What a long, strange trip it’s been
11/22/12 - 10:30 p.m.: The bus pulls out from the Fort Myers High School parking lot and noses north up US 41 towards I-75. On board are athletes, coaches and chaperones from Naples, Palmetto Ridge, Labelle, Fort Myers, Cypress Lake, Golden Gate and North Fort Myers high schools. Noted participants are Alex Pedraza, Tyler Bennett, Ace Brown, Bobby Ormsby and Buddy Gates.
The anesthetic properties of Thanksgiving meals combined with the whine of the highway quell the initial excitement in the bus and one by one sleep overtakes the passengers. The bus groans through the darkness towards our first stop in Sarasota to pick up more riders. We pull up to small crowd huddle in the parking lot of Fit2Run off exit 213. On board climbs a small contingent from Sarasota High School and several runners from Lakewood Ranch High School including Olivia Ortiz.
Our bus, now full to capacity, continues its nocturnal trek northward. A change of drivers in Jacksonville and dawn breaks close to the GA/SC border on I-95. We switch to I-26, then at Columbia, SC we turn north on I-77. We celebrate our last break of the trip by invading an unsuspecting Cracker Barrel with 57 starving athletes and crew. Back on the bus for the final 1.5 hours to Charlotte and the host hotel awake and full.
The Marriott Executive Park Hotel is buzzing with activity as we enter the lobby. The kids search for their names on the entry list posted outside the meet registration room and head inside to pick up packets while we get the room keys. We assign rooms and break up for lunch then re-gather at the bus for a trip over to McAlpine for a course preview. Back to the hotel for showers and free time before pasta dinner, meeting featuring our very own Olivia Ortiz and then off to bed. By 10:30 p.m, most lights are out and dreams of glory fill the night.
Let’s get ready to rumble
11/24/11 - 6:45 a.m.: Race day is finally here. A line of busses greet us as we step out of the warm sanctuary of the hotel lobby into the frosty air. Picking out our coach we hurry to load our luggage and scurry on board to escape the 38º morning. A quick head count and off we go to the meet. Upon our arrival we distribute apples, bananas, oranges, bagels with peanut butter, trail mix and granola bars to the group and load rolling coolers full of water bottles and sports drinks to haul with us. We set up camp to the right of the starting line and begin warm-ups and stretches.
The mixed gender Open/Masters classification is the first race of the day and several of our coaches are competing. The overall top finisher set the tone for the day by posting a15:01 minute time! Next is the Freshmen boys race with Floridian and West Coast bus rider Adam Bradtmueller going wire to wire for the win in 16:10 with Sarasota High School teammate Brandon Drumm coming in 13th. Florida also claimed its first team crown by going 1,2,3,5 and 12. Sophomore boys are next with David Tampa coming in fifth overall and first for Florida in 15:59. Junior/Senior Girls is the following race and Cardinal Mooney’s Grace Casagrande runs a PR 19:04 for fourth overall for juniors helping Florida to a second place team showing. Newsome’s Brianna Jackson, second and Holy Trinity’s Mackenzie Drummer third lead the charge for the seniors helping Florida to the team title.
Girls Sophomore/Freshman race is on and Florida takes second in the freshmen team standings behind solid runs by Circle Christian’s Denae Chapman, Estero’s Daley Cline and Cypress Lake’s Breeana Salcedo. The sophomores win the team title by putting their five in the top seventeen, lef by STA’s Margaret Schloss.
Boy’s seniors start and Florida posts a thirrd place team finish placing five in the top thirty. Our last race before packing up is the Boys Juniors despite Mandarin’s John Weaver, third and Pensacola Booker T. Washingtion’s Mark Robertson, fourth place finishes, Florida can get no better than third in the team standings.
Mission accomplished
Packing up and slogging over the footbridge and up the hill to the bus parking area we are all smiles. Friends have been made, medals won, PRs set and memories that will last a lifetime. The thought of the long trip back is not enough to quash the giddiness. Thirteen hours later the sleepy sojourners disperse in the parking lot at Fort Myers High School still beaming and retelling of their adventures to anybody that will listen.
All say the same thing, “I can’t wait ‘til next year”.
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