big miles.  The question this fall is whether ECS junior standout Ava Povich has packed on enough mileage from her summer in Michigan to close the gap between the Green Wave senior and herself. The battles between Meng and Povich should be epic. 

The strongest team boys or girls on paper should be Fort Myers.  The Green Wave return a stellar top three with Meng, Olivia Olney and Elizabeth McHugh.  The next two, Lily Harris and Rory Pandini are no slouches either and Dinah Ceilley along with Elsa Marcet will give them depth.  And don't get me started on the incoming freshmen.

The cross country talent across Lee County is strong.  The fireworks begin this Saturday with the Dunbar Tiger Jamboree.  Running 5,000 meters in the August heat is insane but that's what makes it interesting, it's like Survivor, you find out who's really smart and fit.