Dolphin CC ninth at state
BY JASON THOMPSON Gulf Breeze News jason@gulfbreezenews.com

Courtesy Photo The GBHS boys cross country team, shown here with their Region 1-2A runner up trophy, took ninth at Saturday's state meet.

The Gulf Breeze boys cross country team took ninth (249 points) at the Class 2A state meet Saturday in Dade City, their best finish in school history.

"Our motto for this season was '1-2-10' - to finish first at district, second in the region and top 10 at state and we accomplished our goal. What more could a coach want?" coach Angel Savage said.

The Dolphins were led by Will Thomas, who was 27th with a time of 17:15.

Mark Washburn was 46th (17:36), followed by Aber Wilson (57th - 17:46), Geoffrey Brill (59th - 17:17), Chad Robin (60th - 17:52), Tommy Gibble (96th - 18:29) and Dylan Lee (107th - 18:44). Wilson was the third fastest freshman in the field.

The girls team finished 11th with a 300, missing the top 10 by only six points.

Emily Tryon led GBHS with a 19:32, good for 17th overall. She missed All State honors by two spots, but she did beat Catholic's Chloe Kowalski for the first time this season. "That's a big thing for Emily," coach Tom Aldridge said.

Jen Pfeifler was leading after the one mile mark, but finished 28th with a 20:05. Katie Aldridge was third on the team (her best place ever) with a 21:38 (78th), followed by Rebecca Smith (79th - 21:36), Lauren Musick (100th - 22:11), Briana Santiago (132nd - 23:18) and Meghan Kirby (137th - 23:24). The top four girls (and five of their top six) return next year, while Wilson's the lone male returner in 2008.