Land O’ Lakes takes boys title
By Kyle LoJacono
The Wiregrass Ranch girls cross country team smashed the competition to take its fifth straight Sunshine Athletic Conference (SAC) championship Oct. 20 at Wesley Chapel.
The Bulls claimed four of the top-10 places and seven of the top 14 to total 26 points, besting second-place Gulf by 40. Land O’ Lakes took fourth, Wesley Chapel finished fifth and Sunlake was ninth at the 13-team event.
“The goal was to place most of our runners in the top 10,” said Wiregrass Ranch senior Nikita Shah. “We had a good mindset coming in. I’m really proud of what we did.”
Shah, who won by 38 seconds, captured her first individual conference title by completing the 5-kilometer course in 18 minutes 5.6 seconds. She ran a minute slower at last season’s meet.
“Last year I had a pretty bad day,” Shah said. “Today was just like a regular day for me. I think my training is better, so I felt comfortable running a decent time. Last year I had to run my all to put up the kinds of times I’m putting up this year.”
Don Howard, who has coached the Bulls since the program started in 2005, said Shah has done well managing her five Advanced Placement (AP) classes and being recruited by several schools while training this year.
“She’s used to the AP classes, but she’s made three official visits this season,” Howard said. “She’s missed a meet. She’s been to Columbia, to Harvard to Florida during the season, and that’s obviously a distraction. Actually, she was sick today, so for her to run sick and just coming back from Harvard last weekend, I thought she had a great race today.”
Senior Berlin Waters (19:32) and freshman Madison Conway (20:00.4) ran personal records (PRs) to take third and sixth, respectively. Waters sliced 25 seconds off her PR.
“I’m just so excited because I didn’t think I’d do this good this year,” Waters said. “I’m thrilled to get second place on the team and third place in the county. I feel really accomplished.”
Conway said she was nervous running in her first conference meet, but told herself to treat it like any other race.
“I was hoping to get a PR, and I did,” said Conway, who cut 16.6 seconds from her PR. “I was happy with the place I got, and couldn’t have gotten any better. … When I started the year I never expected I’d be able to go this fast.”
Howard said Conway isn’t running like a freshman.
“We knew she was good when she first came out,” Howard said. “She ran 5:36 as an eighth-grader for the mile. She just stepped right into our front pack and stayed there every step from Day 1.”
Junior Elise Cedre (19:52.7) was fifth to help the Bulls run away with the title.
Wesley Chapel was paced by Alyssa Turner (21:08.7), who finished 13th.
For the boys, the Gators snapped Wiregrass Ranch’s three-year reign by winning their first SAC title since 2008.
Land O’ Lakes took four of the top 11 and seven of the top-24 places to total 38 points, besting the Bulls by 14. Sunlake took sixth and Wesley Chapel was 10th.
Gators junior Travis Nichols claimed his first SAC crown by running a 15:48, while teammate Tyler Stahl (15:57.5) took second.
The Bulls were without No. 2 runner Ben Hall, who had surgery last week, and their No. 1 Ermias Bireda is not fully recovered from shin inflammation.
Bireda (16:08.5) still took third and said he is almost completely back.
“I was going for the win, but to be able to compete with the guys like I used to was good,” Bireda said. He added, “I just PRed with a month off, so it helped me know I’m close. … It’s my senior year. I want to go out big.”
The next challenge for Wiregrass Ranch, Land O’ Lakes and Sunlake comes at the Class 3A-District 6 meet at Crews Lake Park Nov. 2. Wesley Chapel will run at the 2A-9 event at Anclote Nov. 1.
—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker
