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Furst Finishes Satisfying 2nd At Invitational

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By LARRY BUGG

Tribune correspondent

Published: October 18, 2008

SHADY HILLS - Second place felt a lot like first Saturday for Jessica Furst.

The Wesley Chapel junior ran a 20:02, while Lake Region's Sidney Devore won the girls race with a time of 18 minutes, 52 seconds at the Gator Invitational cross country meet at Crews Lake Park.

However, Furst beat Wiregrass Ranch's Ariel Grey for the first time this year. She also beat Land O' Lakes' up-and-coming standout Alyssa Brandt. Brandt was third with a 20:06. Grey was fourth at 20:11.
Furst said she finally has gotten healthy.

"I've been sick for the other meets," Furst said. "I can now breathe. The last few weeks, we have been having some good workouts, like way harder. I have been running with our fastest boy.

"I was with Devore the whole way. Where the mile mark is, that's where I took off and started going. The fog was actually kind of good. It was misty. It felt like Idaho, pretty much."
Furst has had a year to get used to the heat and humidity of Florida. She transferred to Wesley Chapel from Mountain Home, Idaho, where she was used to running in the mountains.

"Her time has been getting better," said Wesley Chapel coach Kristen Broecker. "It didn't surprise me that Furst placed second. She had a good week."
Brandt had to muscle through the pack to take third.

"I've had a cold for a week," Brandt said. "I'm OK. It was kind of crowded."

Wiregrass coach Don Howard was running a little short-handed Saturday.

"We were missing our third runner, Kelsey Sturman, and fourth runner, Lakeishia Brown," Howard said. "If we were at full strength, it might have been closer."

The Land O' Lakes girls were fifth with 197 points. Wiregrass, now ranked ninth in Class 2A in the flrunners.com poll, was sixth with 215.

Land O' Lakes' Felix Soto ran his final Gator Invitational, finishing second with a time of 16:14. Estero's Erick Montoya was first, finishing at 16:05.

Crowding was also a problem on the course for the boys runners.

"It was tough," Soto said. "Two kids boxed me in. I have never won this race. I would have loved to have won it."

With Soto leading, Land O' Lakes' boys were fifth with 185 points. Ridgewood was 13th with 294. Tyler Camacho led the way for the Rams, finishing 14th (17:26).

"Soto ran a good race," said Land O' Lakes coach Kris Keppel. "I'm a little disappointed with the boys. The girls were missing our 3 and 4 runners Morgan Keppel and Renae Porsch. Jake Morken's quads tightened up. It's hard to get up for your own meet."

Ridgewood coach J.D. Baker was happy with Camacho's effort. He said his boys won the Ron Robison Invitational the previous week at Gulf. That was the first time the boys have won a meet since he became coach.

Wharton's girls won the team title with 61 points. Orlando Timber Creek won the boys title with 86.

RESULTS

GATOR INVITATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY MEET

CREWS LAKE PARK

Girls Team Scores

Wharton 61, Lake Region 138, Groveland South Lake 170, Ida S. Baker 170, Land O' Lakes 197, Wiregrass Ranch 215, Gaither 217, Academy of Holy Names 221, Spring Hill Springstead 226, Brooksville Central 272, Gulf 283, Fort Myers Estero 294, Crystal River 331, Ridgewood 345, Sickles 372, Lakeland Kathleen 377, Pasco 394, Chamberlain 413, Lecanto 465, Sunlake 490.

Girls Top 10 Individuals

1. Sydney Devore, Lake Region 18:52; 2. Jessica Furst, Wesley Chapel 20:02: 3. Alyssa Brandt, Land O' Lakes 20:06; 4. Ariel Grey, Wiregrass Ranch 20:11; 5. Darlene Hanlon, Ida S. Baker 20:11; 6. Alyssa Franks, Wharton 20:15; 7. Alexandra Petrizzo, Estero 20:24; 8. Erin Bailey, Wharton 20:30; 9. Kali Carney, Groveland South Lake 20:37; 10. Julissa Lopez, Gaither 20:38.

Boys team scores

Orlando Timber Creek 86, Fort Myers Estero 121, Chamberlain 130, Ida S. Baker 144, Land O' Lakes 185, Wharton 212, Brooksville Central 239, Brooksville Hernando 250, Groveland South Lake 256, Brooksville Nature Coast Tech 259, Sickles 286, Lakeland Kathleen 294, Ridgewood 294, Lake Region 348, Sunlake 353, Mitchell 398, Pasco 419, Lecanto 423, Wiregrass Ranch 481, Crystal River 545, Gulf 551, River Ridge 571, Wesley Chapel 660.

Boys Top 10 Individuals

1. Erick Montoya, Estero 16:05; 2. Felix Soto, Land O' Lakes 16:14; 3. Mark Parrish, Chamberlain 16:27; 4. Josh Wolfe, Groveland South Lake 16:46; 5. John Grellner, Wharton 17:06; 6. Jose Farnot, Estero 17:07; 7. Matthew Lambert, Brooksville Nature Coast 17:08; 8. Josh Peters, Timber Creek 17:09; 9. Joe Wright, Brooksville Hernando 17:17; 10. Nathan Nichols, Timber Creek 17:18.

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