TAMPA — James Zentmeyer wasn’t expecting too much early Wednesday evening when he lined up at Lake Park to run the West Hillsborough Conference Invitational.
His Sickles cross country team had a brutal workout on Tuesday and left practice exhausted. He didn’t feel great warming up before the race, and Plant’s Jack Guyton had told his rival he was gunning for him.
"I wanted to win," Zentmeyer said. "I didn’t know if I would."
But he did.
Zentmeyer, the Class 4A state runnerup last season, opened up a big lead and cruised home in 16 minutes, 35 seconds, good enough to beat Guyton (16:54) and, even better, lead the Gryphons to the team title over Plant.
The Gryphons, one of Tampa Bay’s best teams, slipped past Plant 39-45 thanks to a strong pack.
While the Panthers took second, third and fourth, Gryphon runners Nathir Fator, Ryan Murphy, Angel Maldonado and Elrashid Fator finished 8-9-10-11 to provide the winning margin.
"I’m proud of the way they ran," Plant coach Gail Bottone said. "It’s a great team."
Zentmeyer, who has won both of his races this season, and Guyton staged some memorable duels last season in track and cross country, and the Gryphons senior waited all race for his rival’s notorious kick.
"I thought Jack was going to beat me," he said.
The kick never came, though.
Plant’s Rob Leverone and Evan Collura finished third and fourth, respectively.
Jesuit finished third in the team standings behind top-10 performances from Jason Caldwell and Charlie Gonzmart.
Zentmeyer made it a Sickles sweep as Abigail Grant won the girls race in 20:24, almost a full minute ahead of the next runner.
Like Zentmeyer, Grant waited on a late challenge — after a 5:57 first mile — that never came.
"I felt a lot better in the beginning," Grant said. "By next week, I hope to have my time in the 19s."
Academy of the Holy Names won the team title with 43 points behind second-place finisher Greta Dieck and top-10 finishes by Colleen Doherty (sixth) and Lucinda Lennie (eighth). Plant (55 points) took second and Steinbrenner (66) third.