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After four years of struggling to get on track, the Wildcats will run in their first state meet Saturday.
By MIKE READLING
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 14, 2000
TAMPA -- In four years, the Wharton cross country team has gone from non-existent to a couple of freshmen running in high-tops and long pants to the point where other teams have started to talk about the Wildcats behind their backs.
That's what coach Wes Newton calls success.
"I've been standing there by the finish line in my jean shorts and my hat. A little Wharton logo on my shirt just taking notes and I'll hear somebody say, "There's a Wharton guy, there's another Wharton guy, there's another one.' It's a real honor to me to have them do that," Newton said.
The fact Wharton is surprising people at meets around the state is indeed a compliment to the fledgling Wildcats program.
Not only does it mean people are taking notice, it means people are taking notice for the right reasons.
The Wildcats qualified for their first state meet Saturday when they tied for second place at the Class 3A, Region 2 meet with Winter Haven. Thanks to Winter Haven's No. 6 runner finishing higher than Wharton's, the Wildcats were moved down to third. However, that doesn't change the fact that when the starting gun goes off Saturday morning in Titusville, there will be seven Wharton uniforms embarking on a 3-mile run.
"It was sort of like kissing your sister, tying Winter Haven for second and moving down to third," Newton said. "But I knew we'd be fairly decent all year long. I've had the same kids for the past two or three years."
During those past three years the Wildcats would have been more than happy to kiss their sisters -- or anybody else's for that matter.
When the school opened in 1997 the "team" wasn't big enough to earn a score in a meet despite the fact you only need five runners to do so.
"The first couple of practices I outran them," Newton said. "That's how bad it was. Slowly but surely we worked our way up to where we are now."
Senior Stuart Carrico is the lone Wildcat runner to survive all four years. He remembers showing up to the first practice in long pants, a tank top and boots. He also remembers running 4 miles that first practice and showing up the next day with a brand new pair of running shoes.
"It has been fun watching people come and go," Carrico said. "It has been an experience. We started out with big numbers and about half of them dropped right off."
The second year, Wharton added No. 1 runner Andrew Fulton among others and managed to finish seventh in regionals, one spot and 15 points from qualifying for state. Last year, Carrico's brother, Steve, joined along with Paul Lefebvre and Brett Galbraith and the Wildcats inched closer to a state berth, missing out by seven points this time.
Perhaps more important, they were all running together and slowly molding into a team. And that, said Newton, is the biggest key to cross country.
"It's no secret what you do here," Newton said. "The kids have to believe in you and believe in the program. Anybody can say, "Go out and run 5 miles,' and then sit in the gym until you come back. But how many will ride along next to you and encourage you?"
Newton knows a little bit about cross country success. He coached the boys at Leto, widely considered to be the premier boys cross country program in Hillsborough County history, from 1970-74 and headed up the Falcon girls teams from 1970-80.
It was his wife Laura, a Leto runner at the time, who coined the phrase "Long Red Row" in 1975 and he was one of the first people to run with former Leto coach Bobby Ennis when Ennis began his legendary career with the Falcons.
That experience translated into Saturday's regional success and kick-started what Newton hopes will be a Leto-like tradition in New Tampa.
"We were shocked last year when we went to regionals," Newton said. "I had it all worked out on paper and there was no way we were going to finish worse than sixth place. That was one of the worst days in Wharton cross country history."
After Saturday's showing, there's a good chance those days are over.
Wharton will head into Titusville ranked in the top seven in the state in Class 3A and looking to bring home a top 10 at the very least.
"I just want to go over there and finish higher than our ranking," Steve Carrico said.