TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

County runners cruise in 4A-4

ADVERTISEMENT

A Tribune staff report

Published: November 6, 2009

NORTH PORT - Hillsborough County dominated Thursday's Class 4A-District 4 cross country meet at North Port High, taking both boys and girls team titles as well as both individual crowns.

In the girls meet, Plant freshmen Caroline Gibson and Julia Rodriguez went 1-2 to lead the Panthers to a 44-58 win against Sarasota Riverview. Gibson and Rodriguez posted lifetime 5-kilometer bests of 19 minutes, 4 seconds and 19:05, respectively. Close behind was Sarasota Riverview's Sarah Miller (19:06).

At last week's county championships, Gibson finished second but nearly ran down the winner. This time, Gibson said she was determined to win not just for herself, but also for her cousin, Kayla Kennedy, Plant's injured star who is trying to make a comeback before season's end.

"I'm just trying to live up to my cousin, and I knew I was not going to be second again," Gibson said. "I wanted my moment."

With Abby Ritter fourth and Erin Bailey 10th, Wharton (79) also advanced to next week's regional in Tampa with a solid third-place showing.

Plant's boys also grabbed the first-place team trophy, placing three in the top 10 - Bo Nalsen (fourth), Trenor Wilkins (fifth) and Travis Christenberry (ninth). With their fourth and fifth man (Didier Barjon and Jake Peabody) cracking the top 20, the Panthers rolled with 55 points, 45 ahead of Countryside. For Wilkins, it was only his second meet back after recovering from stress fractures in both legs.

Despite suffering a mild calf strain shortly before the start of the race, Chamberlain senior Mark Parrish grabbed his second straight district crown. He posted a personal record time, running 15:28, as did his teammate in second place, sophomore Max del Monte (15:38). Powered by those two, the Chiefs earned fourth place with 119 points.

Led by Nick Swain's seventh-place finish, Wharton's boys also advanced to the regional, scoring 135 points for sixth place.

Bill Ward

Gators' Schwartz wins 3A-3 title
SHADY HILLS - Land O' Lakes High's Matt Schwartz won the boys race, and the Wiregrass Ranch boys and girls won team titles Thursday at the Class 3A-District 3 cross country meet at Crews Lake Park.

Schwartz, a senior, won with a 16:32 time. Wiregrass Ranch runners Ryan Pulsifer (16:44.5) and Delonzo Sharp (16:44.95) were second and third.

The Wiregrass Ranch boys won their second straight team district title with 39 points. Ridgewood was second with 98. Land O' Lakes was third with 99. Sunlake (fourth, 110), Mitchell (sixth, 185) and Gulf (seventh, 208) also qualified for the 3A regional Nov. 14 at Dade City's Withlacoochee State Park.

The top eight teams and top 15 individuals qualify for the regional.

The Wiregrass Ranch girls scored 53 to win their title. Freshman Nikita Shah was second in 19:33.02, .37 behind Belleview's Anne-Marie Blaney. Mitchell's Kelli Williams (19:55) was third, while Wiregrass Ranch's Ariel Grey (20:23) was fifth.

The Land O' Lakes girls (80) were second, while Mitchell (fourth, 137) and Gulf (fifth, 138) also qualified for the regional.

Larry Bugg

Shorecrest edges Seffner Christian

LARGO - Shorecrest Prep edged Seffner Christian 80-98 to win the boys Class 1A-District 5 cross country title at Taylor Park on Thursday.

Admiral Farragut (105) finished third, followed by Lakeland Christian (123) and Northside Christian (132).

Caelum Schandle and Rheese Wiltshire were the difference for the Chargers. The two Shorecrest runners finished fifth and seventh to pace Shorecrest.

Michael Oquendo (13th) and Andrew Davis (14th) were the top runners for Seffner Christian.

Neil Coffman and Skip Allsopp nearly carried the day for Lakeland Santa Fe Catholic, finishing first and second.

Keswick Christian won the girls meet with 67 points following by Lakeland Christian (76), Northside Christian (80), Shorecrest Prep (106) and Canterbury (133).

Katelyn Greenleaf of Northside Christian won the meet with a time of 18:46. The top runner from Hillsborough County was Lauren Knoke of Tampa Prep, who was seventh in 20:18.

Lee Diekemper

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT