 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Leopards go the extra mile to improveBy GREG AUMAN © St. Petersburg Times, published November 30, 2000 Hernando cross country coach Ernie Chatman and five runners drove 550 miles for the chance to run all of five kilometers in a high-profile track meet in North Carolina this past weekend. Given that sacrifice, you'd think the weather would help them a little bit. "It was wet, and it was cold," Chatman said of the 41-degree temperature that greeted the Leopards in Charlotte at Saturday's Foot Locker Southeast Regional. The poor weather kept Hernando's contingent from posting the best times, but Chatman said there was much to be gained from the trip and a chance to run at such a high level of competition. "It's a hurried trip, but I think the runners enjoyed it," said Chatman, who left Brooksville early Friday morning and made it back to town late Saturday night. Leopards senior John Emerson, who earned all-state track honors two weeks ago, finished 10th in the seniors race (second among Florida runners) with a time of 17 minutes. Chatman said Emerson has had much faster times but did well to earn a medal by placing among the top 24 in his division. "He told me he felt that he ran as well as he could under the circumstances, which is all you can ask for," Chatman said. Hernando's Logan Emerson (18:26), Jack Bailey (17:55), Mike Lemmerman (19:29) and Zack Lukas (19:40) also competed, along with Chatman's son, Bret, an eighth-grader who ran the three-kilometer race in 12:05. Springstead junior Lindsay Boldt, who traveled to the meet with a group of Pasco County runners, finished 23rd in the girls' junior-senior race with a time of 20:21. Except for a one-year absence last season, Hernando has traveled to the Foot Locker meet every fall since 1992. Chatman said he was impressed by some of the runners, including Virginia's Alan Webb, who has mile times as low as 4:03. "We didn't adjust to the conditions as well as we would have liked to, but it was a good trip," Chatman said. Complete results from the meet can be found online at www.collegerunners.com.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From today's Hernando Times |
