Sickles keeps the smiles coming

By JOEY KNIGHT
Published September 28, 2006

TAMPA - It's a safe bet the Chariots of Fire theme doesn't ring in the collective subconsciousness of Sickles' boys runners as they embark on a race.

Even if it did, those eloquent piano strains likely would be drowned out by irreverent chants and cheers.

"We don't like to be on the (starting) line all serious," senior team captain Sean Jansen said.

Don't mistake the Gryphons' bizarre pre-race customs for complacency. They never have been more serious about breaking the tape at the end of a race.

They just want to break the tension at the beginning.

"We used to eat Smarties before a race," said sophomore No. 1 runner Derek Wehunt, referring to the tiny, tablet-sized sweet candies. "It kind of made us sick, so we stopped that."

In any case, the frivolity segues into focus once the starting gun goes off, as evidenced by the climbs this program has taken up the area's cross country hierarchy.

A defending Class 4A region champion, the Gryphons are ranked first in their classification in the latest flrunners.com poll, have yet to lose to another 4A team, and appear neck-and-neck with defending 2A state champ Jesuit for area supremacy.

Their biggest in-state test of the season will be Friday at Ed Radice Park, which Jansen calls the team's home away from home. The Gryphons will face dozens of other elite teams - including Jesuit and 4A nemesis Winter Park - in the flrunners.com Invitational 7, the state's biggest race of the regular season.

"We want to put something behind what everyone expects out of us," Jansen said. "We want to do as good as people think we are."

Behind sophomore Derek Wehunt, the Gryphons defeated Jesuit at the Sept. 9 Gator Invitational in Pasco County, and finished 11 points behind the Tigers in the Sept. 16 UF Gator Invitational in Gainesville.

In both events, Wehunt (5 feet 10, 110 pounds) defeated No. 1 Tigers runner Connor Revord after never previously topping the sophomore.

At last weekend's Great American Cross Country Festival in Birmingham, Ala., Wehunt placed 24th (16:58.10) out of 165 runners in the elite Race of Champions.

"I pretty much looked up to (Revord) last year," said Wehunt, who ran a personal-best time of 16:06 in Gainesville. "The (Pasco County race), we were pretty much neck-and-neck until the end. ... I thought he was going to catch me because I know he has tons of speed."

Wehunt leads a balanced lineup that longtime Sickles coach Jim Zanders calls the best in school history. At the Gator Invitational, the Gryphons' top five runners all placed in the top 19.

Wehunt's twin brother, Dan, also has eclipsed the 17-minute mark, and senior Kyle Kraft and junior Ciprian Mejia are right on the cusp.

"We lost a few races we shouldn't have," said Zander, in his second season as Sickles coach after assisting voluntarily from 1997-2004. "I think we should've won the one at UF. ... Hopefully we'll make a comeback in this one."

And perhaps, make a statement in the process.

"We just want to work hard," Mejia said. "We know what we have to do, and we're going to go out there and do it."

[Last modified September 28, 2006, 01:26:45]