Pre-State will be a gauge for cross-country runners

BILL WARD/STAFF

Plant's Travis Christenberry, left, seen here heading to the finish line of the 2010 Class 4A state cross country meet, leads the Panthers this season as a senior and as their No. 1 man.

When compared to next month's state championships, it's a meet that means little. But for many of the county's top programs, Saturday's Pre-State Invitational at Little Everglades Ranch in Dade City will be the truest measuring stick of just how good their team is on the very same course those Florida finals will be staged on.

"For us, we're using it as a gauge to see how close we are to the top of Class 4A," said Plant boys coach Mike Boza, whose squad is ranked No. 4 in the 4A state poll. "The state meet is Nov. 19 so depending on how well we run Saturday at Pre-State, that means we have about four weeks to hold it, or four weeks to fix it."