NCT teams bound for states
BROOKSVILLE – Look out Leon County, the Nature Coast Technical Sharks are returning to the state’s elite stage.
The NCT thinclads placed third in the 15-team Class 2A, Region II field at Nature Coast on Saturday morning, paced by a pair of top-10 finishes by senior James Harkless, in seventh in a 5-kilometer clocking of 16:41.77, and sophomore Austin Mulyck, in tenth (16:51.02).
After Mulyck followed senior Nick Conway in 43rd (18:22.07), junior Conner Schwefringhaus in 45th (18:24.29), sophomore Jacob Rockwell in 57th (18:41.32), sophomore Matt Aubertin in 76th (19:15.30) and senior Colton Lancsarics in 77th (19:15.74).
By less than a second, Harkless missed tying his personal-best and county-leading time of 16:41.00.
“I felt really good today,” explained a panting 18-year-old Harkless after the race. “What kept me going was I knew this could possibly be my last high school (cross country) race. It’s a kind of scary feeling.”
On how he tamed his home course, “The weather was a bit cooler and that helped,” noted Harkless. “I pretty much did what I set out to do. I’m very happy with how I performed.”
Harkless explained why he wanted his teammates to qualify for state meet.
“I think it was very important for the entire team to go,” he said. “This makes my third trip to states. My goal was to see all of us make states. We all work together every day.”
Mulyck and Schwefringhaus each set personal records permitting the Sharks to qualify for states for a school-record fourth straight year and for the sixth time in seven seasons.
“Things went well today,” pointed out the 15-year-old Mulyck. “I thought the rain and cooler weather really helped me. For a guy who runs with asthma, keeping me breathing well helps me a ton.
“The course shaped up real well,” added Mulyck. “Today, it was a lot easier staying with James. More than anything else, I wanted the whole team to go (to states). I really wanted to share this opportunity with my teammates.”
Only the top six teams and top 15 individuals at the Shark Tank Stadium finish line advanced to the 77th annual FHSAA Finals set for Nov. 9 at Tallahassee’s Apalachee Regional Park.
“Coming in, I didn’t think third place was an option for us,” said NCT’s fourth-year mentor Eric Milholland. “I was impressed with how well our top three pushed the pace. We nearly got three PRs (personal records) from them. But the back three deserve a lot of credit, too. I was proud of the entire team effort.”
Despite overcast skies and off-and-on showers, Winter Park-Trinity Prep, the state’s No. 1-ranked 2A team, dominated.
The Seminole County-based Saints swept the top three places in the 116-runner field led by senior Scott Millson.
Millson turned in an outstanding 3.1-mile time of 16:18.88 – just missing the course record of Orlando-Lake Highland Prep’s Nick Papa of 16:12.27 in 2011.
Rounding out the remainder of the Hernando County results, Central senior Austin Gray posted this season’s fourth-fastest time with a blazing 17:26.54. Gray missed out in advancing by five spots and 13 seconds.
“I thought I did real well,” stressed the 17-year-old Gray. “This is my third year and I felt I could do better even with my inflated hip.
“It hurts mentally not going,” added Gray. “I ran here twice before and I knew when I could catch some guys and turn it on – that played out real well for me.”
Hernando sophomores Charles Steinkamp and Tyler Pantley placed 35th (18:06.15) and 50th (18:29.41) respectively.
“I thought we both did well to make it to regionals as sophomores,” declared the 16-year-old Steinkamp. “Hopefully, I’ll work that much harder and run in the 16s next year. My dream is still to run at states.
“After today, I need to put in more miles during the summer,” detailed Steinkamp. “To strive for greatness, you have to work harder. I’d like to follow my brother’s (Parker) footsteps and reach states.”
In the 2A-II girls race, NCT unexpectedly went in short-handed.
Nagging injuries sidelined Lady Shark seniors Crystal Burchhardt and Kaylee Arvay.
The pre-race virtual meet results played out almost perfectly. Lake Highland Prep captured the team crown in the 13-team field with 41 points followed by Trinity Prep (71), Gainesville-Eastside (94), Orlando-Bishop Moore Catholic (98), Gulf (98) and NCT (105) – all advancing to the 50th annual 2A state finals in Leon County.
“Because we were short-handed, today was a good exercise in coming together as a team,” emphasized Coach Milholland. “It was great to see Alyssa (Deligio) set the school record. And credit belongs to our 3-5 runners – they made it happen today.
“Overall, the meet ran smoothly even with all the rain,” said Milholland. “I was happy to host regionals this year, but we’re not doing it again next year.”
Gulf senior Kari Grippo bested the 100-runner field in 18:59.96. The course record is held by Mount Dora’s Ashley Heitling in 18:31.55 in 2011.
The Lady Sharks were led by senior Alyssa Deligio in sixth place in 20:27.00. With the effort, Deligio broke the 2012 school record set by Burchhardt in 20:28.60.
After Deligio followed sophomores Alexa Lacy in 21st place (21:32.64) and Summer March in 30th (21:54.42), and seniors Mary Thomson in 35th (22:10.54) and Brianna Horn in 51st (22:52.24).
Like Deligio, Thomson set a new personal record, shaving almost three seconds off her previous best.
“I thought I ran pretty well,” said the 17-year-old Deligio. “Coming in, my goal was to PR and go as fast as I could to reach states. Basically, I did what I expected to do from practice.
