Deep Run sophomore Matthew Novak (pictured by Jeff Adams) may have been the state's only high school competitor at this weekend's Florida Relays, but being the lone wolf from Virginia appeared to work with his breakthrough victory and personal best time of 4:16.06 to win the invitational 1600 meter run on Friday in Gainesville. Novak headed all the way down to Florida on his spring break with family to enjoy a track meet with his older brother Daniel, who is a college junior competing for the University of South Carolina. Without a doubt, Novak winning the invitational division 1600 race in a state leading time at the Florida Relays surpasses his previous greatest win in claming the Central Region indoor 1000 meter title last year as a freshmen with an outstanding kick. After getting good position in the final quarter mile in 62 seconds and in second place position, Novak fell back in the field on the next lap with a split around 2:10 at the halfway point. The race-savy underclassmen was then able to manuever his back up near the leaders on the third lap before making an aggressive surge and move building into the bell to power beyond the leaders into first place and really kick it into top gear to pull away for a victory in the Sunshine state.
