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Running

St. Petersburg stars dominate in Bradenton

By DAVE THEALL
Published September 8, 2005

St. Petersburg runners captured the top prizes at Monday's Canes Cross Country Classic 5K in Bradenton.

Not only did Northeast High School twins Matt and Jon Mott finish 1-2 in the men's division, but Christa Benton easily ran away from the women's field for her ninth consecutive win.

Vikings cross-country coach Larry Rudisill took a contingent of 10 boys and six girls south for the open meet.

His teams weren't at full strength. They lost three senior boys to graduation and this year's 3-4-5 runners opted out for an official meet at Boca Ciega on Tuesday.

But having the Mott twins, 800-meter track specialists, finish first and second didn't come as a big surprise.

"They ran that (Pier 60) Clearwater Beach Series this summer, and that helped them get ready for cross-country season," Rudisill said.

Matt Mott said he and his brother had a race plan, and it worked to perfection.

"We wanted to stay with the leader for the first mile and then take off," Matt said.

"We went through Mile 1 in 5:23, then eased ahead. At 2.5 miles, I surged ahead a little because I really wanted to win this one, getting ready for cross-country season," he said.

Matt won in a personal-best 17 minutes, with Jon finishing in 17:05 and just ahead of Mickey Hooke, 45, of Bradenton.

Jon Mott's previous best was 17:16, and Matt's was 17:14. And this course was on mostly soft trails, not paved roads.

The twins recovered quickly from Monday's event to capture 1-2 in Tuesday's Boca Ciega Invitational, which consisted of seven Pinellas schools. Matt Mott paced (17:13) the Vikings to a victory, with Jon running strong in second place.

The rare back-to-back sweep bodes well for Northeast, as it aims for the City Championship on Oct. 11 at Crescent Lake Park.

In Bradenton, Benton was the first woman and next across the finish line, fourth overall in 17:40. She ran unchallenged. "The narrow start was crowded," Benton said.

"There was a girl that went out hard with me, but I left her at about the mile mark. I complimented her at the end for being so aggressive since that's how I started out at that age too."

After a runner-up 10K performance (36:39) at the Conference USA Track and Field Championships in Houston last spring and fourth (17:32) in the 5K, Benton has been on an undefeated roll.

The string for the fifth-year USF senior started with the Pier 60 Series.

Her eighth win was two weeks ago in the Red Mule Runners Labor Day 5K at Brooksville's McKethan Lake Park. Benton placed 18th among 292 competitors in 17:30. Jacki Wachtel of Tarpon Springs was the second woman (18:07).

The Jesuit High boys, the defending Class 2A state champions in cross country, were at Brooksville in force with 40 runners, including winner James Osbourne (15:33).

Lee Stephens of Temple Terrace (15:48) held off Brooksville's John Emerson (15:58) for third. They were followed by Tampa's Phil Scrivener (16:03).

JESUIT HIGH: Last year's top runner, Andy Biladeau, is competing for the University of Virginia this fall. The three-time state champion is a former Gasparilla 5K winner.

BENTON'S PLANS: The former All-American cross-country runner has the Oct. 1 Race For The Cure 5K on her schedule.

A formidable women's field is expected to include Vicki Jetton, Kerry Allen and Maria Ghizzoni. Ghizzoni, 38, is a St. Petersburg resident who ran for her native country, Sweden, in her prime. She took second (55:16) in February's Gasparilla 15K and won (17:17) the May Day 5K at Hyde Park. "I'm not in top shape since I haven't competed this summer or even trained hard," Ghizzoni said. "But I'll try to get ready and help make a race of it."

ORLANDO SCENE: Area runners brought home trophies from the Miracle Miles 15K on Saturday.

Mary Ann Protz, 49, finished second among women in 58:37, only 13 seconds behind Jacksonville's Michelle Krueger, 29. Lynn Gray, a Tampa teacher, won the 50-54 division in 1:17:00.

St. Petersburg's Albert Wieringa dominated the 55-59 men's bracket in 1:01:12, good for 19th place overall. He was followed by Tampa's Silky Sullivan (1:13:58), the 60-64 champ.

TRANSITION: Wachtel resigned as Mitchell High's track coach and is guiding the Pasco-Hernando Community College women's cross-country squad.

Palm Harbor's Phil LaHaye has been selected the event director for St. Anthony's Health Care. He will head the planning for the Race For the Cure and St. Anthony's Triathlon in April, among other events.

LaHaye is a veteran Ironman triathlete. Oviedo's Jennifer Barringer, the top high school cross-country athlete in the South last year, is running for the University of Colorado.

Amy Begley, the 2003 Gasparilla 15K women's winner, has moved up to seventh in Running Times' rankings. She clocked in at 15:24 and claimed seventh in the 5K at last year's Olympic Trials. Elva Dryer leads the women's rankings. The 2004 Olympic marathon silver medalist, Meb Keflezighi, is tops among the American men.

SENIOR MARATHONER: Mickie Flinner, 70, of Crystal Beach, will be competing for her third consecutive age-group victory in next month's Nike Women's Marathon.

The event in San Francisco is scheduled for Oct. 23, the day after her birthday.

Last year, Flinner finished first among women 70-plus at the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington and won (5:33:41) the Disney World Marathon in January.

The Nike event will be her seventh. Flinner produced her best time, 4:50:30, at the 2001 Air Force Marathon in Dayton, Ohio.

In San Francisco, "I'll be happy with anything under 6 hours," said Flinner, who is trying to recover from an injury. As a tune-up, she plans to run the Blue Moon Half-Marathon on Sept. 17 in Dunedin. PALM HARBOR 5K: The Run The Rock race, set for 8 a.m. on Sept. 24, will start at the United Methodist Church on Belcher Road. Age-group awards go five deep.

For information, contact www.phumc.net or Greg McFerren, 727 934-4601.

[Last modified September 8, 2005, 01:49:23]