FALL ALL-AREA: Columbia's Jose Rodriguez named LCR's Boys Runner of the Year

Running cross country had never crossed Jose Rodriguez’s mind.

As a junior at Columbia, his focus was on JROTC. But his first sergeant saw another talent for Rodriguez.

That was running.

“I didn’t know I was good at it,” Rodriguez said. “My first sergeant in JROTC told me, ‘look, you’re kind of good at this. Go out for track and maybe earn yourself a scholarship one day.’ So I took her advice, told my parents about it, they supported me, and we got out there and started running.”

That turned out to be a very good decision.

Rodriguez heeded his sergeant’s advice and it’s paid off with not only a college scholarship, but also the honor of Lake City Reporter Boys Runner of the Year. A steady drop in time turned Rodriguez into the top runner of the area, which included an area-best time of 17:05.60 for a 21st-place finish at the District 2-3A meet to help CHS earn a regional berth.

Once Rodriguez turned to racing full time, he dedicated himself to get better each and every week. Rodriguez also won the Tiger Run and led the area with top-5 finishes at the Alligator Lake Invitational (fourth) and Suwannee County Invitational (third) in his only cross country season.

“It’s something to be proud of,” said Rodriguez, who recently signed to run at Florida Gateway College. “I just started running this year and I kind of put my all into it. I’m really proud of myself and my family is too that I was able to make it as high as I did.”

Before Rodriguez tried cross country, he gave track a shot. He ran the 800m and 1600m last spring for Columbia and he began by running a mile in over six minutes.

By the time the season was over, he had dropped that time to under five minutes. That set him on the path toward a successful cross country season.

“That gave me a sense of routine — get up every day, run some more and when you’re tired run a little bit more,” Rodriguez said. “That got me in a routine for a healthy cross country season.”

Columbia head coach Lawrence Davis calls Rodriguez extremely talented. But he also says it’s not just talent that makes Rodriguez such a successful runner — his work ethic is half of that.

“Once he committed himself and he started putting in the work, his times started dropping,” Davis said. “And he outworked everybody. He outworked all the other runners.”

Rodriguez began the season by running an 18:43.30 at Buchholz’s Bobcat Classic before dropping it a couple of weeks later to 17:41.70 at the Suwannee County Invitational where he finished third. That went up slightly to 17:44.60 at the Alligator Lake XC Invitational, where he placed fourth, but it fell all the way down to a new personal-record of 17:22.00 for a first-place finish at the Tiger Run.

That set him up to run another PR two weeks later at districts.

“I told many people that Jose was going to be a surprise and an unknown entity, but he would be widely known before the end of the cross country season,” Davis said. “Many people didn’t know him prior because he had never ran cross country before, but because I knew he had the potential to really shine, by the time it got to districts and the postseason, he would probably be the best runner in our area. As time progressed that proved to be the case.”

Getting to that PR at the district meet wasn’t easy. Rodriguez admits he gets nervous before every race, sometimes so much so that he throws up.

When he set a new PR at the Tiger Run, he admits he threw up nine times during the race only to still win it. Then at districts, Rodriguez says he wasn’t feeling great again but he was still determined to give it his all in case it was his final race at Columbia.

“I didn’t feel ready for it,” Rodriguez said. “My legs hurt, I was sore, I was nervous and I always get real nervous before my races. But I got out there and decided if this was going to be my last race then I’ve got to make it worth it. So I went all out, ran as hard as I could and held on for dear life, and I ran a PR.”

After running a 17:05.60 at districts, Rodriguez and Davis felt that time would be good enough to qualify for state if he could duplicate at regionals. But the Region 1-3A meet didn’t go quite as planned.

Rodriguez’s time shot up to 17:24.70 at the Santa Fe College course and he finished 32nd. His missed qualifying for state individually by less than 15 seconds, meaning his PR from districts would have gotten him there.

“That one didn’t go as well,” Rodriguez said. “It was a really hilly course. Districts was a very flat course and fast and this one was very hilly, way more than cross country runners deal with. The hills made it a little harder, so it wasn’t the best but it was definitely something that tested me.”

Despite not advancing to the state meet, Rodriguez’s decision to run cross country late in high school paid off with to a college offer to compete at FGC, which is bringing back its men’s program for the 2023 season after a 45-year hiatus. Rodriguez was FGC’s first signee this fall, and just like for Davis, his work ethic stood out to FGC coach Edward Morse.

“I think they like what my consistency is and how I tend to outwork most of the other runners,” Rodriguez said. “Most of the runners on my team only run about 30 milers per week and I like to hover around 55. I run a lot on my own and put in a lot of effort and they noticed it. They noticed that because of that little extra effort I was able to outperform everybody and they just like my commitment to the sport.”

ALL-AREA TEAM

Jose Rodriguez

Columbia, senior

The LCR’s Boys Runner of the Year placed 21st at the District 2-3A meet with an area-best time of 17:05.60 to help the Tigers qualify for regionals, where he finished 32nd in Region 1-3A with a time of 17:24.70. Rodriguez won the Tiger Run and he led the area with top-5 finishes at the Suwannee County Invitational (third) and Alligator Lake Invitational (fourth).

Morgan Mobley

Suwannee, junior

Placed 10th at the District 1-2A meet (17:43.40) and then 27th at the Region 1-2A meet (17:20.70) to help the Bulldogs qualify for state, where he ran a season-best 17:39.00 to finish 80th in Class 2A. Mobley posted top-10 finishes at the St. John Paul II Panther Invite (second), Cecil Field Summer Classic (third), Suwannee County Invitational (fourth) and Alligator Lake Invitational (seventh).

Nolan Martin

Columbia, freshman

Placed 64th at the District 2-3A meet (18:58.90) and then placed 65th at Region 1-3A meet with a season-best time of 18:18.60. Martin posted top-10 finishes at the Tiger Run (third) and Suwannee County Invitational (sixth).

Brig Scott

Suwannee, sophomore

Placed 24th at the District 1-2A meet (18:34.50) and then 28th at the Region 1-2A meet with a season-best time of 17:21.00. Scott then finished 115th at the Class 2A state meet (18:15.00) to cap off a season where he had top-10 finishes at the Suwannee County Invitational (seventh) and St. John Paul II Panther Invite (10th).

Paul Gunter

Suwannee, junior

Placed 21st at the District 1-2A meet (18:27.70) and then 38th at the Region 1-2A meet with a season-best time of 17:41.50. Gunter then finished 95th at the Class 2A state meet (17:53.00) to cap off a season where he had top-10 finishes at the Suwannee County Invitational (fifth) and St. John Paul II Panther Invite (seventh).

Issac Starling

Suwannee, junior

Placed 19th at the District 1-2A meet (18:19.60) and then 49th at the Region 1-2A meet with a season-best time of 18:12.70. Starling then finished 127th at the Class 2A state meet (18:23.80) to cap off a season where he also placed ninth at the Suwannee County Invitational.

Joshua Thompson

Columbia, sophomore

Placed 58th at the District 2-3A meet (18:51.10) and then 90th at the Region 1-3A meet (19:10.80). Thompson ran a season-best 18:45.00 at the Tiger Run, where he placed second.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Brian Bullock, Suwannee

Bullock led the Bulldogs to fourth place at the District 1-2A meet and then eighth at the Region 1-2A meet, which was just good enough to send them to state for the second straight season. They finished 17 points ahead of Wolfson for the final state bid in their region and finished 23rd at the Class 2A meet. Bullock’s squad also won the Suwannee County Invitational again, finished runner-up at the St. John Paul II Panther Invite, and placed third at the Alligator Lake Invitational.