Story & Photo by Andy Warrener
A great way to forecast high school spring track season success is to evaluate a school’s success during the fall cross country season. In that regard, the members of the girls cross country team at Paul R. Wharton High on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. have put themselves in a very good position for spring track following a dominant cross country season that concluded Nov. 7 in Tallahassee.
Mired in a brutal district (District 4A-6), the Wharton cross country team had to cut its teeth by battling all season with 10-time state champion Plant and county powerhouse Newsome.
Still, they came out on top in all of Hillsborough County in nearly every instance. First, it was the Hillsborough County Championships, where the Wildcats out-distanced Plant 44-65. Next, it was at the District 4A-6 meet, where the ‘Cats clipped the Panthers 32-41.
At the 4A Region 2 meet in Lakeland, the Wharton girls had an off day but still managed third place behind Newsome, 104 to 112.
“You always know Coach (Orlando) Greene is going to field a competitive team at Plant and you know you have to be ready to roll and that you can’t count them (Newsome) out,” Wharton coach Anthony Triana said.
The Wildcat girls bounced back in a big way, however, in Tallahassee at the State championships, finishing third, the best showing for any Hillsborough County girls team, and a big jump from the previous year when Wharton was 13th.
Top cross country runners Alisha Deschenes and Rania Samhouri both placed in the top 30 individually in Tallahassee.
Deschenes was the 4A-6 District champion and set a personal best this season with a run of 19 minutes, 31 seconds at the FSU Invitational, as did Samhouri (19.44 at FSU Invitational) and Bryanna Rivers (19:50.9 at the district meet). Samhouri moved up to the No. 2 runner behind Deschenes for Wharton after starting the season at No. 5.
Samhouri used a tough finish at state track last season to fuel her cross country season, and she hopes to carry that energy from cross country into the upcoming track season. “Rania had a tough leg of the 4x800m at States, where she got passed down the final stretch,’’ Triana said, “and it’s fueled her ever since.”
Rania told Triana that the ride back from the State meet counted as her break, and she was ready for the next season. “Most kids take a couple of weeks off, Triana said. “That just shows her determination and why she did so well in cross country this season.”
Deschenes didn’t even compete for Wharton in track last season, devoting her time to the soccer pitch, but after a solid cross country campaign, she’s now slated to run for the Wildcats this coming season.
The Wharton girls started spring conditioning for track on November 23.
“Anytime you go from States to the next season, it’s all about keeping the kids hungry,” Triana said. “These girls have that. We took two weeks off from cross country States and we’re already ready to go.”
According to the FHSAA record books, no Hillsborough County girls team has ever won a team track title. The best finish by any Hillsborough County school belongs to the Wildcats in 2008, when they finished third.
It will be no picnic and certainly it will be extremely difficult to unseat 10-time and back-to-back Class 4A state champs St. Thomas Aquinas of Fort Lauderdale, but Triana thinks cracking into the top five with eyes on the runner-up position or even better is possible.
“All last year did was give us more confidence that we can compete with anyone,” Triana said. “When that gun goes off we’re going to give it all we can and compete with those people.
“Forty or 50 points is likely to get you first or second (in Class 4A) at States. We expect to have 10-12 girls competing at the State track meet this coming season, so I’m pretty sure we can score 40 or 50 points.” Last season, the Wildcat girls finished 12th, but return most of the key contributors.
Top sprinter Aria Tate, a junior, placed sixth in the 100m hurdles at states, just missing the 200m finals by 0.08 seconds. Top middle distance runner Rivers, the school record holder in the 800m and sixth-place finisher in the event at the State meet, also is just a junior. Serena Gadson was 13th at States in the 800m and is just a sophomore. Junior Marin James returns after placing 13th in the 3200m race.
Wharton’s 4x400m relay team was dominant locally and was seventh at the 2015 State meet. The 4x800m relay was third at States, two seconds off the school record, and returns all four runners.
Field events might be the one weak spot for the 2016 Wildcats, but it’s an area of emphasis with Triana and his assistants this offseason.
“It’s part of the team that we really need to develop,” Triana said. “Long jumper Avonti Holt and high jumper Sabrena Eye will be key for us.”
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