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Cross Country: Kennedy's Focus Paying Dividends For Panthers

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By BILL WARD

wward@tampatrib.com

Published: October 9, 2008

For the past two years, Plant cross country coach Roy Harrison has been trying to convince Kayla Kennedy to focus solely on running. Problem was, Kennedy had a first love - soccer.

Kennedy, a junior, says the sport still holds a special place for her. And she hasn't given up on the idea of playing soccer for the Panthers later this year. But for now, she's given up the game in club play and placed all her energies in distance running.

From the looks of her results this season, Kennedy's work is paying off.

She won the season-opening Western Hillsborough Invitational with relative ease and, in last month's FSU Invitational, took 12th place in a personal-best 5-kilometer time of 19 minutes, 42 seconds. Just six seconds ahead of her was Hillsborough County's top-ranked runner, Wharton senior Alyssa Franks.

How fast can Kennedy be if she maintains her commitment to distance training? Harrison believes there's practically no limit.

"If she runs up to her potential, she's capable of being the No. 1 runner in the county and running 18 minutes for 5k," Harrison said. "She's doing a lot better now that her legs aren't dead all the time from playing soccer. She's able to do the workouts and it's paying off."

KING CANCELED: Despite the fact there was no rain or lightning, Tuesday evening's King Invitational was canceled because of threatening weather earlier in the day, Lions coach Gary Bingham said.

Several teams turned up - some from as far away as Lennard and Spoto - and most decided to workout by running the course. The meet will not be made up, Bingham said.

SHUMATE SATURDAY: The Millard Shumate Invitational, hosted by Robinson, will be staged at Picnic Island on Saturday. Girls varsity will race first at 8 a.m., followed by the boys varsity.

THE BIG TIME: While this week offers some low-key racing, the Pre-State Invitational on Oct. 18 at Little Everglades Ranch in Dade City will be Florida's most competitive event of the year - including the state finals.

That's because all classifications will be tossed into the Pre-State meet's Elite races. Nearly all of the state's top-ranked boys and girls teams and individuals in each class - including those from Jesuit, Plant, Wharton, Sickles, Newsome, Durant and Berkeley Prep - will be competing in the elite division. Elite girls begin at 7:30 a.m., followed by the boys at 7:50. There's also Small Schools and Large Schools divisions and junior varsity races.

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY RANKINGS

As of Wednesday

BOYS

TOP 5 TEAMS
1. Jesuit: Tigers getting runners back from injury list and should be even stronger.
2. Plant: Panthers headed to next week's Pre-State meet ranked No..2 in 3A.
3. Berkeley Prep: Bucs starting to build solid squad around top man Tyler Greathouse.
4. Chamberlain: Chiefs looking to make statement at Saturday's Land O' Lakes meet.
5. Sickles: Gryphons averaged less than 17 minutes at flrunners.com to finish ninth.

TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
1. Derek Wehunt, Sr., Sickles: Back-to-back state invitational wins and looking strong.
2. Connor Revord, Sr., Jesuit: The only local to beat Wehunt this season.
3. Trenor Wilkins, Jr., Plant: Has bolted to No. 4 in 3A state rankings.
4. Jordan Schilit, Sr., Jesuit: Ranked seventh in an extremely deep 2A state field.
5. Mark Parrish, Jr., Chamberlain: Great showing at flrunners.com meet to take third in a season best.

GIRLS

TOP 5 TEAMS
1. Wharton: Wildcats finish eighth in deep flrunners.com elite division.
2. Newsome: Wolves resting up for Saturday's Manasota Track Club meet.
3. Plant: Panthers trying to close gap between Nos. 3 and 4 runners.
4. Sickles: Gryphons coming off winning performance at W.D. Johnson meet.
5. Berkeley Prep: Bucs preparing for biggest test of season at Pre-State meet.

TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
1. Alyssa Franks, Sr., Wharton: Runs season-best 19:30 at flrunners.com meet.
2. Kayla Kennedy, Jr., Plant: Ranked No..14 in Class 3A state poll.
3. Lizzie Goodwin, So., Plant: Preparing with Kennedy for next week's Pre-State meet.
4. Olivia D'Angelo, Sr., Berkeley Prep: Ranked No..20 in 1A state poll.
5. Hilary White, Jr., King: Lions star will finally get pushed at Pre-State meet.

NOTE: Due to the great variance in cross country courses, rankings are based largely on head-to-head competition and overall performances - not times.

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