Cross Country: Clean Slate

The county's cross country teams begin their postseason runs Wednesday afternoon as District Meets get underway...

YOUR TAKE: Who do you think will be the big winners?

There will be plenty of things to look for, that's for sure:

3A District 5 in Bradenton

Tarpon Springs sophomore Kailand Cosgrove has flown under the radar this season, despite clocking the county's top time of 18:34. Since she hasn't run in a lot of larger weekend meets, so the last time she faced a great number of county competitors was at Chesnut Park in September (when everyone got lost) and she cruised to a huge win

I'll be curious to see if Lakewood senior Ali Crabb can give her a challenge for the No. 1 spot. Crabb (2nd last year) has been running extremely well, and has showed she isn't afraid to go out fairly fast - especially when she's been tested by Seminole freshman Katie Homme. Crabb said she's going to "go for it," so we'll see how Cosgrove (who is scheduled to arrive back from Hawaii today) will respond....

**Seminole appears to be in control of the boys race. Senior Aaron Thomas and Christian Homme have been running like they're on a mission. Northeast could take a crack at the top-3, if their No. 3, Matt Adkins, comes through. He separated his shoulder at the City Meet and failed to finish PCACs....They'll need his best (which is in low-to-mid 17s) to have a chance at challenging the Warhawks

WHAT IF? Seminole star Heather Nicolosi (stress fracture) and Boca Ciega senior Lindsey Brooks (mono) ran at full strength this year......Brooks may run in districts - I know it'll be tough to hold her back -- but it'll also be even tougher to come back from a few weeks of inactivity

Class 4A District 4 at Oscar Scherer (Thursday)

*St. Pete boys are an "X" factor, in my eyes. They've shown their depth in spurts -- running the race of their lives in the City Meet - but didn't show the same mojo at the PCAC. Plain and simple, they'll need their big guns, Garrett Mackey and Wes Reynolds, battling with the top pack. And, of course, this would be a great time for the return of No. 3 runner, Kevin Gates, who broke his arch in his right foot a month ago. Gates finished a solid speed workout last Monday, then began to feel the pain a bit and was held out of PCACs. His participation and place could be pivotal to the Green Devils....

*PHU girls are running well, with a really strong top-4. Can they top defending champ Riverview?

1A District 5 at Keswick on Fri

*Imagine where the Shorecrest twins, Sarah and Lindsey Evans, will be by their senior season. They're only eighth graders, and have already competed with some of the area's best.

*Calvary Christian junior Joe Cathey has put together some of the best workouts of his career this season. He finally has a summer base of miles to work with - to go along with his killer kick. I wouldn't be surprised if he makes a run at districts and regionals

-- JOE SMITH