LAKE PLACID –– It may have been her first year of running cross country, but Erica Resendiz made quite an impression. The Lake Placid junior, who has an effortless style that belies how fast she is, had five first-place finishes during the season, including a school-record time of 21 minutes, 28 seconds in a meet at LaBelle. Resendiz, who is also an outstanding player on the Green Dragon soccer team, showed great consistency in her first year of varsity competition. "Erica is a natural runner," said Lake Placid cross country coach Dennis Berard. "She is very competitive and has the ability to run fast. You can't coach that, and she pushed herself to lower her times even though cross country isn't her favorite sport." For her accomplishments and ability, Resendiz has been selected Highlands Today's 2007 All–Heartland Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. ...more

January 2, 2008

DADE CITY — Connor Bauer said he felt "horrible" heading into Saturday's Class 2A state cross-country meet. As the lone member of the Sebring XC team competing at the event, the sophomore said it was tough for him to get excited about his first state race without his teammates at his side. Oh, what a difference less than 17 minutes makes. Bauer finished 25th in the final race of the season, burning up a slow, hilly Little Everglades Ranch course with a time of 16:58, his second-best mark of the year. ...more

November 18, 2007

SEBRING — Going up against the best cross-country runners in the state can be a daunting task. For Sebring sophomore Connor Bauer, it's just another step in his continuing development into an elite runner. "Connor is a gamer," said Blue Streak coach Jeff Shoemaker. "He's quiet, but he's a very competitive person, and to be as good as he is, you have to be aggressive." ...more

November 17, 2007

ESTERO –– Despite having to compete in the Class 2A-Region 3 cross-country meet while the sun was rising early Friday morning, Sebring's Connor Bauer qualified for next Saturday's state meet in Dade City. Bauer, a fleet-footed sophomore, managed to run the hilly Park Community course in a time of 17 minutes, 13 seconds, which was good for ninth place in a very competitive regional that included numerous private schools. "That's a very good showing for Connor," said Blue Streak coach Jeff Shoemaker. "It was a good course, but it was hilly and the corners were very tight, which didn't favor Connor's upright style of running. "I'm really pleased with his effort, because he stayed focused, had a strong last half-mile and made up a lot of ground on the leaders." The regional meet featured 12 teams, with the top six teams and top 15 individuals qualifying for next Saturday's state meet in Dade City. ...more

November 10, 2007

SEBRING — Hopefully, the girls on the Sebring cross-country team are early risers. They'll need to be if they want to qualify for next week's state finals, as today's Class 2A-Region 3 competition at Estero Community Park in Fort Myers begins at 7:30 a.m. "That's awfully early to run and I've never seen anything like it," said Blue Streak coach Jeff Shoemaker. "That's all right, though, because the girls have trained hard and will be ready to go." ...more

November 9, 2007

TAMPA — The Sebring girls cross country team showed what solidarity can do for a team, as they finished fifth at the Class 3A-District 5 district meet on Thursday at Lake Park in Tampa. Rough course conditions took its toll on the boys team, who gave a good performance but came up short, finishing in seventh place — one spot out of moving on to regionals. "The boys did what they could do," Sebring coach Jeff Shoemaker said. "I have no complaints on how they performed. It just wasn't good enough to make it this time." The top six teams advance to the Region 3 meet, which will take place on Nov. 9 at Estero Community Park in Ft. Myers. ...more

November 3, 2007

SEBRING — Time to run. The boys and girls cross country teams from the Heartland compete today and Friday in the Class 3A district meets. Avon Park and Sebring run today in the District 5 meet at Lake Park in Tampa, while Lake Placid runs on Friday at the District 6 meet in Naples. Only the top six teams advance to next Saturday's regional competition in Estero, and Avon Park's boys squad has the talent and desire to be one of those teams. ...more

November 1, 2007

Sophomore Connor Bauer took top honors Saturday morning at the Frostproof Invitational, burning up the sandy 5K trail in a course-record time of 18:29 and leading a shorthanded Sebring cross-country team to a ninth-place finish out of 15 teams. ...more

September 30, 2007

Coming on strong. Led by sophomore speedster Connor Bauer, who finished first by more than two minutes over his nearest competitor, Sebring's boys team won Thursday's four-team high school cross country meet. ...more

September 29, 2007