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Lady Eagles, Bears advance

CLASS 3A, DISTRICT 3 GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

Photo by JOE DiCRISTOFALO

Springstead senior Jaclyn White placed ninth overall in Thursday's 16-team 3A-3 meet at Crews Lake Park helping the Lady Eagles to a regional berth next Saturday morning in Dade City.

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By TONY CASTRO SPORTS EDITOR

Hernando Today

Published: November 5, 2009

SHADY HILLS - All season long F.W. Springstead High's 1-2 punch of senior Jaclyn White and junior Mikayla Bogulski have set the pace in cross country.
That didn't change Thursday evening amid the pressures of the 16-school, 115-member field participating in the Class 3A, District 3 Meet at Crews Lake Park.
White and Bogulski entered the meet the county's top two female runners.
That wasn't altered 42 minutes after the starter's pistol went off.
Neither White nor Bogulski, last season's Hernando Today Runner of the Year, achieved a personal record (PR) along the twisty, woody route in Pasco County.
But in a tactical race, White finished eighth overall (20:46.72) while Bogulski placed 15th (21:33.92) to set the pace for the Lady Eagles, who finished third as a team.
Wiregrass Ranch, with three runners in the Top 10, won the meet with 53 points followed by Land O'Lakes (80 points). SHS was next with 124 points.
Central edged Lecanto, 200-201, for seventh place to also advance while Nature Coast Technical did not finishing 13th overall.
The top eight teams and top 15 individuals advance to Nov. 14's Class 3A, Region II Meet Withlacoochee River Park.
 
Historic day
 
Thursday's performance was believed to be Springstead's first-ever trip to regionals (as a team).
White was ecstatic afterward.
"I wanted to PR so bad. I normally do better in the mornings. I guess it's just a mental thing," shrugged the 18-year-old White. "I'm so happy. Everybody ran what they're supposed to do. Today, I wasn't necessarily concentrating on getting a good time as much as I was running smart."
How huge is achieving regionals?
"It's been our goal for three years," said White. "It's a big accomplishment for us. It comes after we won such a big race last week at McKethan and winning the County Championship. Now, we've made it out districts. We're all starting to get more and more confident. I'm already excited about running at regionals."
Third-year SHS Head Coach Joel Myers grinned from ear-to-ear following his team's third-place finish.
"We did great," he smiled. "Our kids did exactly what we asked them to do. The key is we're getting better (as the season continues) and we're healthy. We weren't healthy last year at this point.
"I learned a lot after the first two years," he added. "Running healthy at the end of the season is paramount," he added. "I've learned my lessons. I've rested kids all year to get ready for the stretch run."
Has SHS peaked out?
"Trust me, we can get better," said Myers. "We bought another week of practice; that'll help. To me, we haven't run our best race yet."
 
Central advances, too
 
Junior Melia Orrell, who graduate this year, praised Springstead's efforts.
"They (Springstead) definitely did well," offered the 16-year-old Orrell, who was the first Bear to cross the finish line in 29th place followed by freshman Makayla Mackenzie (30th) and Bryanna Eady (31st).
"I'm pretty happy that any Hernando County runner advances," added Orrell. "Today, it felt like they dumped 20 tons of sand on the course. It was tough."
What's the goal for next week?
"I want to run as fast as I can," she replied. "It could be my last race for Central. I'd like to have a good week of practice and see what happens. If we don't make it (states), I'm alright with that. It's awful tough to reach states."
"We ran pretty well today," commented Central High Head Coach Erin Courtney. "It's hard to judge performances. Nerves can get to a lot of them. I thought we did a good job packing it in and running well together.
"I can't be any more proud of this group about advancing," she added. "The biggest surprise was Michelle Nunez. She's a first-year runner and came up big as our fourth runner today (53rd)."
 
3A-3 Girls Cross Country Results at Shady Hills' Crews Lake Park
Final Team Results - 1. Wesley Chapel-Wiregrass Ranch (WGR) 53, 2. New Port Richey-Ridgewood (RW) 80, 3. Spring Hill-Springstead (SPG) 124, 4. New Port Richey-Mitchell (MIT) 137, 5. NPR-Gulf (GF) 138, 6. Inverness-Citrus (CIT) 179, 7. Brooksville-Central (CEN) 200, 8. Lecanto (LEC) 201, 9. NPR-Ridgewood (RW) 208, 10. Belleview (BELL) 211, 11. Land O'Lakes-Sunlake (SNL) 297, 12. Leesburg (LEES) 316, 13. Brooksville-Nature Coast Technical (NCT) 351, 15. Zephyrhills (ZHS) 434, 16. Dunnellon (DUN) 444.
Top 15 Individuals - 1. Anne-Marie Blaney (BELL) 19:32.65, 2. Nikita Shah (WGR) 19:33.02, 3. Kelli Williams (MIT) 19:55.92, 4. Chloe Benoist (LEC) 19:58.28, 5. Ariel Grey (WGR) 20:23.24, 6. Renea Porsch (LOL) 20:32.19, 7. Morgan Keppel (LOL) 20:40.09, 8. Brandi Nichols (CIT) 20:41.82, 9. Jaclyn White (SPG) 20:46.72, 10. Kelsey Sturman (WGR) 20:47.56, 11. Natalie Smith (GF) 21:04.06, 12. Colleen McAuliffe (GF) 21:14.97, 13, Stephaun Martinez (LEES) 21:24.00, 14. Erin Wells (CIT) 21:25.82, 15. Mikayla Bogulski (SPG) 21:33.92.
SPRINGSTEAD (124) - 9. Jaclyn White 20:46.72, 15. Mikayla Bogulski 21:33.92, 28. Kailey Genrich 22:26.38, 35. Sasha Spalding 22:55.55, 37. Devon Rennie 22:59.11, 52. Natasha Haglund 23:39.08, 88. Brittany Gosine 25:53.47.
CENTRAL (200) – 29. Melia Orrell 22:27.05, 30. Makayla McKenzie 22:32.30, 31. Bryanna Eady 22:41.90, 53. Michelle Nunez 23:42.14, 57. Jen Maynard 23:56.85, 73. Autumn Riley 25:12.59, 90. Layla Schuster 26:02.38.
NATURE COAST (351) – 46. Jazmin Turney 23:22.43, 63. Tatiana Lasanta 24:17.34, 72. Annette Donato 25:02.50, 83. Addie Osmar 25:41.83, 87. Kaitlyn Burbine 25:49.18, 89. Mara Eberts 25:54.55, 94. Rachel Marvell 26:30.41.

Sports Editor Tony Castro can be reached at 352-544-5278 or online at acastro@hernandotoday.com.

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