At DistancePreps.com our motto is "The Future Runs Now."  6 weeks have passed and we only have 4 more more weeks to go in the 2014 FHSAA XC season.  This past weekend, the FSU Cross Country Invitational was one of the bigger meets in the State and we had the pleasure of seeing great competition and mega PR's.  The star studded Invitational was just fantastic and we are recognzing 2 freshman that came up big over the weekend. 

Rachel Shapiro, Bolles High School (18:59.80, Florida State Cross Country Invitational)

Rachel Shapiro is our girls FROSH of the Week

Rachel fills the pivotal middle of the Bolles line-up.  This past weekend at FSU, Rachel dipped below 19 minutes for the first time in the 5K and was 3rd overall for the Bolles girls, finishing 26th in the Elite division.  Bolles claimed the team championship trophy and at least for now can lay claim to the being the best team in the State of Florida with a narrow victory over Winter Park by 4 crucial points.

Rachel has been competing for a few years already and her 12 second PR couldn't have come at a better time. Rachel feels, "extremely lucky to be a part of the Bolles Cross Country program.  I am so fortunate to have a coach like Coach Ryan and teammates that continue to push me. I started off the season well with races at UNF and Bishop Kenny, which were confidence boosters."

"At Bale 'n' Trail, I had an off day; however, Coach Ryan reassured me that not every race can be a good one. Going into Pre-States, I felt it was a good opportunity to run quickly against great competition. I was excited to PR there and break 19 for the first time. Overall, our team had a great race in Tallahassee and we are motivated and continuing to work hard for states.  I look forward to my upcoming high school years running with my talented teammates under Coach Ryan."

In an email, Coach Ryan had this to say about Rachel, "Rachel Shapiro has been an integral part of the Bolles Girls Cross Country (and Track & Field) team since she came out for cross country in 7^th grade .. . during that time Rachel has been part of a Bolles cross country team that has won two state cross country titles and one state track title and individually she has finished 11^th and 10^th respectively at the state cross country meet and in 2013 and 2014 she made All-State Honors (top 8) at the State Track meet (in the 3200m) . . . Rachel is a great example to the other girls on the Bolles team, both young and old:  not only is she a dedicated runner and hard worker in practice, she also takes care of the other essentials such as regularly doing core workouts (not only with the team, but also on her own); she makes sure that she gets plenty of sleep, she eats healthy, and she takes care not to let little injuries develop into big ones . . . for such a young person, she is acutely aware that there is much more to being a good runner than just logging in miles.  Rachel has come a long way from running 22:49 in her first ever JV race at Katie Caples to breaking 19:00 at FSU/Pre State; I know going sub 19:00 has been a big goal of hers and she was very proud and excited after the race last Saturday. In a nutshell, Rachel is a great teammate, she is an excellent student, and she is an all-round great young lady  . . . we have been blessed to have had Rachel on the team for the past three years and we consider ourselves really fortunate that she will be part of the team for the next three years.

Photos submitted by Rachel Shapiro and Kyle Wray

Kyle Wray, Lakewood Ranch High School (16.32.60, Florida State Cross Country Invitational)

Kyle Wray is our boys FROSH of the Week

Kyle had a really big race at FSU as well.  Competing in the Select division for Lakewoood Ranch, Kyle led his team across the finish line finishinging 7th overall in 16:32, a 50 second PR. We feel it's safe to say Kyle is just warming up and more PR's are almost a certainty real soon.

Coach Thomas from Lakewood Ranch, "Kyle Wray is a 9th grade student at Lakewood Ranch High School in Bradenton, Florida.  He comes from an athletic family as his mother, Judy, ran at the University of Michigan and his father, Chris, was a wrestler at University of Michigan.  Kyle was preceeded by his two older sisters in the Lakewood Ranch running program so he is no stranger to the rigors of distance running.  Kyle started running with his family during middle school as recreation with his family, and to help with conditioning for soccer.  Kyle has been playing competitive soccer for about 8 years.  

This is Kyle's first experience of formal running.  He has had an outstanding freshman season with a Personal Record of 16:32 set at the FSU Pre-State Meet.  His top performances for this season also include placing 3rd overall at the Lemon Bay Invitational, as well as placing 4th in the Flrunners.com Invitational Race.  Kyle has been the lead runner for a very successful Mustang squad which has placed very highly in all their invitationals this season including team champions at the Lemon Bay Invitational, and the Flrunners.com Invitational champions.

So kudo's to Rachel and Kyle, this week's FROSH of the Week.

There are many factors that come into play when determining the "Frosh of the Week", including; time, place, rank against other freshmen, and overall impact they have on their team. We will not highlight the same Frosh more than once and the honors are purely subjective. If you wish to nominate your athlete for "Frosh of the Week" e-mail us at [email protected] with their name and why they are deserving of the honor.

RELATED - SEE ALL FROSH OF THE WEEK FOR 2014 | 2013