Thousands of fans and runners alike descended upon the dewy morning grass at Apalachee Regional Park Saturday for the Florida State Pre-State Cross-Country Invitational.

The meet drew some of the best runners and teams from Florida and South Georgia to the state course at ARP. Belen Jesuit Preparatory Academy from Miami claimed the team victory in the boys elite race, with Bishop Kenny from Jacksonville claiming the girls elite division victory.

Patrick Koon win's third straight individual crown

Leon's Patrick Koon, who recently committed to Stanford, has already filled pages of the Florida running record books with his performances in both cross country and track.

The senior added one more item to that list, winning his third straight FSU pre-state invitational elite race with a time of 14:50.4, just four-tenths of a second off his 14:50.0 course record pace during the 2022 invitational.

"I felt like I could have run faster than that. I didn't feel fantastic coming into the race, but with cross country, the main thing is obviously to come away with the victory, especially against a fantastic field," Koon said.

"Definitely looking to run a little faster and be a little better, but definitely a good start to my season and my first big Invitational win."

Koon has run four races in his senior season, winning all four, but he said he is focusing on challenging himself on the national scale while continuing to chase another state championship victory in November.

"I'm really looking to have no insanely hard efforts until the state meet, really focusing this year on national-level meets," Koon said. "Just looking to get through the rest of the regular season and then have controlled efforts at districts and regionals and then go for a state title, which is always a battle."

The invitational victory wasn't the only notable moment for Koon this week as the senior announced his college commitment to Stanford University on Monday. He said one of the things that drew him to the West Coast was the school's balance of academics and athletics.

"I think Stanford's always been the place where Olympic sport athletes go to chase their dreams," Koon said about his commitment. "There are very few, if not any colleges, that are better than Stanford academically and athletically. They have a huge culture of success and the team was just very welcoming, I could see myself feeling like a lot of the guys on the team."

Maclay finish fourth, focusing on state title chase

Maclay has one of the best distance running programs in the Big Bend, with the Marauders consistently one of the top teams in every meet. Led by sophomore Caroline Couch, who finished sixth in the elite race with an 18:14.10, Maclay finished fourth in the team standings at the FSU pre-state invite with 177 points.

The Marauders program depth was on full display Saturday as nine runners placed in the elite division for the Marauders, with Couch the highest finisher at six and seniors Susan Gracie Koeppel (19:10.60) and Mary Clayton Soto (19:15.70) rounding out Maclay's top three, finishing 25th and 28th respectively. The talent within the squad helps the team push each other in practice when preparing for meets like the FSU invite.

"It's really important because it's hard to motivate and push yourself," Couch said. "When we have a team that all wants to work towards a goal of winning states, it's really helpful to have that motivation together."

Couch finished around five seconds off her personal best, an 18:09.39 that she posted at The Southern Showcase in Huntsville, Alabama. The sophomore said the team's focus at the FSU invite was on gaining more experience on the course as the Marauders hope to win a state championship at Apalachee Regional Park come November.

"It's really important because states are at the ARP and we spend so much time training here every week," Couch said about the team gaining more experience on the state course. "I feel like it's good to assess how our training at the ARP is paying off in a race."

Elite Results

Boys

Team

Belen Jesuit 38, Brother Martin 124, Nease 148, Gainesville Buchholz 212, Miami Columbus 259, Oviedo Hagerty 272, Naples 285, Ponte Vedra 313, Tallahassee Chiles 315, Creekside 353, Astronaut 370, Fleming Island 376, Miami Braddock 381, Tallahassee Leon 400, Vero Beach 410, Cambridge Christian 428, Lithia Newsome 451, Tampa Jesuit 454, Tampa Plant 476, Spanish River 506, George Steinbrenner 511, Bishop Verot 512, Cypress Bay 564, Fort Myers 566, Bartram Trail 595, Orlando Boone 620, Gainesville Oak Hall 650, Geneva Classical 651, Oviedo 673, Sarasota 678, Sarasota Out-of-Door 702, Satellite 756.

Individual: 1. Patrick Koon (Leon) 14:50.4. 2. Joshua Ruiz (Belen Jesuit) 14:59.6. 3. Matt Ryan (Nease) 15:00.9. 4. Marcelo Mantecon (Belen Jesuit) 15:10.2. 5. Jonathan Leon (Hagerty) 15:15.3. 6. David Serra (Ransom Everglades) 15:17.8. 7. Riley Smith (Buchholz) 15:18.8. 8. Tanner Simonds (Creekside) 15:31.0.

Girls

Team

Bishop Kenny 100, Ponte Vedra 149, Bolles 174, Tallahassee Maclay 177, Cambridge Christian 240, Lake Minneola 313, Creekside 329, Miami Lourdes 350, Niceville 356, Gainesville Oak Hall 361, Episcopal 363, Satellite 363, Lithia Newsome 364, Bishop Verot 386, Clermont East Ridge 408, Tampa Plant 436, Olympia 436, Winter Springs 464, South Fork 474, Naples 475, Spanish River 483, Fleming Island 484, Ocala Vanguard 506, Miami Braddock 512, St. Augustine 553, George Steinbrenner 556, Oviedo 568, Wiregrass Ranch 605, Sarasota 792, Providence 819.

Individual: 1. Annabella Tomasic (Lake Highland Prep) 17:35.5. 2. Ashley Fitzgerald (American Heritage) 17:39.9. 3. Addison Dempsey (Cardinal Mooney) 17:41.4. 4. Alyson Johnson (Creekside) 17:49.3. 5. Mackenzie De Lisle (Bishop Verot) 17:52.6. 6. Caroline Couch (Maclay) 18:14.1. 7. Lindy White (Ponte Vedra) 18:26.5. 8. Avery Fronrath (King's Academy) 18:28.3.

Select Results

Boys

Team winner: Belen Jesuit Preparatory School 143

Individual winner: Andrew Beroset (Gulf Breeze) 15:53.30

Girls

Team winner: Chiles 143

Individual winner: Mackenzie Roy (Spruce Creek) 19:00.30

Varsity A Results

Boys

Team winner: Sanford Seminole 243

Individual winner: Sam Stone (St. Francis Catholic) 16:19.40

Girls

Team winner: Ponte Vedra 143

Individual winner: Scarlett Griffin (South Walton) 19:25.10

Varsity B Results

Boys

Team winner: Community Christian School 140

Individual winner: Garrett Hudson (Beachside High School) 17:32.20

Girls

Team winner: Gainesville 74

Individual winner: Isabel Harter (Choctawhatchee) 20:28.00

Liam Rooney covers preps sports for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Leon senior Patrick Koon wins FSU invitational individual title