Greathouse, Garcia are all-state

In Saturday's Class 2A boys championship race, a pair of senior runners from Hillsborough County closed out their prep careers with all-state performances. And in doing so, they lifted their teams into the top 10 at Little Everglades Ranch.

Tyler Greathouse of Berkeley Prep and Bryan Garcia of Robinson finished seventh and eighth, respectively, with Greathouse's 5-kilometer performance of 15 minutes, 54 seconds buoying the Buccaneers to sixth place, and Garcia's 15:58 propelling the Knights to No. 8. Both times were personal bests.

Saturday was especially meaningful for Greathouse, because it marked the sixth time the Bucs standout had participated in the state meet and the first time he had cracked the top 10 to earn all-state honors.

"It was great going out with a PR," Greathouse said. "There's not a better feeling."

For Berkeley coach Eileen Daly, the high finish for Greathouse and the Bucs was surprising because of the many uncertainties surrounding the team before the start of the season.

"This year, the success the team was having was unexpected because we lost four of our top five from last year's team," Daly said. "It really has been a great season for them, and I told them to cherish it."

Garcia and his team also had a feeling of accomplishment.

"It was the best (team) finish in Robinson school history," Coach Raven Lewis said. "A lot of integrity, a lot of heart. They really did it."

"This was what I was waiting for - a dream come true," Garcia said. "Eighth in the state, breaking 16 (minutes). I couldn't ask for anything more."

Jesuit finished 10th, led by junior Blake Lopez, who placed 18th in 16:26.

"We're really looking forward to next year, because all these guys are juniors, we only had one senior run today," Jesuit coach Greg Maurin said.

Lauren Garris of Steinbrenner had the best finish in 2A for a Hillsborough County girl, finishing 31st in a lifetime best of 19:48.

Holy Names had the highest finish in the county at 19th, while Berkeley Prep was 22nd.