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Gator Invitational Draws Big Crowd

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By LARRY BUGG

Tribune correspondent

Published: October 11, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - There is a small park just off Shady Hills Road that is going to be the scene of some impressive cross country racing this weekend.

There will be 27 schools taking part, and many of them could just as easily be running at the Disney Invitational.

The 12th annual Gator Invitational cross country meet will be held today at Crews Lake Park. Girls varsity runners start at 8 a.m. and the boys race at 8:35. The girls JV teams will run at 9:05, and the boys JV will be at 9:40. Awards will be presented at 10:30 a.m., including T-shirts and ribbons.

Land O' Lakes High is running the event.

This main event will feature about 650 runners, representing schools from Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando, Citrus and Polk counties plus a few from the Orlando and Fort Myers areas.

Runners such as Wiregrass Ranch's Ariel Grey, Wharton's Alyssa Franks, South Lake's Kali Carney, Land O' Lakes' Alyssa Brandt and Pasco's Leeann Eble will be racing for the girls title.

Boys standouts include Land O'Lakes' Felix Soto, Sickles' Derek Wehunt and Chamberlain's Mark Parris. Wehunt was the winner of this year's FSU Invitational.

Soto won the Crystal River Invitational despite hanging back for the first two miles. He will likely be going all out today.

"We have a pretty good reputation," said Land O' Lakes High coach and race director Kris Keppel. "We have great volunteers."

The runners will have an opportunity to replenish.

"We have a nice spread," Keppel said. "There's a lot to eat and drink. We started out with five to seven schools the first year, and it's up to 27 schools this year."

This meet will serve as a measuring stick for many teams.

"This will be a very competitive meet in both the girls and boys," Keppel said. "Many schools are ranked. When you get 27 schools to come on the same weekend as Disney, it says something about the program.

"The park venue is very fan-friendly. Spectators can get to several points on the course in just a few minutes. Runners like the shaded course and the variety of terrain, winding mulch trails mixed in with the fast bike trail and paved roads.

"This is one of Pasco County's best-kept secrets. It's a beautiful park, and the staff here is wonderful and very supportive of the meet."

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