FLEMING ISLAND - Fleming Island High cross country and track had what some would consider a good season last year with two runners going to the state championships in both arenas.

For one, Andrew Miller, to be a senior in 2017, the team part of cross country team and track team will be the significant change this year.

“You know, I had a lot of individual goals for myself that started in the summer of 2016 with losing weight, getting better mileage and being faster,” said Miller, 12th in 4A cross country and fourth in the track 3200 last year. “I think we had a good team for training, traveling and competing at meets, but when the races started, it was very individual. I would like to change that this year. I accomplished what I wanted, but it wasn’t enough. I want the team to go to state. Fleming Island has never done that.”

Primary on Miller’s mind as we spoke at 5:30 a.m. Sunday morning at the Orange Park Best Bet parking lot as the Fleming Island High girls and boys teams were embarking to the Brevard College cross country camp; a six day running excursion in the foothills of western North Carolina, was getting the Fleming Island boys team to qualify for the Class 4A cross country championship race.

“We had a solid team last year, but I really think me and Evan (Fuller, also a senior, and a state cross country meet finisher and 10th in the track 3200) broke away in the meet and concentrated on ourselves,” said Miller. “We have a strong group of young guys coming back that had great races at the end of the year last year, but I would like to get everyone to state this year.”

In his buildup to last year’s outstanding season, Miller lost the weight he wanted, competed throughout the summer with a huge age group win at the rugged Tour De Pain two-day race in Jacksonville and concentrated on just piling on mileage.

“I expected myself to be good in running without doing the work two years ago,” said Miller, who dropped nearly 40 pounds and improved from a 19 minute 5K runner to near 140 pounds and a solid 16 minute 5K runner now. “The trigger for changing my mindset was the team failing to get out of districts. I started running the next day with the goal of being better.”

This year, there will be no Tour De Pain, the weight is still gone and Miller has gotten a little smarter with his weekly preparations.

“I took just four days off last year and ran as much as I could all summer with races and training,” said Miller. “This summer, I’ve met my weekly goals pretty consistently with scheduled off days so that I’m fresher when I get to the work days. I’m focused on the first meet of cross country (August 18 at Cecil Field) and won’t do the Tour De Pain. It’s about the team this year.”

Miller’s goal on time is to get under the 16 minute barrier which has eluded him for most of his new-look running attack.

“I’ve been concentrating on my base so that when the season gets here, we can focus in on speed,” said Miller. “Evan and I ran a pretty fast half marathon (13.1 miles) run last week so we’re strong enough right now to work on speed.”

Miller’s established credential as a legit state level runner has put plenty of expectations on both sides of the coin.

“I understand that I have people that are problems for me, racing wise, but I’m also problems for people,” said Miller. “I try to manage that so I don’t get too nervous about it.”

Thus far, Miller has had small interest from area colleges to continue running, but thinks his senior year will be pivotal on that front. Clay County has had its share of college distance runners with Corey Mundy (Clay), Andrew Smith (Ridgeview) and Cameron Davis (Fleming Island) all having success in the college ranks; Mundy and Smith at Flagler and Davis at FSU. The cadre of quality distance runners in Clay County returning in 2017 include John Bear (OPHS), Joel Nesi (RHS), Alex Guy (KHHS), Matt Stratton and Ben Kailes (SJCDS) and Dylan Nelson (OHS).

“I’m training right now at college levels; about 70-80 miles per week, in anticipation of hopefully continuing in college,” said Miller. “Until last year, I never associated what I was doing in running with a college step until I saw guys I was racing against signing scholarships.”