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Citrus will run GCAC as tune-up for district
By KEITH NIEBUHR © St. Petersburg Times, published April 5, 2001 The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference meet is a paradox. Although it has league title and all-sports trophy implications, it is not a state qualifier. Event winners receive patches and earn all-conference recognition, but coaches consider it to be just another meet because bigger and more consequential events are on the horizon. "It's important for the kids to get the patches," Citrus girls coach Bob Goddard said. "It's their only opportunity to get them. But we're looking toward districts. "You can't really get up more than four or five times a year, and we don't want to go to the well when it's not for all the marbles. We play it down. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I've seen too many teams peak too early. "We train right through it. We keep our eyes on the prize at the end of the year, which is trying to get as many people to state as we can." The competitors have a different perspective. "Kids look at life differently," Citrus boys coach Tom Darby said. "They bust their tails for this. But I want my kids ready to run at districts. I want them healthy, mentally focused and ready to roll at district, region and state. That's what it's all about. Everything else is just fluff." Fluff or not, the GCAC meet will showcase many of the region's top performers and teams. On the girls side, Central, Citrus and Lecanto have several potential state qualifiers. For the boys, Citrus, which ran away from the field in a seven-team meet at home last week, is solid, as is Springstead, the defending GCAC champion. "It will be competitive," Goddard said. "Even if you tell them it isn't important, they'll compete." That Central and Lecanto are the girls favorites is no surprise. The Bears edged Lecanto for last season's title, and Lecanto won in 1999. This season, Lecanto has first-place finishes at the Citrus Invitational, Lecanto Invitational and Crystal River Invitational and was second in multi-team events at River Ridge and Alachua Santa Fe. Lecanto standouts Kylene Colasanti (hamstring) and Liz Witherspoon (quadriceps) were injured last week, but both will compete today. Colasanti was the GCAC meet's top individual winner in 2000, taking both hurdle events and the pole vault. Witherspoon is a 400-meter standout who also competes in the 4x400 and 4x800. "We'll compete, but to win we have got to perform well as a team," Lecanto coach Freddie Bullock said. The Citrus boys, who were second in this meet last year, have gotten solid production across the board. Last week, the Hurricanes got wins from C.J. Bryant (400), Jamal Galloway (triple jump) and Tony Lyons (mile) and their 4x400 and 4x800 teams. Lyons was second in last year's GCAC mile. Bryant was fifth in the 800 and 1,600 in last season's Class A state meet. GCAC MEETWHEN: Today. Field events, 3:30 p.m.; running events, 6. WHERE: Crystal River. TEAMS: Central, Citrus, Crystal River, Hernando, Lecanto, South Sumter, Springstead. 2000 WINNERS: Boys -- Springstead. Girls -- Central. TOP LOCAL BOYS: Citrus -- C.J. Bryant (400), Jamal Galloway (triple jump), Tony Lyons (800, 1,600), Justin Macdonald (3,200), Kendrick Ross (sprints). Crystal River -- Jon Greaux (110 hurdles, 300 hurdles), Nate Madison (long jump), Peter Manzoli (800). Lecanto -- ShohnJoyner (800). TOP LOCAL GIRLS: Citrus -- Myesha Hollis (100, 200, long jump, triple jump),Sally Lanigan (discus, shot put). Crystal River -- Mandy Smelko (1,600). Lecanto -- Kylene Colasanti (110 hurdles, 300 hurdles, triple jump, pole vault), Nicole Gasiorek (400), Nicole Mailloux (800, 1600), Kate Wheeler (110 hurdles, 300 hurdles, high jump, triple jump), Deidra Witherspoon (3,200), Liz Witherspoon (400).
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