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All-State performance!

By RICK FULLER, Hernando Today correspondent

Published: November 24, 2007

DADE CITY - He wanted to do something special, and he did.

Finishing sixth overall, Hernando High senior, Tyler Maier, concluded his prep cross country career proudly in the Class 2A State Finals at the Little Everglades Ranch in Pasco County.
Nature Coast teammates Alexander Mason and Bruce Federico finished 33rd (17:12) and 46th (17:27), respectively.

Hernando High's Joe Wright came in fourth for the county placing 58th overall in 17:34.

As a team, Hernando High and Nature Coast have been switching places and tied once prior to Saturday, and their parity was evident once again as Hernando placed 13th, with 384 points followed by Nature Coast finishing 14th with 391 points.

"I just wanted to run hard," commented a breathless Maier. "I've come a long way."

Hernando High School coach of 26 years, Ernie Chatman said. "Tyler ran well, but we didn't run as well as we should of. I don't have an answer why. We may have over done it last week because the regional was important to us. We tapered a little bit more toward that. It may have taken something out of us. I knew that was a gamble.

"It really doesn't take away from the season," added Chatman. "We achieved a little bit better than we probably had anticipated, especially from the end of last year. In track season, a couple of them improved. Then throughout the season we saw improvement. We've always enjoyed coming here and it had nothing to do with the course."

When asked how his team did, Nature Coast Technical's first-year mentor Armen Marjanian said, "Not as well as I hoped. My No. 5 had a really bad day. He cramped up the entire race. Kids beat him that have never beaten him before. That's the problem when you don't have a lot of depth on the team. All my boys, they ran a great race, just all five have to do their part to have a great finish.

"It's a lesson learned. He said he didn't drink enough water yesterday," Marjanian added. "It's unfortunate that, not only the biggest race of the season, but of his life. I'm really proud; it's an honor just being here. It's the first time Nature Coast has ever been to the state. That was our original goal. We thought we had a shot at top ten. I'm very grateful for a very successful season."

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