Sarasota High girls cross-country coach John Stevenson does not coach at the individual level. He coaches for team trophies.

That philosophy paid off in 2018, when the Sailors' boys squad won the FHSAA Class 4A state championship at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee. Ben Hartvigsen won the individual title in 15:27, leading the Sailors to the first team cross-country championship in school history, according to MileSplit Florida.

Stevenson told Your Observer's Jack Nelson that individual medals are nice, but the team trophy is what matters. He wants his runners to share that accomplishment with the teammates they spend two or three hours a day training alongside.

Stevenson has led the Sarasota High girls program since 2010 and also coached the boys from 2015 to 2022. Under his guidance, the girls finished as state runner-up in Class 4A in 2018 and 2015 and in Class 3A in 2013.

His approach fits the sport's scoring. Teams enter up to seven varsity runners in a 5K. The places of the top five finishers are added together, and the lowest score wins.

Riverview builds a family

Across town at Riverview High, girls coach Jen Robertson and boys coach Matt Berman have merged their programs since both took over in 2023. The boys and girls practice together and travel as one unit.

Robertson holds a team-bonding workout at least once a week. On Aug. 27, runners had one minute to form groups of four with two boys and two girls, then completed a circuit of planks and a 400-meter run. Robertson told Your Observer the session was meant to build turnover before a meet. The runners loved it, she said.

That investment in depth showed at the 2025 FHSAA Class 4A-Region 3 meet. Riverview's girls posted a score of 112, tying Sunlake, but earned second place because sixth runner Ava Valabek placed higher than Sunlake's sixth runner. Depth won the tiebreaker.

Early results this fall

Both programs opened the season at the North Port Preserve Pursuit on Aug. 23. Sarasota High's girls won the team title with a combined time of 1:42:38. Riverview finished second at 1:46:20, according to the Herald-Tribune.

Riverview's Madison Muller won the individual girls race in 17:33.1. Muller was named the Gatorade Florida Female Cross Country Player of the Year for the 2025-26 school year, according to Sarasota County Schools. Sarasota High juniors Annabella Cicilioni and Marley Bowen placed second and third individually.

On the boys' side, Sarasota Christian junior Gabe Milliken won the 5K in 16:33.4. He placed 27th at the 2025 FHSAA Class 1A state championship.

Training together, staying together

Stevenson told Your Observer the shared grind of training is what cements a roster.

"It naturally bonds the team together," he said. "You're putting in the work. Someone else is putting in the work."

His best teams, he told Your Observer, became best friends in life and remain close years later.

The FHSAA Cross Country State Championships are scheduled for Nov. 20 at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee.