1A Boys State Meet Preview - Florida FHSAA Cross Country State Finals

The lure of the 1A State Meet took a huge hit in some ways last weekend when perennial favorite Seffner Christian senior Noah Perkins started the 1A Region 2 meet in a foot boot.  In other ways, it's certainly making it a more intriguing individual battle.  We've often thought that there are certain races where the risk is worth the experience, those once in a lifetime events where you throw caution to the wind and just go for it.  If you see Noah on the starting line on Saturday, you'll know his mindset, this is one of those situations.

Noah won the FLRunners.com Invitational earlier this year in 15:20.80 and handed Merritt Island's Steven Cross his only loss of the season.  A week later Noah finished 4th at the FSU Pre-State Invitational in 15:25.90.  Considering the next fastest time in 1A this season is 15:56 by Pine School's Chase Hyland and the picture gets more interesting.  How much fitness has Noah lost being in a boot and could he still win if he toes the line Saturday?

Also looking to claim that State Championship is the Chase as mentioned earlier Hyland.  Chase won the 1A Region 3 meet in 15:56, a 23 second PR. It should be noted the Holy Trinity course has plenty of asphalt and 500 meters of track surface to its credit.

Shorecrest Prep's Luke Peterson won the 1A Region 2 meet quite handily in 16:48.  Luke's effort at Regionals was a rather easy stroll on the way to the State Championship.

Earlier this season at the FSU Pre-State Invitational Luke went 16:02.30 for the 4:28 miler so he has the speed if needed.

We can fully expect from what we've seen so far this season is for Chase to push the pace early, Luke to be right there, and the likes of 1A Region champ, Bishop John's Neri Jackson, to be in the mix as well.  Just off the early pace and moving up steadily will be Boca Christian's Tucker Hindle, Divine Saviour's Guilherme Pereira, and Hyland Christian's Ryan Szklany.

We like Luke for the win should Noah not toe the line Saturday. 

The boys’ team competition in class 1A is much closer. Maclay seems to be the odds on end favorite going in.  After winning Region 1 with an impressive 17:24 team average, the Marauders have home field advantage as well making it seem even more probable that Coach Droze will add even more hardware in 2015. 

Peaking and firing on all cylinders are where the science and the art intermingle.  If this is the case, consider Westminster Academy, a strong contender.  With the heat of South Florida in their rear view mirrors, Westminster is looking to make some noise in Tally. 

Bishop Snyder, Father Lopez, and Shorecrest Prep could all have a significant say are serious top 5 contenders well.