Coach Roy Harrison has built a dynasty at Plant High School. The girls' cross country program has qualified for the state meet 25 years in a row and won ten team titles (most for a girls' team in state history) including back-to-back championships in 2010 and 2011. Last year the Panthers title run didn't come easy.Three teams were separated by six points. They lose two members of that team including number one runner Danielle Kissel who placed third at state and number four runner Kara Halfaker who placed 25th. The five returners are led by a pair of seniors Scarlett Fox and Julia Rodriguez.
Scarlett Fox was a standout for Newsome during the track season in 2011 before transferring to Plant her junior year. Fox wasn't even on the varsity roster when she won the junior varsity race at Pre-State. She told us in an interview afterwards that it was her first real 5K. Her goal was to make the top seven for the Panthers and little did she know how much of an impact she would have on that very same course at the state meet. Fox placed sixth at the 4A Cross Country Finals in a time of 18:47.24 nearly a minute faster than she had run three weeks prior. Fellow senior Julia Rodriguez was one of the top runners for Plant most of last season. Rodriguez was one of four runners to place in the top 25 for the Panthers coming in at number 24 with a time of 19:25.22. Other returners include junior Anna Montgomery, and senior Caroline Gibson.
Several members of the Plant cross country team had great outdoor track seasons. Scarlett Fox has the fastest 1600 meter time coming in after she ran 5:08.87 at the FSU Relays. Julia Rodriguez has the second fastest time at 5:14.61. She placed second at the 4A state meet in the 3200 meter run clocking a time of 11:07.45. Caroline Gibson was 9th in 11:36.62. Fox and Gibson teamed with fellow incoming seniors Emily Pitisci and Caroline Bado for a runner-up finish in the 4x800 meter relay. Both Pitisci and Bado are very strong 800 meter runners with personal bests of 2:22.33 and 2:21.67.
The strength of the team is their depth and incredible 1-5 split. The 2011 squad had a 1-5 split of 54 seconds. This year the Panthers come in with a 1:02.47 split for the first five runners. 4A is once again going to be a battle. The Panthers come in as the fifth best team overall and the third ranked team in 4A. Ferguson is projected first with 115 points, Lourdes in second with 118 points, and Plant in third with 123 points. Can Plant pull off the three-peat? Every position is valuable when it's this close.
Coach Harrison Says...
2012 Returner's Top Times
5K XC
| HB Plant HS | 416 | |||
| 1) Scarlett Fox | 18:47.24 | 25 | ||
| 2) Julia Rodriguez | 19:06.02 | 47 | ||
| 3) Erica Oosterhout | 19:34.86 | 98 | ||
| 4) Caroline Gibson | 19:43.09 | 114 | ||
| 5) Anna Montgomery | 19:49.71 | 132 | ||
| Average Time: 19:24.18 -- Total Time: 1:37:00.92 -- 1-5 Split: 1:02.47 | ||||
| 6) Katherine Ralston | 19:57.50 | 150 | ||
| 7) Emory Pitisci | 20:27.08 |
230 |
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| 5:08.87 | Fox, Scarlett | FSU Relays |
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| 5:14.61 | Rodriguez, Julia | USF/George M. Steinbrenner Invitational |
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| 5:20.63 | Gibson, Caroline | FSU Relays |
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| 5:33.99 | Montgomery, Anna | Hillsborough County American Division Western Conference |
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| 5:42.90 | Sullivan, Bailey | FHSAA 4A District 6 |
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