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Blue Jacket suddenly began winning

[Times photo: Bill Serne] Admiral Farragut's John Biffar is the Times All-County Cross Country Runner of the Year.

By PETE YOUNG

© St. Petersburg Times, published December 7, 2000

John Biffar was a picture of frustration.

He knew he had trained extremely hard during the summer. He knew he had made significant improvement. No, the Admiral Farragut sophomore didn't expect to suddenly be the best runner in Pinellas County, but through the first few weeks of the season, he clearly was disappointing himself, finishing well behind the top local runners.

Then, virtually overnight -- poof -- he was the best runner in the county.

"No, no way. Not this year," Biffar said when asked if he thought before the season he might become the Times cross country runner of the year.

He is, however, and two midseason races made all the difference. In the first, the University of Florida Invitational on Sept. 30 against an enormous, high-quality field, Biffar had the best race of his life and placed sixth. This was where he belonged, he thought.

A week later, he took another leap forward, beyond where he thought he belonged.

On Oct. 5 at the St. Petersburg City Meet, Biffar and St. Petersburg Catholic's Mike Craig were stride for stride in the lead. Craig already had beaten Biffar several times this season. This time, however, without fear of fading down the stretch, Biffar bolted away in the final mile and won going away in a personal-best 15:47.

So what caused the transformation?

"It was all confidence," Biffar said. "At the beginning of the year, I was very disappointed. I knew I could run faster.

"At the (UF) meet, when I came in sixth, suddenly I was confident. At the city meet, Mike (Craig) was supposed to win. But now I had the confidence. We ran together, and I was confident I could pull away. And I did."

Riding the surge of belief, Biffar made a major breakthrough. He rocketed up from one of the 10 or 12 best runners in the county to the top in about two weeks.

He confirmed his status as the county's best at the Oct. 12 Largo Invitational, blitzing a field comprised of all of the county runners in 15:20.

By the time the Class A, District 5 meet arrived, Biffar, amazingly, had become a potential threat to the defending state champion, Berkeley Prep junior Rolf Steier. He came closest to Steier in the region meet, where he placed second in a season-best 15:03, 12 seconds behind. Biffar was third at the state meet in 15:46.

Biffar, who is from Fort Myers, credits his success to two things.

First, the lessons he learned from his older brother, Joe, a sophomore at Florida State who played football at Bishop Verot in Fort Myers, and second, to the independence and self-reliance he has gained as a boarding student, first in middle school at Mary Help of Christian in Tampa and for the past two years at Farragut.

"I'm following the example of my brother," Biffar said. "He did well academically and always tried hard. He is determined to do things and has achieved his goals.

"Being a boarding student, I think I have advantages. It got me out of the house and teaches me about responsibility."

Biffar is taking a break from running until January, when he will begin training for track season. He already has set goals for next season in cross country, which include lowering his personal best to 14:40 and, of course, beating Steier and winning the state title.

"Oh yeah, I think about him when I'm training," said Biffar, who has befriended Steier. "I think about him a lot. He has something I don't have."

INTRODUCING: JOHN BIFFAR

AGE: 16. YEAR: Sophomore.

FAVORITE FOOD: Popcorn.

FAVORITE TV SHOW: The Simpsons.

FAVORITE MOVIE: Prefontaine.

FAVORITE SUBJECT: Geometry.

FAVORITE PLACE VISITED: Haiti.

FAVORITE COURSES: Taylor Park and University of Florida.

FUTURE OCCUPATION: Documentary film maker (his uncle, also named John Biffar, films documentaries for the Discovery Channel).

DID YOU KNOW? John and his brother, Joe, 19, are the adopted sons of Irene Biffar, a single mom.

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