BRANDON - King High School's Laura Bowerman may have taken the individual title at the Don Bishop Invitational on Sept. 21 at Brandon, but East Bay's Paige Williams was the runner to watch.
In her first year in the sport, Williams continues to improve.
A soccer player for East Bay, Williams placed just 12 seconds behind Bowerman, running a second-place time of 20:14. But that time was nine seconds better than her first-place showing at the Ron Frost race Sept. 9.
Bloomingdale's girls placed third as a team behind solid races from Jacklyn Johnson and Jessica Forrester. Johnson was fourth at 20:54 while Forrester placed seventh at 21:14. Fifth-place Riverview was led by Christina Waytalewicz, who placed ninth among individuals with a 21:44 time.
In the boys race, Bloomingdale placed second behind Plant. Riverview was third while host Brandon (sixth), Armwood (seventh) and Durant (eighth) followed.
Alex Regar led Bloomingdale, finishing the 5,000-meter course in 17:28 to place second among individuals. The Bulls also received a seventh-place performance from Kyle Koontz (18:13). Riverview was led by Matt Sprigg, who placed fifth at 17:36 and Stephen Wilson, who was eighth at 18:18.
MORE CROSS COUNTRY: The Bishop Invitational was only part of East Bay's Paige Williams' week. She also ran to a second-place finish at the Freshman/Sophomore meet Sept. 23 at Al Lopez Park. Williams ran a 19:05, 16 seconds behind winner Amanda Quick of Gaither. Bloomingdale runners Forrester and Johnson placed third and sixth. The Bloomingdale girls were second while Armwood was sixth, East Bay was eighth and Newsome was tenth.
On the boys side, Bloomingdale placed second while Armwood was seventh and East Bay was ninth. Armwood's Ryan Courtney ran to a second-place finish at 17:10 followed by Bloomingdale's Phillip Romaucki (sixth at 18:22) and Andrew Stoutenberg (seventh at 18:24).
BOYS GOLF: Durant, Newsome and Riverview each had strong performances last week. Durant stayed unbeaten after wins against Plant and Bloomingdale. The Cougars (8-0) had Matthew Galloway fire a 34 in the 168-177 win against Plant on Sept. 23. Kyle Hughes was one stroke better, with a 33 in the Cougars' 141-159 win against Bloomingdale on Sept. 18.
Riverview evened its record to 2-2 after a 169-186 win against Brandon on Sept. 18. Matt Colson shot 36 to lead the Sharks against the Eagles. And Newsome is 2-3 after its 160-198 win against Tampa Catholic on Sept. 19. Newsome was led by Bobby Dyer's nine-hole score of 37.
ALUMNI: The USF women's soccer team is becoming a haven for Brandon-area prep standouts. The Bulls currently have five former local players. Bloomingdale has three former players on the USF roster while Tampa Bay Tech and Durant have one each.
They have all contributed to the Bulls this season, who have opened their Conference USA schedule with a 1-0-1 record.
Freshmen standouts Erin Dafeldecker (TBT) and Ashley Quaid (Bloomingdale) have combined for five starts, and Dafeldecker has one assist. Sophomore midfielder Kristin Danielik, a former Durant star, has scored a goal this season, while former Bloomingdale standouts Tara Escribano and Lyndrea Sutherland also have played well. Both juniors, Escribano has six starts and has played a team-high 360 minutes this year. Sutherland has recently broke into the starting lineup.
