Wharton, Plant earn spots in flrunners.com Race of Champions

Posted Sep 22, 2009 by Bill Ward

Updated Sep 22, 2009 at 08:55 PM

The boys and girls cross country programs at Wharton and Plant might be undergoing something of a rebuilding year but each squad has remained strong enough to earn a place in the prestigious Race of Champions division at the flrunners.com Invitational 10, slated for Oct. 3 in Titusville.

The boys Race of Champions is expected to be particularly competitive, with 14 of the state’s top 15 teams slated to race. Individually, the boys ROC will feature such standouts as Brian Atkinson of Melbourne, who won the recent Mount Dora Bible Bulldog Invitational in a course record 5k time of 16:12, Elliot Clemente of Miami Belen Jesuit, winner of Friday’s Mountain Dew Invitational in Gainesville at 16:00, and Jacksonville Bishop Kenny star Colin Barker, who took the Katie Caples title Saturday in 15:21.

Plant will be led by junior Bo Nalsen, who won the West Hillsborough Invitational last week in 16:16 to lead the Panthers to the team title. Wharton’s No. 1 man is senior Nick Swain, winner of the Central Hillsborough Invitational in 17:18, which paced the Wildcats to first place as a team. The race will also give Wharton and Plant, both Class 4A teams, a chance to see two of the state’s top squads in that class, Miami Christopher Columbus and Winter Park.

For various reasons, many of the state’s best girls teams, including Tallahassee Chiles, have opted to stay home. Still, Wharton coach Wes Newton and Plant’s Roy Harrison hope to use the meet to see just how strong they are. Wharton’s girls, led by Abby Ritter and Erin Bailey, easily won the Central meet and Plant, paced by Molly Harry and Lizzie Goodwin, took first place at the West meet.

Individually, the girls ROC will feature Ransom Everglades’ Nicole Carpio, who scorched the Astronaut Invitational course to win in 18:34, and Winter Park’s Shelby Hayes, who won the Mountain Dew meet in 19:00.