The "Foot Locker Experience" is still alive as the annual gathering of the nation's best harriers enters its 37th year of existence.
Representatives from the Sunshine State participated in the inaugural Foot Locker competition in 1979, and over the years we've seen many Floridians make the annual trek, initially to Atlanta and then more recently to Charlotte, NC's McAlpine Greenway to compete for a spot in the national limelight and the right to be called a "Foot Locker Finalist".
Over the past 10 years, Floridians have won the Foot Locker South Championship Race once on the boys side (Jimmy Clark/Creekside/2010), and once on the girls side (Kathryn Fluehr/CSN/2010). 2010 was a good year !
We look back at the last 10 years to see how the top 5 Florida finishers in the Elite Seeded races fared after the racing was finished.
2007
Florida Girls were in the midst of some dynamic running by the likes of Hale, Amaro, Koziara and Brasovan. 2007 was the year Ashley finally "conquered" the raceway at McAlpine and qualified to her first Foot Locker National Championship. Florida ended up with 4 in the top 10 at Foot Locker South - with the top 3 Florida girls going sub 17. It was the golden age of Florida Girls XC running and a feat we may never see again.
The Boys for the first time in many years didn't qualify for Foot Locker Nationals. 1A State Champion Kyle Cooke from Holy Trinity led the way for the Sunshine State first across the line.
2007 will always be remembered as the year the "Florida Girls rocked Foot Locker South.
After finishing 6th in the South, Ashley went on to win Florida's only Foot Locker National Championship. The charge up the hill, one of her diminutive strengths, will always be remembered as one of Florida's crowning achievements in nthe world of XC.
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| Finish |
Grade |
Name |
School |
Time |
Place |
College |
1600 |
3200 |
5K |
Major HS Accomplishments |
| 1 |
JR |
Kayla Hale |
Holy Trinity |
16:56 |
2nd |
Duke |
4:57.98 |
10:37.59 |
16:38 |
4 State XC Championships - 2nd of 3 Foot Locker National appearances - 4 time Florida state champion in the 3,200m... two-time 1,600m state champion...2008 and 2009 Nike Indoor National two-mile All-America...2007, 2008 and 2009 Footlocker finalist...2007 4x800m state champion...Commended National Merit Scholar...member of the Spanish Honor Society and the National Honor Society |
| 2 |
SR |
Emilie Amaro |
Cypress Bay |
16:58 |
3rd |
Stanford |
4:54.40 |
10:28.58 |
16:52 |
2-time Foot Locker Finalist - Foot Locker All-American (13th 2006) State Champion 1600 -SteepleChaser at Stanford - A cross country All-American and two-time FootLocker national finalist - four-time Florida state runner-up in cross country |
| 3 |
JR |
Brittany Koziara |
Boone |
16:59 |
4th |
Baylor/Florida |
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Four-year letter winner in track and field and cross country...Set school record at 800 meters, 1600 meters, 3200 meters, and cross country 5000 meters...Earned first-team all-state honors as a junior and senior in cross country...Named the 2008 Central Florida Track Athlete of the Year and the Central Florida Spring Athlete of the Year...Named the 2007 Central Florida Cross Country Runner of the Year...Won the 1600-meter title at the 2008 state meet...Earned first-team all-central florida cross country honors in 2006, 2007, and 2008. |
| 4 |
JR |
Ashley Brasovan |
Wellington |
17:07 |
6th |
Duke |
4:55.97 |
10:13.45 |
16:41 |
2007 Foot Locker Cross Country National Champion...2008 Foot Locker Cross Country runner-up - 2008 5K Nike Outdoor National Champion - four-time Florida 4A state cross country champion - three-time 3,200m state champion...2007 two-mile Nike Indoor National Champion...2007-08 Gatorade National Cross Country Runner of the Year - National Honor Society member - AP Scholar. |
| 5 |
JR |
Mandy Perkins |
Spruce Creek |
18:04 |
21st |
Florida |
4:58.77 |
11:10.56 |
18:04 |
Won the Five Star Conference Championship, district and regional titles and placed a career-best third in the Class 4A state meet in as a senior…Team took seventh overall…Placed fifth the 2007 Class 4A state cross country meet as the Hawks took sixth overall …As a sophomore, finished 10th at the state meet …Three-time Daytona Beach News-Journal Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year award winner (2006-08)…Placed fourth in the 1,600m and 3,200m at the Class 4A state meet and helped the 4x800m relay team to a fourth-place finish in 2008…As a freshman, earned fifth place in the 1,600m event at the Class 4A state track championships…Helped Spruce Creek take first in the track conference meet every year of high school career…Also named the News-Journal’s Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year in 2008…Holds the 5K, 1,600m and 4x800m records at high school …Earned All-South honors in the 2007 Footlocker South Regional Championships…Placed third at the 2008 Nike Outdoor Nationals in the Emerging Elite category. |
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| Finish |
Grade |
Name |
School |
Time |
Place |
College |
1600 |
3200 |
5K |
Major HS Accomplishments |
| 1 |
SR |
Kyle Cooke |
Holy Trinity |
15:25 |
18th |
Columbia |
4:26.52 |
9:27.71 |
15:25 |
2007 1A XC Champion - Harrier Magazine All-American as a sophomore. |
| 2 |
SR |
Eric Larson |
P'Cola Washington |
15:32 |
28th |
Florida Southern |
4:25.70 |
9:22.81 |
15:09 |
2006 3A State XC Champion, 2007 3200m State Champion |
| 3 |
SO |
Brian Atkinson |
Melbourne |
15:34 |
30th |
Duke |
4:23.92 |
9:14.99 |
14:57 |
Three-time state champion in XC/Track -2009 Great American Cross Country Festival champion - 2008 NXN Regional champion/National qualifier-2009 Foot Locker qualifier - two-time Gatorade Florida Cross Country Runner of the Year-National Honor Society member-AP Scholar Award recipient |
| 4 |
SR |
Guillermo Echarte |
Belen Jesuit |
15:40 |
37th |
Duke |
4:18.75 |
9:25.31 |
15:28 |
2A State XC Runner-Up |
| 5 |
SR |
Michael Wallace |
Bishop Kenny |
15:41 |
40th |
FSU |
4:17.23 |
9:02.22 |
15:17 |
2007 2A State XC - 2008 3200m Champion |
2005 - 17 Nov
2006 - 18 Nov
2007 - 19 Nov
2008 - 20 Nov
2009 - 21 Nov
2010 - 22 Nov
2011 - 23 Nov
2012 - 24 Nov
2013 - 25 Nov
2014 - 26 Nov
