Hunter McCann ’16 places first in competitive Gasparilla Distance Classic

Hunter McCann placed first for his age group (15-19) at last weekend’s Publix Gasparilla Distance Classic in Tampa with a time of 53:49 in the 15K event, which also set a new personal record.

Hunter’s time was good enough to place 16th overall out of 5,522 participants, including 2,296 male entries.

“It was fun, perfect weather conditions,” said Hunter, who also competed at the Berkeley Track & Field Invitational over the weekend.  “I felt great, ran faster, kept picking off people as I ran.”

Hunter credits his improvement this season to BlueJackets track coach Arron Prather, who is in his first year at Farragut.

“With the new coach, I’ve become much stronger, and have better form, a better foundation,” Hunter said. “I’m moving my arms now a lot more efficiently, and I’m learning to push off and stride out. It’s helped me shave off time, especially when I sprint at the end.”