DP boys, girls cross country survive 'Region of Death' meet

Area cross country programs met on Saturday, Nov. 8, for their respective regional competitions.

At the Class 4A, Region 1 meet, popularly referred to as the “Region of Death” meet, competitors from Dr. Phillips, Ocoee, Olympia and West Orange all ran for the opportunity to advance to the state meet on Nov. 15 in Tallahassee.

In the girls competition, just Dr. Phillips advanced as a team, placing third with an average time of 20:06.90. Olympia’s Emily Headley ran an 18:46.03 and qualified for the state meet as an individual by placing seventh.

The Panthers were, again, the only area program to advance on the boys side. Dr. Phillips placed sixth, with an average time of 17:04.37.

No local runners qualified as individuals at the highly competitive meet.
Ocoee’s boys placed 15th.

Olympia’s boys placed eighth, just missing the cutoff to advance to the state meet (FHSAA rules dictate that the top six teams and top 15 individuals advance from regionals). The Titans girls team placed 12th.

West Orange’s girls team placed eighth, also just missing out on a trip to state, and the Warriors boys program finished 14th. 

Despite coming up short of advancing to state, it was an impressive campaign for West Orange’s program with the girls winning the Class 4A District 7 title and the boys placing second. The Warriors girls team also won the Metro Conference West meet on Oct. 23.

At the Class 1A, Region 2 meet, Windermere Prep’s boys team came up short of advancing to state by placing ninth with an average time of 19:22.08. The Lakers’ Franco Martins did place first as an individual, though, earning him a spot at the state meet.

The 2014 FHSAA Cross Country Finals will be held throughout the day Nov. 15, at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee. More information can be found online at fhsaa.org.

Contact Steven Ryzewski at [email protected].