Editor’s note: This is the first part of a summer series revisiting the best of “The Prep Zone” sports show at locally owned Sonic Drive-In of Gainesville, which features interviews with area coaches and players discussing the 2023-24 seasons with hosts Mike Ridaught and Marty Pallman.
The Buchholz boys cross country team and head coach Patrick Douma joined The Prep Zone in November to talked about another outstanding season for the Bobcat program.
The Bobcats finished as Class 4A state runners-up at the FHSAA Cross Country State Championships at Apalachee Regional Parkway in Tallahassee on Nov. 17. This was on the same day that the Lady Bobcats and head coach Mike Maren won their third straight state title.
Below are excerpts from the Nov. 29 interview — edited for length and clarity — of The Prep Zone’s interview with the Buchholz boys cross country team and Douma. You can listen to the full conversation online.
Q: Coming into this season you had Riley Smith, a terrific runner, but how did you feel overall about your team’s chances coming into the year?
Patrick Douma: Yeah, on paper, it looks a little bit odd in that our top two guys don’t have what’s called a 3200 meter track time, which is the classic distance event for track and field. And so, they’re not recognized as distance runners. They’re mid distance runners. And then one of our top varsity guys was was a freshman last year. Another guy didn’t run last year due to an injury, and he had a really slow freshman time relative to what he’s running now.
And so, on paper, some people could say, well, I’m not really sure what they’re going to do. It looks a little odd. They have some fast mid distance runners. I knew they would do well though.
It sounds really good to say we’re going to state, but the mindset that you want is, do you want to say we’re going to be competitive at the state meet or win the title? And so it takes a while to get that mindset to permeate the team, to get in within each individual, so that when they show up on day one, that’s what they think, and that’s not just what the coach thinks. That’s what the team thinks as a whole.
Q: You lost to Nease (Ponte Vedra) at the state meet, but when you went up against them in regionals, they were ranked No. 5 in the southeast, and you beat them.
Patrick Douma: You know, statistically, they maybe looked a little better than us on paper, but it wasn’t significant. I felt, hey, I think when we go against them, we’re gonna win one of every three meets, and hopefully it’s the right meet. Now, we did win regionals and state was very close. I mean, it was 10 points. It came down to about five seconds.
Q: Riley Smith, congratulations on winning an individual state title. How do you feel like you personally did with regards to your PR?
Riley Smith (SR): I’m very proud of my race. It wasn’t a PR (personal record), but it was more of a tactical race. My goal is to win. That’s what I did. So, I’m definitely proud of myself for that.
Q: Coach Dumas said that you’re really a student of the sport. Talk about your strategy going in and maybe trying to figure out the different running styles. What goes into learning what you’re about to compete in?
Riley Smith (SR): I definitely like to study the sport. I always like to read up on different trainings that I’m doing, and I always like to know what I’m doing and exactly how that benefits me. So that’s important to me. And when I’m prepping for the season, I’m always looking at all the guys that I think I’m going to be competing against and seeing how they race. I know I have good leg speed from track, so a lot of the tactical strategy at state and regions was to kind of just use my leg speed at the end and stay with them for the rest of their race.
Q: Buchholz had three top 10 finishers at state. Talk about that. I mean, obviously Riley won, but Gino (Palazzolo) finished 10th as well.
Evan Fleming (SR): Coming from regionals we had all PRs, so we were confident going into the state meet, and then me working with Riley and Gino. Gino is right behind me, and Riley is right in front of me. It’s easy to progress and get in the same rhythm like in our practices. So, it’s just a good environment to train in, and we can all progress together. So I’m happy about that.
Q: You and Riley were both injured last years, so what did it mean to be able to be back and healthy and competing again?
Gino Palazzolo (JR): You kind of like go crazy a little because as runners, we’re all running every day. It’s just how we stay sane. So, this year, just to be able to come back, I think I improved a few minutes at least, so it’s a special thing to be able to come back and come back strong.