(Photos by Andy Warrener)
The stage was set for some history to be made. Pinellas County rivals East Lake and Osceola availed themselves as two of the toughest public school squads in the county all season long. The team battles were destined to come down to the top five from each team and it unfolded dramatically at Eagle Lake Park in Largo on Thursday.
First up were the girls who saw Clearwater's Jordyn Avers out in front early with Osceola's Emma Grantges and East Lake's Jennifer Lima, the defending PCAC champ, right behind her. Two trips around Eagle Lake and Avers still held and even improved her lead on Grantges and Lima. Down the final straightaway, it was Avers uncontested in a scorching 18:57.4; a huge time for the junior who hadn't cracked 20 minutes this season and hadn't cracked 19 in her career.
"In my head, I didn't want to slow down," Avers said. "When I heard my coach (Joshua Carol) saying I had only one mile to go, I knew I was just going to give it my all."
Grantges (19:26.9) and Lima (19:33.5) took second and third, respectively. Grantges, who lives right across the street from Eagle Lake Park, set a new PR along with all six of her teammates. Lima, went out strong for her first two miles but couldn't hold the pace for her third, a scenario she'll get to play again next Thursday for districts against the same competition.
"Both Emma and Jordyn are in the district (3A-10), so I know I need to stay with them," Lima said.
Osceola senior Fatima Abu-Rumman had a big day, taking fourth in 19:53.8, making it her first time under 20 minutes in her career.
"I was happy running a 20:16 in Bradenton two weeks ago but I didn't want to settle for that," Abu-Rumman said.
And the Osceola girls rolled with 35 to East Lake's 62. Palm Harbor was third with 75.
The boys race saw defending PCAC champion Abimael Jimenez getting out in front of the Largo duo of Christian Kondor and Jackson Gillette early but Kondor moved in front before the first mile. Coming into the final approach, Kondor still clung to a lead on Jimenez but Jimenez started his kick and it was more than Kondor could keep up with. Jimenez won it in 16:30.9 eight seconds better than his 2014 time. Kondor took second in 16:33.6 and Gillette took third in 16:35.0.
"This is a big accomplishment (back-to-back PCAC titles)," Jimenez said. "I just hoped to do my best this time around and was thinking I could only go up (this year)."
Beyond the top three, the East Lake boys started coming in. James Hasell led the way, taking sixth in 16:54.9, then Caleb Lewis took eighth in 17:05.0. Rohan Kohli was not far behind in 10th and the Eagles scored 62 points to just edge Osceola with 66. Largo was third with 95.
"I told them to focus on the orange numbers (Osceola runners), we knew who our competition was," East Lake boys coach David Smith said. "
East Lake, after winning their first girls county title in 2014, won their first boys title on Saturday. Smith deferred to distance specialist Lora Lewis for formulating some critical workouts the week leading up to the meet.
"We emphasized speed workouts that would simulate race conditions," Lewis said. "We knew it would come down to our 3, 4 and 5 runners."
Coverage Videos (Add Yours)
Interview: AJ Jimenez - PCAC Boys Winner
Interview: Jordyn Avers - Girls PCAC Winner
PCAC Championship: Boys Race
PCAC Championship: Girls Race