Venue for state meet getting rave reviews

With the successful staging of last weekend's FSU Invitational cross country meet at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, the reviews are coming in from across the state. And from the sounds of most of them, the venue, which will be used to hold next month's state championships, has the potential to be one of the best in the meet's 65-year history.

''We've got what I think is a great venue and the best runners course we've ever had — maybe by far,'' said FSU Invitational organizer and Seminoles track coach Bob Braman. ''I didn't design the course for the coaches and I didn't design it for the spectators. I designed it for the kids who would be running on it.

''My goal was, 'How do I take this cool piece of land and make it the best course the kids have ever run on?' It took a ton of work because you're running through woods and that always complicates things, but I think we've done that.''