The Fort Walton Beach boys cross country team has been here before.
On Saturday, the Vikings will head to the starting line at the state cross country championship at Tallahassee’s Florida State university course the exact same way they did a year ago: Undefeated, and riding a season-long winning streak.
Only this time, the Vikings have unfinished business. After arriving in Tallahassee a year ago as one of the race favorites in Class 3A, the Vikings got off to a rough start and fell to eighth in the final standings, a disappointing finish for a Viking group accustomed to winning. This time around, the Vikings aim to use last year’s experience as a learning tool – and as fuel.
“That wasn’t us last year. We didn’t really run our race,” said senior Tim Bulger, who has led a Fort Walton Beach team to another un-blemished record in 2012. “I think we got to the starting line and we saw the other team and we just lost focus. We let the name on their jersey knock us off our game. This time, I think we can keep that from happening.”
If Bulger’s words and proven true and FWB can prevent last year’s struggles from re-surfacing, Saturday could be a huge day for the FWB program.
In addition to the boys, the FWB girls enter Saturday’s race with a season of momentum – not to mention a region championship – behind them. Following the talented duo of freshman Emma Rudman and senior Ivy Chastain, the FWB girls come into the 2012 state meet with an excellent shot at unseating defending champion Estero High. To do that, the Vikings know that all five runners will have to run the race of their lives.
“In this sport, it’s not always about your best runners, it’s about your team,” said FWB coach Lissette Moller-Fields. “Ivy and Emma have been a great 1-2 punch this year, and they’ve both gotten acclimated to each other’s strengths. “But both our boys and girls know that it’s about one through five, not about individual finishes.”
In Tallahassee, Rudman and Chastain will be leaned upon to set the pace, while sophomore Autumn White will be joined by juniors Rhianna Moller and April Polite in keeping the team score low.
“It all comes down to this,” said Rudman, who has turned in a tremendous freshman season. “I think we’ve got the potential as a team, we just have to go out and run our best race. I always get a little nervous, but right now, I am just very excited.”
Chastain, who has spent all year running alongside Rudman ahead of the pack, echoed her younger teammate’s sentiment.
“It’s the most exciting time of the year for me,” said Chastain, the lone senior on the girls’ squad. “I really think this is an awesome way to close out my last year, with a chance to run at state.”
While the girls’ team broke through and won the region championship for the first time under Moller after nine runner-up finishes, the boys have compiled consecutive region titles and now have their focus set on brining home state gold. Like the girls, the Viking boys will be heavily dependant on strong finishes for all five runners. That puts as much strain on FWB’s No. 5, senior Brian Day, as it does on the Vi-kings’ lead runner, senior Tim Bulger.
“We don’t win region championships because of our No. 1 or our No. 2 guy,” said FWB coach Jeff Fields. “We do it on the strength of our No. 4 and our No. 5. Those guys help keep our team score down, and we can only go as far as they can take us. Brian has done a great job for us all year.”
For Day, Saturday’s race is as much about redemption as it is a championship. Like his teammates, Day was disappointed with last year’s eighth-place finish, and he aims to do something about it this time around.
“We looked at (state champion Belen Jesuit) and maybe we got intimidated,” said Day, “but they are just another team to us this year. It’s about running our race, and if we do that, everything will fall into place. It’s my last race, and I’m going to give it everything I’ve got.”
Like his runners, Fields feels the need to atone for last season’s misstep, though he never felt the need to bring it up.
“I watched our team leave that day, and I knew they were disappointed,” said Fields. “I never had to say anything, because they already knew. This year, we’ve done all the work. I always say that cross country is a sport where you get out of it whatever you put into it. These guys have put in the work, running over 500 miles in the summer, doing all the workouts. Now it’s time to go out and get the reward for all that work.”
The Class 3A girls race will begin at 8:25 a.m. in Tallahassee (7 p.m. locally) and the boys follow at 9:15.
FWB girls, boys take aim at state championship
Charlie Shackelford and senior ivy Chastain will be two key figures in Fort Walton Beach's chase for two state championships in Tallahassee on Saturday morning.
