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Packers girls focused on state, beating Plant

After finishing 14 points behind state power Plant at the USF Invitational, Largo coach Mike Beck was not surprised to find a hungry group of girls at Monday's practice who wanted to know one thing: What do we have to do to beat the Panthers?

"I think they came away with the feeling that, "Hey, we're right there,' " Beck said.

Returning almost everyone from a team that finished stronger than any other last season, Largo is clearly the county's top girls team and a state contender.

Senior Abby Hunter, defending PCAC champ junior Deanna Drugash and sophomore Layla Hau are a solid 1-2-3 punch, and Beck is high on sophomores Sara Bass and Kaley Matthews.

Plant is clearly the team to beat in Class 3A. But Largo can dream. Saturday's 14-point deficit was only five after Beck eliminated every runner not in 3A.

Beck's answer to his runners? Every scorer will have to finish in the top 25 at state, a realistic goal for the first time in his 11 years.

Largo's toughest foe will be Seminole, which lost the county's best 1-2 punch but returns all-county honorable mention Madeline Parhalo, Heather Bailey and Meagan Geisa. Palm Harbor could also threaten by year's end with first-team all-county picks Kerrie Savery and Rebekah Lindsey. Among private schools, Shorecrest -- Open Division champ at USF -- will ride Brittany Whitelock and Maggie Thompson.

The Largo and St. Petersburg Catholic boys also have exceptional teams but will rely more on depth than the single-digit points provided by the county's few big dogs -- Clearwater Central Catholic's Kevin Lyons, Admiral Farragut's John Biffar and Indian Rocks Christian's Melissa Kotchman.

But they aren't complaining. The Packer boys will rely on Matt Timm, Brian McClymont and a talented supporting cast, while the two-time defending city-champion Barons may be just as good if not deeper with Tony Cormier, Brian Sullivan and Sam Secord.

Largo is ranked No. 6 in Class 3A, while St. Petersburg Catholic is No. 2 in Class A.

"I believe we'll be better this year than we were last year just for the simple reason everyone has gotten better," Barons coach Jeff Ehlert said. "Last year, we were five strong. This year, we actually got six guys who can run pretty good. We have the depth."

The Barons' competition will come from their private school brethren -- Keswick (No. 3), Indian Rocks Christian (No. 4), Shorecrest (No. 8) and Admiral Farragut (No. 12) are all ranked.

Largo should get competition from Seminole and St. Petersburg, though neither has the depth to do much early. The Warhawks are rebuilding, but Ken McGee and Steve Anderson are back. St. Petersburg picked up transfer Jeremy Meyer from Indian Rocks.

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