Race Previews - Ted Benz Jamboree 2013

The 4th Annual Ted Benz Pre-Season Jamboree will be held Aug 23rd at Trotters Park in Orlando.  The meet is a fundraiser to support Colonial High School and is held to honor the legacy of Coach Ted Benz for his many years of dedication to Cross Country/Track and Field in the State of Florida.  The meet is being chip timed by Mike Hill's Elite Timing and Event Management and will consist of 3 races; 13 and under 2K (5:45 pm), Girl's/Women's Open (6:15 pm) and Boy's/Men's Open (6:45 pm).

The course has changed somewhat over the last 3 years.   The Boys meet record was set in 2010 by Winter Park's Nick Posada going 15:53.43 and the Girls meet record was also set in 2010 by McKenzie Wilson clocking 19:46.94 while she attended the Geneva School.  

Teams scheduled to compete include Boone, Circle Christian, host Colonial, Edgewater, Father Lopez, First Academy, Lake Highland Prep, New Smyrna Beach, Orlando Runners (Club), University, and West Orange.

CLAIM YOUR TEAM HERE (Attach results, race/finish line footage, photo's, news, blogs)

Girls Preview - By Bob Cooke

McKenzie Wilson's 2010 Meet record may be in jeopardy if pre-race favorite and rising Sophomore Denae Chapman is unleashed to attack the Trotter's Park course and race conditions are favorable.  Denae has a 5K PR of 18:54.06 set at the 1A State XC Finals in 2012 on the somewhat hilly ARP Course in Tallahassee where she finished 5th.  This past Spring, she also improved her track times going 5:12.28 for the 1600 and 11:19.88 in the 3200 (Disney Showcase). 

Coach Tim and Darcy Chapman fully expect Denae to "lead the charge" for their Circle Christian Girls team with several experienced runners and a slew of newcomers.  Look for Seniors Devin Bos, Alexandra Chapman, Juniors Blaire Wonderly, Taylor Melnick, and Willow Bolton, new sophomore Autumn Stevenson and 8th grader Jaden Ault, all pushing for a spot on the Varsity top 7.

(Denae Chapman - Circle Christian Photo Credit - Les Lusk - CaptureVate.com)

Last year we saw Autumn Bartlett from University start off a solid Sophomore year by winning Ted Benz in 20:16.40 and dropping her 1600 PR to 5:20.87 and her 3200 PR to 11:30.04 at Regionals.  Autumn is a gamer and if she can keep it close to Chapman early on, she very well may repeat as champion again in 2013.

Other notables to watch for include Asha Douglas from Colonial, Rachel Stockton from Lake Highland Prep, Emily Crist from First Academy, and Jayden Davil-McClary from West Orange.

The team battle is a real toss-up as new runners and non-returning runners really change the landscape for predictions this early in the season.  On paper, it appears to be a 3 way battle up front between Lake Highland Prep, First Academy and West Orange.  The nod goes to Lake Highland Prep, but it will be very interesting to see if First Academy, West Orange or Circle Christian, with their newcomers, can step up early in the season to challenge for the team title.

Boys Preview - by Darrin DeTorres

This weekend will cap off the last week of preseason training for all Florida cross-country teams. As a final test before the season, many Central Floridians will be toeing the line at the Ted Benz Invitational.

One of the big questions going into the race, is how the defending 4A State Champions, Colonial, have reloaded after losing Andres Arroyo (Florida), Raul Ramirez (Young Harris) , and Caleb Licht (North Florida) to graduation after going 1-2-4 respectively in this race last year.

Based off of track there looks to be a few teams in the hunt for the team title and Friday we will see if Colonial is amongst them.

Going into this cross country season, many people think Brandon Marquez is the man to beat in 4A. At Ted Benz we will get a glimpse of some competitors that look to take the throne before Marquez reaches it.

One runner in particular to pay attention to is Boone's rising Junior Jared Hines. Looking at Hines’ 5k PR, people might think we are reaching, but after a 9:50 3200m on the track and having a brother who is among the top runners in the SEC, we believe Jared might surprise people. Jared’s teammate Burhardt Helfrich also looks to be a threat as the Boone guys will be putting in work this season in hopes  of potentially having a top 5 state finish.

Another runner to keep a lookout for is Senior Joseph Ault of Circle Christian.  Joseph ran 1:57 and 4:36 on the track last year and according to his coaches, Joseph had a great summer of training.

Looking to defend the home course and prove that Colonial is still a contender will be Joel Ortiz. Last XC season Joel worked his way onto the varsity team that won state after running his first few meets on JV.  Joel’s PR of 16:19 makes him one of the favorites for Friday night.

Make sure to follow DistancePreps.com this season as we look to bring you the best coverage of Florida High School Running.


 
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Darrin on Twitter @evolvedrunner