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Mitchell's Williams Makes 4A State Meet

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By LARRY BUGG

Tribune correspondent

Published: November 22, 2008

WINTER HAVEN - Mitchell High's Kelli Williams proved she can conquer the grueling sand course at Polk Community College as she finished sixth in the Class 4A-Region 2 cross country meet. She ran a 20:21 and was the only Mitchell girl to win a trip to the 4A state meet today at Little Everglades Ranch.

Williams ran after overcoming a case of nerves. The sophomore has two more years to repeat and reach state again.

"I'm thrilled," Williams said. "I came in confident. I knew there was going to be a lot of competition with the course. The sand or the clay really helped. There were little inclines that got me. I'm definitely staying with this. I'm extremely happy with it."

"Her goal was to get to the state meet and she is not satisfied," said Mitchell coach Jeff Leavey. "It isn't just about running a race. It's about facing that challenge. She beat the demons inside. It's inside all of us."

3A-Region 2

Land O' Lakes' Alyssa Brandt finished sixth in 3A in 19:57, also at PCC. Her team is headed to the state meet for the first time. They finished sixth with 142 points.

"I went out too fast," said Brandt. "It was a pretty hard course. It was a little hotter than usual. I was feeling OK, tired but OK."

Her coach likes the idea of taking his boys and girls teams to state for the first time.

"I'm relieved," said Land O' Lakes coach Kris Keppel. "I was worried early on because our No. 2 and 3 runners didn't have a good start. They finished in the top 20. She Brandt was right where she needed to be. The conditions were slow. She did all right. She scored the points we needed to score. Because it was so wet, that slowed her down. This is the first time for the girls going to state. Some of these girls have never run in a big race before. My daughter, Morgan, ran really well 54{+t}{+h}, 22:12."

Wesley Chapel's Jessica Furst will make her second trip to state. She was 10{+t}{+h} in the 3A meet in 20:17.
Furst had problems recently with her right leg and might have chosen not to run at all.

"I went to the hospital last night for my leg," Furst said. "They gave me casting but said it's your choice to run or not. It didn't bother me as much. It's this tendon in the back of my right knee. It's not torn. I feel great."

Land O' Lakes' Felix Soto didn't finish the way he wanted Saturday. He had won the regional title his sophomore and junior years, but this year, the senior finished second. Plant's John Wilkins won in 16:25. Soto was second in 16:31.

Soto helped his Gators team reach the state meet. The Land O' Lakes boys finished fifth with 125 points and will join the girls at the state meet.

"It's a team sport," said Keppel. "He wanted to get the third title in a row. That's why he is upset. He is a team player. He is our captain player. He will be upset for about a half-hour and he will be fine. We're in a very tough region. If we get two top 10s at state, I will have done my job."

The regional became heartbreak hill for Ridgewood's Jillian Browne. The Rams senior set a school record at district. She was hoping to reach state for the first and only time in her career.

She finished 16{+t}{+h} in 20:33 in the 3A race.

Browne needed to finish in the top 15 in order to reach state. Browne said she was given a piece of paper that said 13{+t}{+h} but found out later she was 16{+t}{+h}.

"I don't know," Browne said before finding out her correct place. "I'm so nervous to find out. I did good, I think. I think I was more worried about my place. It's my last chance. It was a good course. It was all like clay. It wasn't that bad. I would run it again."

The Gulf girls finished ninth with 211, while Ridgewood's boys were 12{+t}{+h} with 287. The Gulf boys were 13{+t}{+h} with 305. The Mitchell girls were ninth with 224. The Mitchell boys were 13{+t}{+h} with 274.

2A-Region 2

The Wiregrass Ranch boys and girls both secured dates at the state meet. Both teams were second place in the 2A-Region 2 team scores. The girls had 90 points to take second to Orlando Lake Highland Prep (38).

"We felt confident we would make it to the girls finals," said Wiregrass Ranch girls coach Don Howard. "We approached it a little different this year. We were really more business-like. We got the kids all fired up to run their best race. There wasn't nearly as much emphasis on the regional. Last year, our goal was to make it to state. This year the goal was to finish top 10 at state. Now, the task lies ahead of us.

"She Ariel Gray, second, 19:46 ran great. Her time was a little slower than previous weeks. She felt good. She only finished about five seconds behind the winner. She ran smart and hard. Her goal was to finish fourth. She ran a great race. At 19:46, it was a better race than her previous races. It was the consensus of the coaches. The wind was costing the kids about 30 to 40 seconds."

The Wiregrass Ranch boys were second with 99. Titusville Astronaut won with 77. This is the first year for Wiregrass Ranch's boys to earn a berth at the state meet.

"Regional runner-up is a good step for our program," Coach Chris Loth said. "We are real satisfied with this. Going to state is a goal we have been working for all year and to achieve it is real rewarding for everybody, the kids and myself."

Pasco's Leeann Eble, a senior, finished sixth in 20:28.

For the boys, Sunlake's Kenneth Fessel was eighth in 17:14. Pasco's Anthony Plourde was 11{+t}{+h} in 17:18. Both qualified for the state meet.

Wiregrass Ranch's John Davis was 12{+t}{+h} in 17:19. Ryan Pulsifer was 14{+t}{+h} in 17:27. Pulsifer is returning for his second trip to state.

The Pasco boys were ninth with 212 and Sunlake was 10{+t}{+h} with 213.

The top 15 individuals and the top six teams qualified for the state meet in each class.

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