Finally, the area’s cross country runners got some decent weather to race in. That came Saturday morning at the Pre-State Invitational cross country meet at Little Everglades Ranch in Dade City, where thanks to a cold front, the thermometer finally dipped below 70 degrees for the first time this season.

Leading the way for the locals was Chamberlain senior Mark Parrish, who was seventh in the elite division race in a 5-kilometer time of 15 minutes, 42 seconds. Most coaches consider the Little Everglades Ranch course challenging but relatively fast and, more importantly, accurate. With the cooler weather and good footing, times were generally quick and many runners posted personal-best or season-best performances.

Parrish’s effort, along with a solid 20th-place showing by sophomore Max del Monte (16:09) and a 50-second personal best by No. 4 man Sean Russo (17:13, 96th place), powered Chamberlain to 11th place with 331 points, tops among area schools in that division. Jake Covington (53rd, 16:38) was the Chiefs’ No. 3 man and Alex Leinhauser (166th, 18:34) was their final scorer.

On the girls side, Plant girls were the top local team performers in the elite division, taking 10th place with 272 points. The top area individual girl finisher was Newsome freshman Brianna Jackson, who was 34th in a personal best of 19:44.

To read the full story on the meet, follow this link: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/oct/17/parrish-jackson-pace-area-runners-pre-state/

To see a photo gallery of local runners who competed in Saturday meet, follow this link: http://www2.tbo.com/photoalbum/2009/oct/17/pre-state-invitational-cross-country-meet/

Photo above: Newsome freshman Brianna Jackson, left, battles Creekside’s Lauren Rodriguez down the final 100 meters of the elite division race. Jackson was 34th in 19:44—the top finish of any area runner in the race—while Rodriguez was 33rd.