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With a wave of boys runners at the front of the finish line, Pasco County showed off its North Suncoast dominance at last week's Zak Lucas Invitational in Hudson.
As expected, Mitchell's Jeff Masterson burst out of the pack and into the lead, winning the race for the second second straight year in 16 minutes, 6 seconds.
And as in many of Masterson's races the past two seasons, a Land O' Lakes runner named Steven finished second.
Only this time, the runner's last name was not Bell.
Instead, it was Steven Bell's teammate, Steven Lang, who finished as the runner-up in 16:20.
It was Lang's first second-place finish, and he shaved nine seconds off his personal record.
"Lang ran the smarter race," Gators coach Kris Keppel said.
Because of the layout of the asphalt course, which includes a hill at the second mile, Keppel wanted his runners to start with a slower pace to preserve their legs.
Lang followed his coach's instructions and had the wherewithal to unleash his kick with a mile to go.
Bell, who has been Masterson's rival the past two years, was not as patient.
The Land O'Lakes junior strode away from the start as he followed his usual pattern of setting an early pace. But he faltered down the stretch. Falling to fifth, Bell didn't have the stamina and watched the backs of four other runners form a wall in front of him.
Mitchell's John Tuccio (16:26) and Zephyrhills' Jose Espinoza (16:31) finished third and fourth. Bell was right behind at 16:32.
"(Bell) went out like he normally does and was not as cautious," Keppel said. "He went out too fast and was in the lead group."
Despite the setback, there is time to regroup. The Sunshine Athletic Conference meet is Oct. 14 at Crews Lake Park. Bell will have a chance to meet Masterson and come up with a winning strategy.
"We'll be fine," Keppel said.
RUN, THEN RUN SOME MORE: Gulf came up with an exhausting plan to pay for this weekend's trip to the Disney Classic.
A fundraiser was held last weekend in which the boys and girls were split into groups and told to run, run and run.
Each runner ran three miles at a time. This lasted from noon until midnight. The Buccaneers ran a combined 180 miles and raised more than enough money to go.
SCHEDULE SWITCH: The SAC meet was originally scheduled for Oct. 15 at 8 a.m. But the conference meet was moved up a day because Pasco County students have to attend class Oct. 15 (a teacher training day) to make up one of the days missed because of hurricane closures this academic year.
The meet will now start at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 14.
RANKINGS: Masterson is ranked ninth in the state by flrunners.com. His season-best time of 15:54 is 34 seconds behind top-ranked Andy Biladeau of Jesuit.
Other county boys ranked in the top 40 are Lang (30th), Tuccio (34th) and Espinoza (38th). Bell is 41st.
The highest ranked girl from the county is Wesley Chapel's Stephanie Amerman, who is 76th.