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Soto Holds Back, But Still Gets Victory

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By LARRY BUGG Tribune Correspondent

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 11, 2008

CRYSTAL RIVER - Felix Soto was just following orders.

Land O' Lakes High coach Kris Keppel told the senior runner to hold back in the first two miles of the 3.1-mile Crystal River Invitational last Saturday, and Lecanto High's Justin Sblano led for the first two miles.

Soto followed the orders. Then, he turned it on in the final mile and won the race in 16 minutes, 28 seconds.

Despite the victory, Soto isn't a fan of the course.

"I don't like running those sugar-sand trails," he said. "It's going to help me. I'm pointing towards the Gator Invitational."

Soto's performance was exactly what Keppel had asked for.

The Land O' Lakes boys and girls finished second in the team standings, which was OK with him.

"That's fine," Keppel said of the races. "We are trying to have a midseason peak in the next few weeks.

"We are now doing 1,500 core exercises each week. That helps them run."

Gators sophomore Alyssa Brandt ran a personal-record 19:49 to finish third in the girls race, while Hernando's Joe Wright was second in the boys race in 16:44.

The Hernando boys won with 53 points, and Land O' Lakes had 67.
Ocala Vanguard won the girls title with 59 points, ahead of Land O' Lakes, which had 63 points. Spring Hill Springstead was third with 80 points.

Ocala Vanguard's Tori Lawson won the girls race in 19:23. Ocala West Port's Gretchen MacMillan was second with 19:27.

Land O' Lakes was the only Pasco County team to participate in the meet.

BULLS WIN IN TITUSVILLE: The Wiregrass Ranch boys won the small school title at the flrunners.com Invitational, finishing with 73 points. The event, held at Brevard Community College, included 30 teams.

Ryan Pulsifer was third overall in a time of 16:58. John Davis was in seventh with 17:11. Josh Reilly was 11th in 17:34.

"It was a two-team race with Nature Coast," said Wiregrass Ranch coach Chris Loth. "It was our first outright invitational championship. It was pretty blustery, and in the afternoon. There was heat and humidity. The wind coming off the ocean breeze was pretty significant."

The Wiregrass girls were 12th in the small school race. Ariel Grey was 17th with a time of 20:09.

The Bulls were missing Megan Ibison, their No. 2 runner, and Kelsey Sturman. Ibison was taking the SAT, while Sturman ran the junior varsity race with teammate Lakeishia Brown.
CRYSTAL RIVER INVITATIONAL RESULTS

Oct. 4 at Crystal River High

Girls Team Scores: Ocala Vanguard 59, Land O' Lakes 63, Spring Hill Springstead 80, Brooksville Central 86, Lecanto 152, Crystal River 153, Ocala West Port 231, Hernando 248, Lecanto Seven Rivers NTS, The Villages NTS.

Girls Top 10 Individuals: 1. Tori Lawson, Vanguard, 19:23; 2. Gretchen MacMillan, West Port 19:27; 3. Alyssa Brandt, Land O' Lakes 19:49; 4. Chloe Benoist, Seven Rivers 20:22; 5. Nicolle Forcier, Land O' Lakes 20:37; 6. Renae Porschea, Land O' Lakes 20:43; 7. Jackie White, Springstead 20:44; 9. Kailey Genrich, Springstead 20:50; 10. Brandi Nichols, Citrus 20:53.

Boys Team Scores: Brooksville Hernando 53, Land O' Lakes 67, Ocala Vanguard 88, Inverness Citrus 124, Brooksville Central 130, Lecanto 158, The Villages 160, Crystal River 168.

Boys Top 10 Individuals: 1. Felix Soto, Land O' Lakes 16:28; 2. Joe Wright, Hernando 16:44; 3. Mason McKenzie, Central 16:49; 4. Justin Sblano, 17:04; 5. Derrick Hannigan, Crystal River 17:08; 6. Tim Wenger, Citrus 17:21; 7. James Slack, Vanguard 17:26; 8. Jesse Balough, Hernando 17:40; 9. David Worthington, Hernando 17:42; 10. Matt Schwartz, Land O' Lakes 17:45.

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