I like Pre-State because it answers so many questions.

Any race will answer a few “who is faster?” questions, any meet will tell you which team is better. But Pre-State answers questions like no other cross country meet. They are questions that people care about, too, as evidenced by the amount of effort that goes into compiling rankings and performance lists. Those things are fun, but in the end, answers only come when two or more athletes show up at a cross country course and a starting pistol is fired. And that’s exactly what happened at Tallahassee’s Apalachee Regional Park on Saturday morning, 3 October 2015.

First, there’s the question of the best high school girl in Florida. That’s Rafaella Gibbons. Before Pre-State, all the sophomore had done was win every high school cross country race that she ran in the state of Florida going back to when she first matriculated at Winter Park--including the 2014 Pre-State and class 4A State Final. One Saturday morning added another Pre-State title and the Apalachee Regional Park girls’ course record to her resume.

RELATED - GIRLS ELITE RACE FOOTAGE

Let’s talk about that course record, 17:44.60. Apalachee Regional Park doesn’t have the history of Van Cortlandt Park or some of the other hallowed grounds of cross country. The Tallahassee course was first opened in 2009, making this its seventh season. But the State Final has been run at Apalachee Regional each year since 2012, so three years of state champions have had a crack at the course. In setting a new course mark, Gibbons was running against the shades of state champions like Rachel Givens (17:48.78), Bridget Blake (18:02.26), and Alexa Cruz (18:02.26). She also bettered six years of winning performances at the FSU Invitational, including 2010 winner Julie Wollrath (17:49.60), 2012 winner Lily Williams (18:00.60), and 2013 winner Caroline Barlow (17:53.99). The FACA Senior All Star Meet was at Apalachee Regional Park from 2009 to 2013, and so were a variety of FSHAA District and Regional meets. Rafaella Gibbons 17:44.60 beats every time ever run at all of those.

Aside from the historical significance of the performance, it was part of an impressive win. Dr. Phillips senior Janet Sison and Fletcher junior Kayley Delay set the early pace, but Gibbons wasn't far behind. The leaders went out fast, even for Apalachee Regional Park mostly-downhill first mile.

“We went through the mile in 5:30!” exclaimed one dismayed athlete after the race.

By the two mile it was all Gibbons, with Delay running in second about 30 meters back. Gibbons only added to her lead over the rest of the 5K, winning in 17:44.60. Delay was second in 17:56.70 and Bolles sophomore Caitlin Collier third in 17:58.20.

Gibbons and Winter Park weren’t even planning on racing at Pre-State. The team was headed to the Great American Cross Country Festival in Cary, North Carolina, till bad weather in the Carolinas and the threat of worse caused the meet to be canceled on Thursday.

If there’s any reservation about naming Gibbons best in the state, it’s that Riverview sophomore Bailey Hertenstein wasn't in the race at Tallahassee. Riverview competed at the Don Bishop Invitational that morning, where Hertenstein got her fourth win, remaining undefeated on the season. But Winter Park and Riverview are both class 4A--that matchup is coming at the State Final.

The earlier Boys’ Elite 5K wasn’t just a warm-up act for the girls’ race. It was certainly a tighter race than the Girls’ Elite 5K, with less than 30 meters separating the first runner from the fourth. Merritt Island senior Steven Cross was that first runner, posting a winning 15:21.10. Sarasota senior Adam Bradtmueller was second in 15:23.70, just ahead of Lyman senior Joshua Jacques at 15:24.10. Seffner Christian senior Noah Perkins had finished ahead of Cross a week earlier, winning FLRunners, but at Pre-State he was fourth in 15:25.90.

Of those four athletes, only two could meet again at the State Final--Bradtmueller and Jacques, who both compete in class 4A. Cross's Merritt Island team is in class 3A, and Perkins' Seffner Christian squad is class 2A.

RELATED - BOYS ELITE RACE FOOTAGE

You also won’t see the fifth and sixth place athletes in Florida’s State Final--Sam Costa and Frank Pittman are Georgia harriers, late entries in the Boys Elite race when Great American was canceled. Costa of Mill Creek was fifth in 15:30.00, and Marist senior Pittman was sixth in 15:36.00.

Pre-State established Noah Perkins as the man to beat in the class 1A boys field. Calvary Christian senior Hannah Brookover just may have similar status in class 1A girls. Brookover ran 18:13.00 at Pre-State, finishing sixth in the Girls’ Elite 5K, well ahead of Mount Dora Christian frosh Rebecca Clark. Clark finished five seconds ahead of Brookover at the Mountain Dew Invitational, but Brookover finished five seconds ahead of Clark at FLRunners. After Pre-State, call it two-out-of-three for Brookover, but keep in mind that at the State Final, no one will be awarded a title for having the best record.

Over two days of the FSU Invitational Pre-State meet, more than 2500 athletes raced on the Apalachee Regional Park course. The next day it was still in great shape, and it should still be on 7 November 2015 for the State Final.