* Patrick Koon on the last stretch to his third FHSAA XC Title.
Photo Credit: Nancy Scott
- - -
Is Florida's Koon Ready for A Regional Title?
Patrick Koon has turned heads as he's eight-for-eight this season.
For the third year in a row, the Tallahassee native took home the Florida Class 3A cross country state title in a close-but-impressive race against Belen Jesuit freshman Marcelo Mantecon.
After the blistering FHSAA meet on Friday, Koon talked to MileSplit about the upcoming South Regional in North Carolina, saying, "I really just got to stay focused and confident and know that I can compete against the best."
For the past two years, the Stanford commit explained that when postseason came around, he had no energy left to perform and qualify for the regional and national meets.
For his final year, Koon is going for it.
"I knew I wanted to shift the focus to the state meet, regionals and hopefully nationals," he said.
The new meet strategy seems to be in effect and hopefully it will pay off this Saturday.
Other South region runners to look out for are Ty Steorts of West Virginia, Keegan Smith, Miles Ramer, Matteo Tonnos of Tennessee, Jake Liebert of South Carolina and Ethan Gonzalez of Texas.
These athletes are certainly on Koon's radar, but with some proper rest and the end to a low key season, the senior may pull off just what he's been wishing for.
Page 2: Foot Locker's Fast Favorite Is Back: Ellie Shea
Page 3: Future Fighting Irish Fleet Will Go Head-to-Head in Boston
Page 4: Could Cameron Todd Go 2-for-2 At Foot Locker Midwest?
Page 5: Florida's Koon Ready For A Regional Title?
Page 6: Cheeseman Set to Dominate the South
Page 7: Jazwinski Versus Southerland in Kenosha