Matanzas cross country teams overcome adversity to qualify for regionals

Blaine Vogel set a freshman school record; four Pirates finished among the top 25 at district

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It's been a tough season for the Matanzas cross country teams.

The top boys runner is no longer on the team. Injuries have been pervasive. The coaches and some of the runners contracted COVID. And all of the athletes got sick at one point, forcing the teams to miss a meet. And, of course, there was the hurricane.

But at the District 2-3A meet which Matanzas hosted on Oct. 22, most of the Pirates posted personal-record times. And both the boys and girls teams advanced to regionals on Saturday, Oct. 29 at Santa Fe College in Gainesville. 

The Matanzas girls finished fourth and the boys placed third after a tiebreaker with St. Augustine. The top eight teams advance.

"I knew I had to step it up. We all started training harder. We knew there was no room for mistakes."

— CHRISTIAN NORFOLK

"It helped us in a way," Christian Norfolk said of losing the team's top runner. "I knew I had to step it up. We all started training harder. We knew there was no room for mistakes."

Norfolk led the Pirates with a personal record 17:06.2 to finish in 22nd place. Freshman Blaine Vogel was right behind the junior with a 17:08.6 — the fastest freshman time in school history — to finish 24th. The top 25 runners earned all-district medals.

Kaden Golder (17:24.8, 30th place), Nicholas Hyatt (17:30.4, 33rd place) and Josh Sepe (18:07.4, 42nd place) also scored points for the Pirates. No. 6 runner Matt Ciardi (18:43.7) gave Matanzas the third-place tiebreaker by finishing ahead of St. Augustine's sixth runner. 

Ponte Vedra won both the boys and girls team titles. The Ponte Vedra girls took three of the top four places with Lindy White finishing first in 17:43.3. Fleming Island's Graham Myers won the boys race with a time 15:28.9.

Sierra Howard paced the Matanzas girls with a personal record 20:10.0 to finish 17th. Nina Rodriguez finished in 20:14.2 to place 19th. The two juniors ran together throughout the race.

"It's better for us mentally," Howard said. "I have more confidence if I run with a teammate."

"We run together to motivate each other," Rodriguez said. "At the end of the day, running together is only going to help our team."

Chloe Irving (21:44.8, 32nd place) and Mariah Mills (21:53.6, 40th place) also ran together for most of the race. Rodriguez said if the four of them can run in a pack at regionals, it will help the team's chances to qualify for state. The boys are also hoping to run in a pack.

"We have to stay calm and not let the pressure get to us."

— SIERRA HOWARD

Last year, for the first time in school history, both the Matanzas boys and girls qualified for the state championships. Like districts, the top eight teams in regionals advance.

Matanzas coach Tim Kane said both the boys and girls can qualify if they run well again.

"We have to stay calm and not let the pressure get to us," Howard said.

Howard qualified individually for state track in the 800 meters last spring. She joined the cross country team when she got to high school because her coaches said it would help her endurance. Now she wants to help lead her team back to state.

"I'm confident now," she said

"It's exciting," Rodriguez said of keeping the season alive. "Hopefully we'll get to state again. We just have to push ourselves." 

 

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