Friday's high school cross-country, volleyball results

Friday, October 10, 2008

John I. Leonard sophomore Ryan Pickering trains with his teammates almost every day at Okeeheelee Park.

That practice paid off Friday at the 39th annual John I. Leonard Invitational as Okeeheelee's hilly course got the better of many runners, but not Pickering, who easily raced to the victory.

"This is our home course and I'm used to this," Pickering said. "I felt good, but the conditions got to me a little bit."

Pickering was pleased with his time of 16 minutes, 1 second, which is the fastest he has run the course.

"When we came down the hill after a half-mile, I knew I had it," said Pickering, who also has won the Benjamin Invitational and the Palm Beach Central Invitational this season. "I'd much rather have a challenge, but I've been working on my second mile."

Berean Christian senior Andrew Jarriel was second in 16:50.

"I didn't do as well as I wanted to," Jarriel said. "It was brutal out there, especially with these hills. That can take a lot out of you."

Santaluces' Josh Garcia was third in 16:57.

Benjamin's Meredith Anderson won the girls meet in 18:45. Pope John Paul's Stephanie Schappert was second (19:19) and Fort Lauderdale-Cardinal Gibbons' Mary Huskey was third in 20:30.

John I. Leonard won the boys team title with 35 points, far ahead of Park Vista and Fort Lauderdale-Pine Crest, which each totaled 98 points. Park Vista won the tiebreaker to earn second.

Cardinal Gibbons won the girls team title with 48 points, followed by Pine Crest with 75 and Coral Springs.

- Marcus Nelson

Girls volleyball

ROYAL PALM BEACH WINS TWO: Cassady Cook had 19 kills and 14 assists as the Wildcats (13-3, No. 1 The Post Top 10) beat Trinity Christian (25-17, 25-11) and Fort Lauderdale-Calvary Christian (25-19, 21-25, 15-11) at the Palm Beach Classic in Royal Palm Beach. Shana Abdell added 11 kills and 20 assists for Royal Palm Beach, and Morgan Hill had 22 digs.

SPANISH RIVER DROPS THREE: Sarvenaz Laussermair had 17 kills, nine service points, five blocks and 20 digs, but the Sharks (11-10) fell to St. Pauls, Ala. (25-23, 25-14), Woodward, Ga. (25-14, 17-25, 15-13) and Northlake, La. (25-14, 25-23) at the Tampa Prep volleyball tournament in Tampa. Kristina Wilson had 15 kills, 10 service points and 39 assists in the three matches for the Sharks.