At DistancePreps.com our motto is "The Future Runs Now."  To help celebrate the 2013 XC season, we are now 10 weeks into and nearing the end of the cross-country season highlighting our future stars and dedicated young runners as "Frosh of the Week".

Samantha Folio, Holy Trinity (1A Region 3 18:58.38)

Samantha Folio is our Girls "Frosh of the Week".

Samantha Folio is certainly no stranger to running at a high level.  With guidance from one of the best coaches in the State in Coach Butler, Samantha finds herself in the upper echelon of the girls freshmen class.  This past weekend, Samantha was 3rd for the Tigers as once again they racked up another Regional title and are the favorites for yet another State title. 

Coach Butler, Holy Trinity

Samantha is not just a great runner but an outstanding student and co-captain of the team as a freshman. She has the maturity beyond her years and has a great future here at Holy Trinity and at the college level as well. It was only a matter of time before she went sub 19 and I look for her to run even faster at State with the temperatures being 20 degree cooler.  She runs smart and does not go out over her head and has a very solid finish to her race.

                              Photo's courtesy (L) Kay Oliver (R) Coach Paul Baur

Michael Kennedy, Pine Crest School (2A Region 4 16:49.88)

Michael Kennedy is our Boys "Frosh of the Week".

What a great Regional meet for Michael.  Not only was he 5th overall, he beat some noteworthy athletes along the way and was the first runner for Pine Crest as they finished Regional runner-up and are heading to State this weekend.  We first noticed Michael as an 8th grader on the track and his freshman cross-country season has been a consistent, exemplary campaign for the Panthers.  Michael states, "I'm super happy with the way our season has gone so far, and the improvement we've all shown. All of us here at Pine Crest are looking forward to an amazing State meet where there should be plenty of PRs!”

Coach Baur, Pine Crest School

Michael has used his freshman cross country season as a reminder to all freshmen that with hard work and dedication, age doesn’t matter!  As an 8^th grader Michael ran a PR of 19:33 and was our #9 runner, but things changed!  After cross country season last year, Michael began his focus on improving his mile and two mile time in track.  He took everyone by surprise at the Middle School State Meet by finishing as the State Runner-Up in the 3000m with a time of 9:42.87 which was a PR by 40 seconds!  

This summer, Michael’s dedication and never quit attitude helped take him to another level.  In his first race of the year, Katie Caples, he dropped 1:22 to set a new PR of 18:11 and finish 50^th.  The next week was another 47 seconds and then at the FL Runners Invitational, Michael finished 1^st for Pine Crest with a 56 second PR to finish in 16:51 and 22^nd overall in the Invitational Race.

This past week, Michael helped lead his team to the Regional Runner-Up finish for Region 4-2A.  Michael was in 14^th place with 600m to go and found another gear moving all the way into 5^th place and setting a new PR with a time of 16:49.  Michael has used his humor and elevation to the top of the Pine Crest depth chart to keep the boys team relaxed yet focused on achieving their goals this coming weekend at the State Meet in Tallahassee.

There are many factors that come into play when determining the "Frosh of the Week", including; time, place, rank against other freshmen, and overall impact they have on their team. We will not highlight the same Frosh more than once and the honors are purely subjective. If you wish to nominate your athlete for "Frosh of the Week" e-mail us at [email protected] with their name and why they are deserving of the honor.

See all our Freshmen of the Week honorees