TALLAHASSEE — In accordance with her teammates, Shorecrest junior Alex Eaton arrived at Saturday's Class A cross country championships with a yellow bow in her hair and mint-green polish on her fingernails.
She exited with one more bright accessory: a medal.
Competing in her fourth state meet, the St. Petersburg High transfer earned her first top-10 finish, fighting through a blistering early tempo to place third (18:33.78).
"I would say the beginning kicked my butt because everyone was sprinting and I'm not a sprinter; I didn't even do track last year," said Eaton, who planned to celebrate with her teammates at a party rife with pizza and doughnuts at her St. Petersburg home.
"I'm not used to those really hard, sub-five-minute paces. …That part was pretty rough."
The performance highlighted Pinellas County's collective effort on the rolling hillsides and compact shell paths of Apalachee Regional Park.
Shorecrest's girls posted the county's top team finish, placing third (143 points). Eighth-grader Olivia Rovin (16th, 19:34.75) was the Chargers' No. 2 finisher.
Pony-tailed Countryside senior Paul "Megadeth" McKenna led the local boys, capping a sparkling senior year with a ninth-place effort in the 4A race in a personal-best 15:56.24.
"I feel amazing," said McKenna, whose own eclectic fashion statement included black-and-white striped socks with purple toes. "What a great senior year."
On a clear morning that screamed for a breakneck start (race-time temperatures were in the mid 50s), McKenna started fast but moderately. As a result, he reserved enough in his tank to conquer the 200-meter gradual incline on the backstretch known as "The Wall."
"I took the hill more strategically than I saw a lot of other people do," said McKenna, who also won the Pinellas County Athletic Conference, district and region titles this fall. "You don't attack the hill, you respect the hill. And so people are dying coming off the hill."
The top-10 finishers in each race earned medals. Clearwater Central Catholic senior Saphara Harrell placed 11th in the girls Class A race (19:15.09), missing a medal by less than four seconds. Shorecrest junior Ross Porter was 14th in the Class A boys race (16:39.05).
Class A
Boys team scores, top and local: 1 Holy Trinity 39, 4 Seffner Christian 200, 12 Shorecrest Prep 279, 13 Indian Rocks Christian 330, 14 Clearwater Central Catholic 347, 16 Admiral Farragut 386, 24 St. Petersburg Catholic 619
Boys individuals: top and local 100: 1 Alex Brown, Holy Trinity, 15:37.69; 14 Ross Porter, Shorecrest, 16:39.05; 24 Patrick McNamara, AdmFar, 16:55.32; 32 Luke Peterson, Shorecrest, 17:05.83; 38 Nima Beheshti, AdmFar, 17:10.89; 53 Trevor Quandt, IRC, 17:23.96; 60 Jacob Endrulat, Keswick, 17:32.55; 61 Saul Ramirez, CCC, 17:35.59; 65 Cole Krajeski, IRC, 17:40.46; 77 Brennan Robinson, CCC, 17:55.86; 78 Luke Boeche, IRC, 17:57.89; 84 Josh Miles, Shorecrest, 18:04.71; 87 Justin Scoby, Shorecrest, 18:07.12; 96 Matt Adan, CCC, 18:14.16; 99 Connor Schiebinger, SPC, 18:17.44
Girls team scores, top and local: 1 Oak Hall 64,, 3 Shorecrest Prep 143, 15 Indian Rocks Christian 361,
Girls individuals, top and local 100: 1 Julie Wollrath, Holy Trinity, 18:15.49; 3 Alex Eaton, Shorecrest, 18:33.78; 11 Saphara Harrell, CCC, 19:15.09; 16 Olivia Rovin, Shorecrest, 19:34.75; 21 Hanna Brookover, CalChr, 19:47.49; 28 Kai Greenlees, Shorecrest, 20:24.20; 29 Bobbi LaBrant, IRC, 20:25.37; 38 Nicole Taggart, CalChr, 20:34.82; 40 Savannah Broome, Shorecrest, 20:36.25; 65 Rachel Kistemaker, IRC, 21:11.82; 67 Sophie Sweeney, CalChr, 21:14.99; 81 Katie Englert, CCC, 21:37.32; 91 Peninah Benjamin, Shorecrest, 21:53.20; 97 Kayla Hewel, IRC, 21:56.83; 99 Jordyn Bench, IRC, 21:58.72
Class 3A
Boys team scores, top and local: 1 Belen Jesuit 60, 8 Osceola 464.
Boys individuals: top and local 100: 1 Thomas Howell, Niceville, 15:19.64; 66 Hunter McCann, Osceola, 16:50.16
Girls individuals: top and local 100: 1 Susan Givens, Chiles, 17:48.78; 29 Amanda Spring, Northeast, 19:29.70
Class 4A
Boys team scores, top and local:1 Colonial 58, 13 Seminole 376, 23, St. Petersburg 577
Boys team scores, top and local: 1 Andres Arroyo, Colonial, 15:18.95; 9 Paul McKenna, Countryside, 15:56.24, 29 Sam Chandler, St. Petersburg, 16:29.34; 75, Stephen Sawayada, Clearwater, 17:03.17;89 Lorenzo Long, Seminole, 17:15.18.
Girls team scores, top and local: 1 Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas 59, 15 Seminole 367
Girls individuals, top and local 100: 1 Bridget Blake, Orlando Dr. Phillips, 17:53.04; 37 Olivia Suski, Seminole, 19:54.97; 54 Erin Waterman, St. Petersburg, 20:14.74; 58 Sarah Swallow, PHU, 20:18.80; 87 Brianna Paczynski, PHU, 20:51.91; 99 Jasmine Whitney, Seminole, 21:02.42