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CCC star aims for high finish

By PETE YOUNG

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 16, 2000

The way things are going for Clearwater Central Catholic's Apryl Wall, she might be banned from cross country next year -- for making a mockery of the sport.

While other runners train incessantly, hoping to shave a few seconds off their best time, Wall is just a part-time runner, splitting her extra-curricular time playing soccer.

Nonetheless, Wall, a freshman with virtually no experience running distance races before this year, has captured the district and region meets the past two weeks and will be racing for a Class 2A state title Saturday at Brevard Community College-Titusville.

In the process, she's making a sport about dedication and pain tolerance look effortless.

"Essentially, she's just a natural athlete," CCC coach Jeff Righter said.

"We've never been able to run her a lot of miles. She's done some hard 3-mile (training runs) and some speed work. She's so inexperienced, but she's run smart. She's just good at it."

Based on regional times, 2A appears to be the weakest girls classification. Righter expects Wall, who clocked a 19-minute, 21-second time on CCC's demanding course in the regional, to contend for a top-five finish. CCC sophomore Kevin Lyons, coming off a strong bounce-back performance in the regional, is aiming for a top-10 finish in the boys race after finishing 39th as a freshman.

A bad reaction to asthma medication held Lyons back at the district meet, but he outlegged season-long rival Mike Craig of St. Petersburg Catholic, the district champion, to place second in the region in 16:13.

"Kevin ran a solid race. Our course is pretty slow," Righter said.

"If he finishes in the top 10 Saturday, I'll be very excited. He generally rises to the occasion."

The St. Petersburg Catholic boys are the top Pinellas team in the 2A race. The Barons have been the second-best boys team in the county all year, behind Seminole, and they've been second-best in the district and region to powerhouse Jesuit.

Led by Craig (16:26, third place at the regional) and sophomores Tony Cormier (sixth, 16:42) and Brian Sullivan (12th, 16:55), the Barons have been ranked No. 4 or 5 by coachnet.net for much of the season and are hoping to validate that assessment with a top-five finish.

Craig, a senior, is aiming for a top 10 spot individually. He was 16th in the Class A meet last year in helping SPC to an eighth-place finish.

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