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Postseason track previews

CLASS 4A, DISTRICT 7

WHEN/WHERE: Thursday; Seminole, 8401 131st St. N.

TEAMS: Clearwater, East Lake, Northeast, Palm Harbor University, Pinellas Park, St. Petersburg, Seminole.

ADMISSION: $4.

FORMAT: Field events start at 12:30 p.m. The running finals start at 6:30 p.m. The top four individuals or relay teams in each event advance to regions. Any ties resulting in more than four qualifiers in an event will be broken by a run-off, throw-off or jump-off.

BOYS OUTLOOK: Wharton, a three-time district champion, is in another district, which is welcome news to the rest of the county teams who now have a chance to win. But which team will emerge? Pinellas Park was the lone boys team to win a major meet, taking first at the Richard Allen Relays last month. That alone should qualify the Patriots as a contender. Other teams in the mix include Seminole and St. Petersburg.

GIRLS OUTLOOK: With its multitude of talented athletes, Palm Harbor University won the Pinellas County Athletic Conference title a second straight season. But instead od focusing on winning the school's first district title, the Hurricanes are limiting the number of events for their top performers in hopes of giving them a better chance to advance to state. Still, PHU could have success with Kerrie Savery (800), Courtney LaCroix (high jump) and Lauren McNary (400) competing for individual titles. The big winner could be Pinellas Park's Dominique Jacobs, who is favored in the long jump, triple jump and 200.

WHEN/WHERE: Thursday; Lakewood, 1400 54th Ave. S.

TEAMS: Boca Ciega, Countryside, Dixie Hollins, Dunedin, Gibbs, Lakewood, Largo, Tarpon Springs.

ADMISSION: $4.

FORMAT: The field events start at 1 p.m., preliminaries are at 4 and running finals at 7. The top four individuals or relay teams in each event advance to regions. Any ties resulting in more than four qualifiers in an event will be broken by a run-off, throw-off or jump-off.

BOYS OUTLOOK: Largo has been dominant all season, winning titles at the Osceola Relays, Richard Allen Relays and PCAC meet. But the Packers' depth took a hit this week with several athletes leaving the team. Boca Ciega, the other contender, relies on Shamen Washington and Leonard Genes.

GIRLS OUTLOOK: Despite a litany of ills, Largo's girls have a good chance of defending their district title. The Packers are the only team in the district with a strong core of middle and distance runners. That should give Largo enough of an edge to pull away from Boca Ciega and Countryside, which are strong in the field events.

WHEN/WHERE: Thursday; North Port, 6400 West Prince Boulevard.

TEAMS: Academy of the Holy Names, Avon Park, Bartow, Bushnell South Sumter, Clearwater Central Catholic, DeSoto County, Englewood Lemon Bay, Fort Myers Bishop Verot, Fort Myers Dunbar, Fort Myers Riverdale, Frostproof, Gulf, Hardee, Hernando, Immokalee, Jesuit, LaBelle, Lake Placid, Lake Wales, Mulberry, Nature Coast, Newsome, North Port, Mulberry, Osceola, Pasco, Robinson, Sarasota Cardinal Mooney, Sebring, Clewiston, St. Petersburg Catholic, Tampa Catholic, Zephyrhills.

ADMISSION: $5.

FORMAT: The field events start at 1 p.m. and running finals at 7. The top four individuals or relay teams in each event advance to the state meet. Any ties resulting in more than four qualifiers in an event will be broken by a run-off, throw-off or jump-off.

BOYS OUTLOOK: Jesuit, the defending Class 2A state champion, has the numbers to win. The Tigers scored 202 points at last week's district meet, 129 more than St. Petersburg Catholic, which was third. The Barons' biggest scorer is Sam Secord, who won the 400 and 800 at districts. Secord competed in three individual events last week but might eliminate the 200 to gear up for the state meet.

GIRLS OUTLOOK: None of the three county teams competing has enough athletes to contend for a title. The biggest scorer could be Clearwater Central Catholic's Alicin Livingston and SPC's Jackie Smith. Livingston won the 200 and 400 at districts and Smith qualified for the region meet in five events.

WHEN/WHERE: Friday; Indian Rocks Christian, 12685 Ulmerton Road, Largo.

TEAMS: Admiral Farragut, Avon Park Walker Memorial, Berkeley Prep, Bradenton Christian, Bradenton St. Stephen's, Calvary Christian, Cambridge, Community School of Naples, Fort Meade, Fort Myers Canterbury, Fort Myers Evangelical Christian, Indian Rocks Christian, Keswick Christian, Kissimmee New Dimensions, Lakeland Christian, Lakeland Evangel Christian, Lakeland Santa Fe Catholic, Lake Wales Vanguard, Moore Haven, Naples St. John Neumann, Northside Christian, Sarasota Christian, Sarasota Out-of-Door, Shorecrest, Tampa Baptist, Tampa Prep, Temple Heights.

ADMISSION: $5.

FORMAT: The field events start at noon and running finals at 7. The top four individuals or relay teams in each event advance to the state meet. Any ties resulting in more than four qualifiers in an event will be broken by a run-off, throw-off or jump-off.

BOYS OUTLOOK: Admiral Farragut won its fourth consecutive district title last week and aims for its third region title during that span. The Blue Jackets will have to get past Indian Rocks Christian, which has its best team in years. The Golden Eagles easily won their district title and will count on Clint Hamm, Nate Holden and Brian Large to score most of their points.

GIRLS OUTLOOK: Shorecrest won the district title a third year in a row. To add a region title, the Chargers will have to get past two-time defending champion Lakeland Christian. Indian Rocks Christian's Melissa Kotchman, the county leader in the 1,600 and 3,200, won both races at last week's district meet by comfortable margins and should be favored in each race this week.

- Compiled by Bob Putnam.