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Stellar Jesuit Takes Second

TBO.com photo by BILL WARD

Saturday's performance arguably ranks among the ones they turned in for their four state titles.

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By BILL WARD | TBO.com

Published: November 23, 2008

DADE CITY - To have any hope of winning the boys Class 2A state title, the members of Jesuit's cross country team knew each of them would have to turn in a lifetime best showing - or come awfully close to one.

To the man, that's what the Tigers did Saturday at Little Everglades Ranch. Only problem was their rival, No. 1-ranked Miami Belen Jesuit, ran nearly as well to win its third consecutive state crown. This time, Belen edged Jesuit by just 16 points.

But considering how far this Jesuit team has come this fall - particularly since last month's Pre State Invitational, where the Tigers finished fifth overall and third among 2A schools - Saturday's performance arguably ranks among the ones they turned in for their four state titles.

"I'm sure everyone thought Belen would beat us by 50 points or more," Tigers senior Jordan Schilit said. "We just wanted to show the team we could be and make them earn it."

Belen, which now owns four state titles, certainly did. The Wolverines needed to put all five of their scorers in the top 20 - an extremely difficult feat at the state finals - to get past a senior-heavy Tigers team that peaked perfectly under Coach Greg Maurin.

Jesuit's top two runners, Connor Revord and Schilit, were there in the top 10 as usual. Revord grabbed sixth place in a 5-kilometer time of 15 minutes, 52 seconds, and Schilit was just one place and three seconds behind him.

The Tigers' final three scorers - Ben Martin (18th), Blake Lopez (20th) and Connor Rivard (21st) - literally ran the race of their lives. Each of them eclipsed their personal bests by 35 seconds or more to give Belen a serious run for the title. It also gave Jesuit a comfy 35-point difference between itself and third-place Jacksonville Bishop Kenny.

"We just wanted to run our own race and see where we needed to be after the second mile," Rivard said. "That was the fastest most of us had ever gone out in a race but it was the state meet and we wanted to leave everything out there."

The area's other qualifying teams in boys were Wiregrass Ranch, which took eighth, (292 points) and Robinson (416), which finished 19th in the 24-team field. The all-underclassmen Bulls, who were a regional runner-up last week, were paced by sophomore Ryan Pulsifer, who was 34th. Robinson, which has just one senior, was led by junior Josh Epperson (55th).

Wiregrass' girls, also a regional runner-up, were 13th, led by senior Megan Ibison (35th). Academy of the Holy Names, second at its regional, finished 18th in the girls meet, paced by junior Selena Castillo (80th).

Reporter Bill Ward can be reached at (813) 259-7456.

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