Wildcat girls conquer the hills and field
By TERRY JONES
Published September 26, 2006
TAMPA - Achieving victory in Saturday morning's King-USF Invitational was a literal uphill struggle, which seemed to suit Wharton standout Katrina Skinner just fine.
"I really like this course," said Skinner, who won the girls seeded race (19 minutes, 16 seconds) and helped guide the Wildcats to the girls team title on the challenging University of South Florida course.
"It has everything. There are grass runs, sand pits and small hills. I especially liked the hills, because I was able to use them to pass some of the runners ahead of me. Others slowed down on the hills."
Behind Katrina and twin Kathia (fourth place, 20:07), the Wildcats finished with 78 points. Winter Park (79) captured the team title in the boys seeded race, with Berkeley Prep's Richard Blake (16:10.06) and Jesuit's Connor Revord (16:10.45) placing third and fourth, respectively, in a thrilling finish.
Blake crossed the line at 16:10.06, just ahead of Revord's 16:10:45.
The event drew more than 50 teams, which were split into seeded and invitational divisions.
Wharton got a balanced effort behind the Skinners to prevail, with Brittany Hilliker (22nd), Erin Bailey (23rd) and Alexandria Aquasvivas (28th) rounding out the team scoring. Kathia, who appeared to nearly collapse at the finish, had been ill the past couple of weeks.
Five other county teams placed in the top 10, including Newsome (fourth) and Gaither (sixth). Cowboys senior Katie Quick placed third individually (20:01.98).
On the boys side, Blake and Revord ran nose to nose for the final 100 yards.
Following Belen Jesuit's third-place finish with 122 was fourth-place Tampa Jesuit with 124.
"Several of us crossed over to the wrong side of the track at the final turn and when we all came back at the same time it was a race," Blake said. "I have a lot of respect for Connor. If I ran with him every day I would really improve. I stayed with him the whole race."
Jesuit placed fourth in the boys competition, with Matt Tucker (23rd) and Eric Bracy (25th) following Revord. Wharton (fifth), Berkeley Prep (sixth), Durant (ninth) and Robinson (10th) also earned top-10 finishes.