DEVON RAVINE / Daily NewsPublished: Thursday, November 15, 2012 at 22:42 PM.
The Fort Walton Beach boys cross country team has been here before.
On Saturday, the Vikings will head to the starting line at the state cross country championship at Tallahassee’s Florida State university course the exact same way they did a year ago: Undefeated, and riding a season-long winning streak.
Only this time, the Vikings have unfinished business. After arriving in Tallahassee a year ago as one of the race favorites in Class 3A, the Vikings got off to a rough start and fell to eighth in the final standings, a disappointing finish for a Viking group accustomed to winning. This time around, the Vikings aim to use last year’s experience as a learning tool – and as fuel.
“That wasn’t us last year. We didn’t really run our race,” said senior Tim Bulger, who has led a Fort Walton Beach team to another un-blemished record in 2012. “I think we got to the starting line and we saw the other team and we just lost focus. We let the name on their jersey knock us off our game. This time, I think we can keep that from happening.”
If Bulger’s words and proven true and FWB can prevent last year’s struggles from re-surfacing, Saturday could be a huge day for the FWB program.
In addition to the boys, the FWB girls enter Saturday’s race with a season of momentum – not to mention a region championship – behind them. Following the talented duo of freshman Emma Rudman and senior Ivy Chastain, the FWB girls come into the 2012 state meet with an excellent shot at unseating defending champion Estero High. To do that, the Vikings know that all five runners will have to run the race of their lives.
“In this sport, it’s not always about your best runners, it’s about your team,” said FWB coach Lissette Moller-Fields. “Ivy and Emma have been a great 1-2 punch this year, and they’ve both gotten acclimated to each other’s strengths. “But both our boys and girls know that it’s about one through five, not about individual finishes.”
In Tallahassee, Rudman and Chastain will be leaned upon to set the pace, while sophomore Autumn White will be joined by juniors Rhianna Moller and April Polite in keeping the team score low.
“It all comes down to this,” said Rudman, who has turned in a tremendous freshman season. “I think we’ve got the potential as a team, we just have to go out and run our best race. I always get a little nervous, but right now, I am just very excited.”
Chastain, who has spent all year running alongside Rudman ahead of the pack, echoed her younger teammate’s sentiment.
“It’s the most exciting time of the year for me,” said Chastain, the lone senior on the girls’ squad. “I really think this is an awesome way to close out my last year, with a chance to run at state.”
While the girls’ team broke through and won the region championship for the first time under Moller after nine runner-up finishes, the boys have compiled consecutive region titles and now have their focus set on brining home state gold. Like the girls, the Viking boys will be heavily dependant on strong finishes for all five runners. That puts as much strain on FWB’s No. 5, senior Brian Day, as it does on the Vi-kings’ lead runner, senior Tim Bulger.
“We don’t win region championships because of our No. 1 or our No. 2 guy,” said FWB coach Jeff Fields. “We do it on the strength of our No. 4 and our No. 5. Those guys help keep our team score down, and we can only go as far as they can take us. Brian has done a great job for us all year.”
For Day, Saturday’s race is as much about redemption as it is a championship. Like his teammates, Day was disappointed with last year’s eighth-place finish, and he aims to do something about it this time around.
“We looked at (state champion Belen Jesuit) and maybe we got intimidated,” said Day, “but they are just another team to us this year. It’s about running our race, and if we do that, everything will fall into place. It’s my last race, and I’m going to give it everything I’ve got.”
Like his runners, Fields feels the need to atone for last season’s misstep, though he never felt the need to bring it up.
“I watched our team leave that day, and I knew they were disappointed,” said Fields. “I never had to say anything, because they already knew. This year, we’ve done all the work. I always say that cross country is a sport where you get out of it whatever you put into it. These guys have put in the work, running over 500 miles in the summer, doing all the workouts. Now it’s time to go out and get the reward for all that work.”
The Class 3A girls race will begin at 8:25 a.m. in Tallahassee (7 p.m. locally) and the boys follow at 9:15.
All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.
