The Wharton girls placed 13th in 2014, 3rd in 2015, and are looking to make the podium this fall. The Wildcats have an experienced line up coming coming back that includes their top whole seven with several seniors. The Wildcats will go head to head with the Wildcats of Winter Park who are looking to win their third straight 4A championship. We caught up with Coach Anthony Triana to talk about his team and what it would take to knock the defending champs.
How did your team fare last season and what did you take away from 2015?
Last season we performed up to expectation we had set as a team for a top 5 finish at the state meet with a 3rd place finish behind Sarasota and Winter Park. It was a way better finish for us compared to our 2014 13th place finish. We took away the confidence that we can compete with anyone as long as we have each other and work hard.
How is the team looking this year?
We are looking strong and returning all our varsity athletes from a year ago.
We have a lot of seniors this year with Rania Samhouri Bryanna Rivers and Marin James leading the group to go with our #1 runner Alisha Dechenes who is a junior this year with fellow Juniors Mackenzie Willman and Rachel Letterio gives us a strong veteran group.
What are the strengths of this team?
Our strength of the team is the unity and camaraderie. It gives us extra motivation to push for each other because it's more important than one person.
What has summer training been like and have you gone to any camps?
This summer has been our usual dose of mileage mileage and mileage mixed in with some tempo type workouts. We attended a great camp at Appalachian State University that brought our team even closer and give us memories that we will cherish and use for fuel this season.
Any new additions who may contribute or any surprise non-returners?
We have some new surprises, but we rather wait to reveal those.
What are the team goals and meets you're keying for this year?
We are looking to have another top 3 finish at the state meet and maybe pull off a huge upset that day! We are focusing on UF Mountain Dew Invitational, FSU Pre State and our county championship before we get into championship season mode when districts, Regional and State come around.