October 4 2026
What a week!
No words of wisdom this week—just a whole lot of thanks to the many, many people who made this weekend possible!
We had more than 70 parent volunteers involved in setting up and running the meet.
The Feather and Ronsman families stepped up to host Friday night pasta parties.
Dana Dreckman led our senior recognition.
Other parents stayed after to help take down the course, saving others from having to tackle that task on Sunday.
We can’t forget the team behind the scenes! Thank you Stephanie Marciani for keeping this ship on course, Lauren Killoran for being our clutch “yes” to anything (almost), the LaVasser/s, Lommel’s and Vads for their labor of love. To our fantastic announcers Chris Farmand, Ray D’Agostino and Matt Nelson who jumped in. You guys are naturals!
Add the Hunts to the labor of love group. To our fabulous Coaches headquarters crew - the Hattori’s, Robin Howton and Molly (the one and only Molly)
And to all of you out greeting buses, directing the mayhem in the parking lots on behalf of our meet - you get a special thanks!!!
And last, but certainly not least, thank you to our volunteer coaches who put in countless hours to make it all happen.
It truly takes a village, and we are incredibly grateful for ours! 🦈💙
Craig Speziale Invitational JVB Girls Race Recap (Coach Bella)
This Saturday, our athletes competed in the Craig Speziale Invitational at our home course, Ponte Vedra High School. Throughout the race, our athletes experienced a variety of terrains, including concrete, grass, mud, gravel, and a bridge. They completed one small loop and two large loops around campus. In preparation for the race, our athletes had the opportunity to run the course throughout the week. This allowed them to become familiar with the course layout and learn how to effectively run the tangent. One of the highlights of the race was seeing our athletes support one another. We were fortunate to have several athletes step up to pace their teammates and help them reach their individual goals. We also heard some amazing stories of athletes demonstrating exemplary sportsmanship, not only toward their teammates but also toward athletes from other teams. As a coaching staff, we are incredibly proud of these athletes and the character they continue to demonstrate. We look forward to building on these successes and continuing to improve as a team!
We also had many incredible individual performances, including 9 personal records (PRs) for our JVB girls:
- Emily Pak — 23:50 PR, improving by 51 seconds
- Madison Brletich — 24:37 PR, improving by 5 minutes 50 seconds
- Ella Puzey — 26:43 PR, improving by 18 seconds
- Brooklyn Reeves — 27:08 PR, improving by 36 seconds
- Charlotte Hartman — 27:37 PR, improving by 1 minute 18 seconds
- Fatima Bellatin — 29:05 PR, improving by 1 minute 19 seconds
- Elle D’Agostino — 29:02 PR, improving by 7 seconds
- Mary Eastman — 31:08 PR, improving by 5 seconds
- Sasha Chandlee — 21:45 PR, improving by 44 seconds
Congratulations to all of our athletes on an outstanding race! We are so proud of the hard work, determination, teamwork, and sportsmanship displayed throughout the week and on race day. We can’t wait to see what this team accomplishes next!
Craig Speziale Invitational Varsity and JVA Girls Race Recap (Coach Browning)
Our top girls this week raced in both the Varsity and JV races, with some Varsity runners choosing to help their teammates by pacing in the JV race, and senior JV girls getting the chance to run in the Varsity race.
Even with their focus on helping others rather than going for their own personal bests, the Varsity girls won the meet, with 30 points, 16 ahead of 2nd place Vanguard Ocala.
The Varsity girls were led by Piper Ross in 2nd place overall with Olivia Kaminsky not far behind in 4th. Charlotte Hartman had a 1:17 PR, Layann Issa a 17s PR and Taylor Bestic a 30s PR – incredible performances on a very humid day.
The JV girls were led by Ava Rihlman with 3rd place overall, followed closely by Reese Monteiro, Emily Pak and Phoebe Litwack in 4th-7th place.
Craig Speziale Invitational Varsity Boys Race Recap
The Ponte Vedra High School varsity boys made the most of their home course Saturday morning, capturing the team championship at the 13th Annual Craig Speziale Invitational.
Luke Ross led the boys with an individual championship, covering the 5K course in 15:59.1, nearly 40 seconds ahead of the runner-up. Aiden Killoran placed third (16:46.4), Colin Bovee fifth (16:54.1) and Logan Hunt seventh (16:58.0). Hayden Busch rounded out the scoring group in 12th (17:34.3), helping Ponte Vedra edge Vanguard 26–29 for the team title.
Ponte Vedra entered the meet ranked behind both Bolles and Vanguard in pre-race projections, but the boys flipped the script when it mattered most. Their ability to put five runners ahead of enough Vanguard scorers proved decisive in the tightly contested team race.
With the postseason approaching, Saturday’s performance provided an important boost for the boys. They showed that it can compete with—and beat—one of the strongest team in the state when the race comes down to the final scorers.
Great job sharks!
Videos from the races:
