On-Site Coverage
The powerhouse teams in Pinellas County held serve Thursday evening at Taylor Park. Palm Harbor girls and Osceola boys were team champions a year ago. This year, the team strength of both squads prevailed. Palm Harbor (59) triumphed over Osceola (70) with Seminole (76) close behind. The Hurricanes had the best individual runner and then the rest of the team all finished 13th to 16th and all under 21:37. The Osceola boys (40) could not be denied as repeat champs, even with their top runner slowed by an injury. Northeast was runner-up with 61. Sophomore Hunter McCann tore a muscle in his back at a meet from a couple weeks ago at a meet and it hobbled him Thursday. As it was, McCann still finished in what would have been second but teammate Abimael Jimenez slipped in front of him at the last second. Ryan Vanmiddlesworth came in sixth at 17:18.91 and Reggie Cape was eighth in 17:21.42.
As much as the team outcomes were predictable, the individual races were the complete opposite.
On the girls side, Hurricane senior Sarah Raymond shocked the field and ran away with a dominant victory in 19.37.64. Raymond is a club soccer player for the VSI West Florida Flames and was a late-comer to the 2013 cross country season. The PCAC was just her fourth meet of the season. The three meets prior, Raymond was running in the 20:30’s.
“I was really feeling it,” Raymond said. “I usually don’t like to lead but I just felt so good after that first mile.”
Raymond had to fight through a large lead group to get in front of the main pack.
“After the first mile, I felt good so I thought why not just go for it,” Raymond said.
Raymond hit another gear and did not look back until the two-mile mark. By then, there were no challengers.
“I know I shouldn’t have (looked back) because it takes away from your time but you always want to know how much room you have,” Raymond said.
Raymond had not come close to her first place time since her sophomore year at Palm Harbor where she ran a 19:36 at states.
There was an ebb in the action as Raymond so thoroughly dominated the field but a battle for second place emerged between Osceola senior Kaley Eisenbrei and Seminole Warrior Olivia Suski. It was round three of an ongoing battle between Eisenbrei and Suski. The pair traded wins earlier in the season and found themselves stride-for-stride through most of the race Thursday.
“I started my stride 300 meters before I wanted to,” Eisenbrei said. “I heard someone yell her name Olivia and I knew I had to do it.”
Eisenbrei edged Susky with a 20:07.15 and helped her team to a runner-up finish, while Suski took third in 20:15.91 and Boca Ciega’s Alexis Stevens was fourth in 20:22.11.
The boys race was a typical battle between McCann and Jimenez but a dark horse entered the fray and emerged a winner on Thursday. Countryside’s Andrew Llewelyn, sometimes known as Radar, came out of nowhere to clip the Osceola tandem and claim county champ.
“I have been caught going out too fast this season, the plan was to make the move at the two-mile mark,” Llewelyn said.
That’s just what happened as the Osceola sophomore jostled for position, Llewelyn kicked it into gear and claimed the lead position and never relinquished it. He would eventually finish almost ten seconds ahead of the Osceola runners in 16:43.41. Llewelyn had been in the 17:30 range as he was coming back from a cold that lasted for weeks and pulled the young runner back.
“It just all kind of came back this last week,” Llewelyn said. “I definitely finished strong, I felt like my miles got faster.”
The scene is set for the final lap of the 2013 cross country season. The PCAC champions crowned Thursday will have little time to celebrate before they must face elimination competition in their own districts.