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Inexperienced Mustangs setting a fast pace
By JOHN C. COTEY © St. Petersburg Times, published October 5, 2000 Every team needs a front-runner, a rabbit to be a chased, a dream to catch. For the youthful Mitchell cross country teams, Danny Sheehan and Nicole Guercio are just that. Sheehan, a sophomore transfer from River Ridge, and the freshman Guercio are, for the moment, the standard for future Mustang runners. "It's pretty exciting to get to set records," said Sheehan. "To start out a new tradition, that's pretty cool. Hopefully, the records will stand for a while." Chances are they won't, but only because the top marks set by Sheehan and Guercio this year are likely to be broken within the month ... by Sheehan and Guercio. Just four meets into his cross country career, Sheehan is already one of the county's best runners. His best time ... errr, school record of 16:25 was run last week at the Red Mule Invitational, comfortably beating his ... errr, the school's previous record. Coach Bill Napolitano puts his No. 1 at No. 3, right behind Ridgewood's incomparable Jim Vitale and Land O'Lakes' Scott Habershaw. That's pretty heady company for an athlete who did not run last year because his appendix burst and who is still learning the nuances of pacing. Take last week: The quick-starting Habershaw finished ahead of Sheehan, who was probably hindered by his own quick start. "Right now he's kind of experimenting," Napolitano said. "He was a little disappointed in that first mile (at Red Mule). That was a little bit too fast (5:09). He now knows he needs to slow down a little bit on that first mile. He really doesn't know how to start. That's one of the things I have to work on him with." By all accounts, Sheehan is a quick study. Napolitano fully expects him to be the county's best runner next year. Even this year, based on times, he could reach No. 2 by passing Habershaw, though both runner and coach are tight-lipped about the possibility. "We'll see. ... It would be nice," Sheehan said. "Not even a consideration," Napolitano said. "Is that something on our mind? No. If he dwells on that too much, I don't want him to fall into a state of depression. That's not something that's going to set us back. He can't go out and stay with Habershaw." Then, in almost the same breath, Napolitano adds: "If he beats him, that would be great." Sheehan says his goals are simple -- just run hard, keep setting personal bests and stay in the low 16s. He has been good for single-digit points in most meets, and is the type of runner that even if he doesn't beat the Vitales and Habershaws, he can nullify them somewhat with a low score. "I just try to run the best I can," Sheehan said. "I've only run four meets in my life, so every meet I'm learning. It's a little hard (trying to figure a pace), so I play it by ear. I'll get better." Napolitano is counting on it. "I've been coaching 16 years and had some pretty good runners, and Danny is definitely one of the hardest-working cross country runners I've ever had," Napolitano said. "He's a very talented runner with good speed, strength and endurance. Plus he has the desire to want to do the sport." Guercio is much the same. An all-around athlete who has excelled in softball and soccer leagues in middle schooler, Guercio is finding the same kind of success in high school. Last week at the Red Mule, she set her personal best (and naturally a school record) by finishing 20th in 20:42, one of the top 10 times in the county this season. And she expects to get even better. "It's been a good experience so far," Guercio said. "I started this year just doing this to get in shape for soccer. Now I'm really beginning to like it. It's hard but I know that if I keep working I'll get better." And the record times will keep falling. Not that that's anything new for Guercio, who set the Seven Springs Middle School record in the mile as a seventh-grader and then broke it each time out as an eighth-grader. Factor in her high school work in cross country, and Guercio has set some school record the last dozen or so times she has run a race. "It's very cool; it's a good feeling," Guercio said. "It's good to know you are doing something that will be there forever, that you'll be remembered."
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