“The meet conditions really helped me,” added Deligio. “I hate running in the heat. I really can’t complain. I was either ranked 13-14 coming in. It was nice to get the (school) record, too.”
Lacy was not as jubilant with her performance.
“I didn’t make the top 15, so honestly, I’m a little disappointed with how I ran today,” said the 15-year-old Lacy. “I’m really glad for Alyssa.
“If we all get a chance to advance, I just want another chance to redeem myself,” she added.
Rounding out the field, Hernando finished ninth with 257 points.
Sophomore Ashley Morris led the Lady Leopards to the finish line in 37th (22:20.01). Morris was only the Lady Leopard not to set a personal best at NCT.
After Morris was sophomores Dominique Reyes in 62nd (23:48.84) and Heaven Benson in 67th (24:00.01), senior Berkley Laporte in 71st (24:16.12) and frosh Sara King in 85th (25:53.44).
Final Class 2A, Region II Girls Cross Country Team Scores:
PL TEAM PTS.
1. Orlando-Lake Highland Prep (LHP)# 41
2. Winter Park-Trinity Prep (TP)# 71
3. Gainesville-Eastside (EAST)# 94
4. Orlando-Bishop Moore Catholic (OBM)# 98
5. Gulf (GF)# 105
6. Nature Coast Technical (NCT)# 114
7. The Villages (TV) 211
8. Chiefland (CFLD) 237
9. Hernando (HER) 257
10. Ridgewood (RW) 266
11. Ocala-Trinity Catholic (OTC) 286
12. Alachua-Santa Fe (SF) 297
13. Suwannee (SUW) 316
# Denotes advances to 2A FHSAA Finals.
Final Top 15 Individual Results
PL NAME SCH TIME
1. Kari Grippo GLF 18:59.96
2. Leigha Torino NM 19:41.75
3. Rachel Stockton LHP 20:05.74
4. Stina Rhodes TP 20:08.23
5. Caroline Cooper LHP 21:18.20
6. Alyssa Deligio NCT 20:27.00
7. Clara Hopkins MONT 20:28.89
8. Magdalene Rice NEWB 20:30.26
9. Larabee, Maddison LHP 20:31.50
10. Amber Maxwell WC 20:36.94
11. Alyssa Hatton OBM 20:44.83
12. Rose Millson TP 20:53.95
13. Lucinda Peng EAST 20:57.39
14. Hannah Hutchinson EAST 21:02.31
15. Eliza Gazda GLF 21:07.79
NATURE COAST (114) – 7. Alyssa Deligio 20:27.00*, 21. Alexa Lacy 21:32.64, 30. Summer March 21:54.42, 35. Mary Thomson 22:10.54, 51. Brianna Horn 22:52.24.
* Denotes school record; eclipsed Crystal Burchhardt’s 20:28.60 in 2012.
HERNANDO (257) – 37. Ashley Morris 22:20.01, 62. Dominique Reyes 23:48.84, 67. Heaven Benson 24:00.01, 71. Berkley Laporte 24:16.12, 85. Sarah King 25:53.44.
Final Class 2A, Region II Boys Cross Country Team Scores:
PL TEAM PTS.
1. Winter Park-Trinity Prep (TP)# 20
2. Orlando-Lake Highland Prep (LHP)# 85
3. Nature Coast Technical (NCT)# 136
4. Orlando-Bishop Moore Catholic (OBM)# 140
5. Gulf (GF)# 140
6. The Villages (TV)# 143
7. Gainesville-Eastside (EAST) 167
8. Crystal River (CR) 246
9. Citra-North Marion (NM) 267
10. Alachua-Santa Fe (SF) 272
11. Pasco (PAS) 276
12. Mount Dora (MD) 277
13. Tavares (TAV) 347
14. Newberry (NEWB) 400
15. Starke-Bradford (BRAD) 430
# Denotes advances to 2A FHSAA Finals.
Final Top 15 Individual Results
PL NAME SCH TIME
1. Scott Millson TP 16:18.88
2. Jesse Millson TP 16:20.33
3. Charles Cook TP 16:23.32
4. Brandon Harris CR 16:28.99
5. Tyler Skidelsky LHP 16:33.76
6. Richard Rhodes TP 16:39.92
7. James Harkless NCT 16:41.77
8. Paul Reggentin TP 16:44.61
9. Hunter Chavis MD 16:46.07
10. Mulyck, Austin NCT 16:51.02
11. Bobo, John LHP 16:53.70
12. Valiquette, Ryder MONT 16:53.99
13. Ryan Hopkins TP 16:55.46
14. Raymond, James GLF 16:57.98
15. Bergin, Conner MONT 17:13.81
NATURE COAST (136) – 7. James Harkless 16:41.77, 10. Austin Mulyck 16:51.02, 43. Nick Conway 18:22.07, 45. Conner Schwefringhaus 18:24.29, 57. Jacob Rockwell 18:41.32, 76. Matt Aubertin 19:15.30, 77. Colton Lancsarics 19:15.74.
HERNANDO (NTS) – 35. Charles Steinkamp 18:06.15, 50. Tyler Pantley 18:29.41.
CENTRAL (NTS) – 20. Austin Gray 17:26.54.
