Area cross country round-up

Posted Oct 10, 2009 by Bill Ward

Updated Oct 12, 2009 at 09:38 AM

It was another busy weekend for area cross country teams as many of them prepare for next week’s Little Everglades Pre-State Invitational in Dade City, site of the state finals in November.

Saturday, a good portion of Hillsborough County’s cross country squads were at the Millard Shumate Invitational at Picnic Island. Like everywhere else in the state, conditions there were muggy as runners continue to suffer through some unseasonably hot weather. The winners there were Jesuit’s boys and Seminole’s girls, with Robinson standout Bryan Garcia and Hillsborough sophomore star Katie Lutton capturing the individual crowns.

In Tallahassee, boys teams from Chamberlain and Wharton, as well as the Wildcats’ girls squad, raced in the very competitive Florida State Invitational. Not only did runners there deal with heat, they also faced some serious hills at the Apalachee Regional Park. Chamberlain senior Mark Parrish was fourth overall in the boys race and Wharton’s Abby Ritter was 13th in the girls’ competition.

A little closer to home, teams from Pasco and Hillsborough counties were at Crews Lake for the Land O’Lakes Invitational. Wiregrass Ranch’s boys have been hit hard recently by a flu bug but the Bulls still managed to take second place behind Fort Myers Estero, which also took the girls team title.

For more details on all these races and how the locals ran, follow this link: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/oct/10/area-cross-country-round-/sports-prepsports/

For results from the Millard Shumate Invitational, follow this link: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/oct/10/millard-shumate-results/

Photo: Robinson’s Bryan Garcia en route to his victory Saturday in the Millard Shumate Invitational at Picnic Island. Photo by Scott Purks.