Although the Durant Cougars and Plant City Lady Raiders didn’t leave Newsome High School with district championships Thursday, they’ll at least be able to run another day.
Both teams placed third overall in the boys and girls 5k runs, good enough for a ticket to next week’s regional meet in North Port. They also represented the only parity in the team standings, as Bloomingdale, Newsome and Riverview took first, second and fourth place in both races.
Also advancing to the regional meet are the top 15 individual runners from each race. Diana Corzine and Hannah Whitmore finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in the girls run and led all Plant City-area girls in the standings. Teammate Kristin Podsiad wasn’t far behind, placing 13th.
In the boys race, Durant boasted two top-five finishers in Daniel Butler and Adam Yuhas. The two placed fourth and fifth, respectively. Plant City freshman Luke Whitmore finished 14th, making him the youngest individual runner to represent an area school.
Strawberry Crest’s Nastassja Cordero placed 14th in the girls race, making her the only runner who will go on to represent the Chargers.
The meet is scheduled for an 8 a.m. start on November 2, and will be held at North Port High School.