Armando Cruz: Florida Runner Profile

Did not race. Sixth in the Race of Champions on October 3 in 14:50.6. Second to Mantecon every time they have raced. Second statewide.

Did not race. Sixth in the Race of Champions in 14:50.6, eight seconds under his own best. Second to Mantecon at the Horse Park and the Showcase, and behind him again in Cary. He stays second until he beats his teammate.

Sixth in the Race of Champions in 14:50.6, eight seconds under his own best. Second to Mantecon every time they have raced.

Sixth in the Race of Champions in 14:50.6, eight seconds under his own best. Second to Mantecon at the Horse Park and the Showcase, and behind him again on Saturday. He stays second until he beats his teammate.

Did not race. Second at the Southern Showcase in 14:58.6. Won Cecil Field in 15:06.0 on opening night and was second at the Horse Park, 2.3 seconds behind Mantecon. Second until he beats his teammate.

Did not race. Second to Mantecon at the Horse Park and again at the Showcase in 14:58.6, after winning Cecil Field in 15:06.0 with Mantecon absent. He stays second until he beats his teammate.

Second in Huntsville in 14:58.6, the second time this fall he has finished a race with only Mantecon in front of him. He won Cecil Field in 15:06.0 on opening night with Mantecon absent, then was second at the Horse Park in 15:24.4, 2.3 seconds back. Second until he beats his teammate, and the two of them own the two fastest times by a 3A boy this year.

Second in Huntsville in 14:58.6, and second to Mantecon for the second time this fall, after the Horse Park; he won Cecil Field in 15:06.0 with Mantecon absent. He stays second until he beats his teammate, which is the rule we have held since week 3.

Did not race. 15:06.0 at Cecil Field, still the fastest raw time by an FHSAA boy this fall, and 15:24.4 at the Horse Park. Two races under 15:25 on two courses, and the only boy who has beaten him is his teammate.

Did not race. 15:06.0 at Cecil Field on opening night, still the fastest raw time by a boy in the state series this fall, and 15:24.4 at the Horse Park. Two races, both under 15:25, on two different courses, and the only boy who has beaten him lives in his locker room.

Second at the Horse Park in 15:24.4, and still the owner of the fastest time any FHSAA boy has run this fall, the 15:06.0 from Cecil Field. Two races, both under 15:25, on two different courses. He has beaten every Florida boy he has faced except the one in his locker room.

Second to his teammate by 2.3 seconds in 15:24.4, and still the owner of the fastest time any FHSAA boy has run this season, the 15:06.0 from Cecil Field on opening night. Two races, both under 15:25, on two different courses. He has now beaten every Florida boy he has faced except one, and that one lives in his locker room.

Idle again, and still holding the fastest time any Florida boy has actually run this season: 15:06.0, winning the Cecil Field Elite race. Eighteen more meets have come and gone without anybody getting within ten seconds of it. He is also entered Saturday, on the course where he ran 15:24.2 a year ago.

Also idle in week two, and still the owner of the fastest time any Florida boy has actually run this season: 15:06.0, winning the Cecil Field elite race out of 354 starters, six seconds quicker than the 15:12.7 he ran at state. Nothing in eighteen meets came near it. The next-fastest time any Florida boy has run this season is ten seconds slower.

He won the Cecil Field Summer Classic Elite race in 15:06.0, ten seconds clear of Quentin Thompson of Lake Minneola, in the deepest field assembled in Florida this month. Converted, that is the fastest time run by any Florida boy in any class on opening weekend, and no one else in the state converted faster than 15:16.

Cruz was second in 3A at state in 15:12.7, so he opened seven seconds faster than he closed, which almost nobody does. That is the best evidence anybody in this class produced and it is worth exactly what it is worth: he is the fastest 3A boy in Florida right now and he is still second, because the man in front of him has beaten him where it counts and has not been asked to do it again yet.

Belen Jesuit is the No. 1 team in Florida at 108 points on the virtual scale, and its preseason projection of 20 points in 3A was and remains the lowest any boys team in any class carries.

Cruz ran the opener his teammate skipped and handled it: 15:06 at Cecil Field, through the mile in roughly 4:42, gone just past 10:27. That is six seconds faster than his 15:12.7 at state, and doing it in that air is worth more than the six seconds suggest. Two of the top two live in the same locker room, which is the single most important fact in 3A.