Tubbs, Bauer key Sebring sweep

Earlier this week, Sebring cross country coach Jeff Shoemaker peeked into his school mailbox and pulled out a folded, hand-written note.

It was from freshman Taylor Tubbs. She was thanking Shoemaker for putting in the time to coach the team this season.

"I really do love cross country, and I'll be there next year, too," Tubbs wrote. "It's a shame that we're going to lose all of the seniors next year, but Emily Smith and I will just have to start getting better times."

Well, she made good on her vow Thursday.

Tubbs ran a season-best 24:41, coming in 36 seconds ahead of teammate Caitlyn Moulds, while pacing the Sebring girls to a win in a six-team meet at Lake Placid High School. The Blue Streaks finished with 21 points, and DeSoto was second with 35 points.

The note, it seems, was quite an omen.

"The kids," Shoemaker said, after a long pause, "they just don't know how much that stuff means to you."

Tubbs tried out for cross country this fall because, quite simply, she liked to run. Now, just two weeks away from the district meet, she has recorded her first win.

"I was just thinking there's no way, I'll just lead for 10 seconds," Tubbs said. "But there was no one behind me and I kept running and I don't know ..."

Sebring's Connor Bauer can relate to that lonely feeling.

The senior standout, who is ranked in the top 5 in Class 3A, blitzed the field by 2-½ minutes, finishing in 17:19.

"I don't know, it's not a terrible time," said Bauer, who had already grabbed a bottle of water and stripped off his tank top before the next pack of runners entered the track area for the last leg.

"But it's definitely not my favorite course."

The 3.1-mile course at Lake Placid, which has several undulations and Thursday ran into a stiff breeze, is not a track best suited for runners like Bauer, who prefer flatter, faster terrain, like at Highlands Hammock State Park.

But his run Thursday was yet another in a series preparing him for the district, regional and state meets.

"When nobody's there, he just runs through it, and he's really geared up for the last few weeks of the season," Shoemaker said.

Bauer's run led the Sebring boys, who held off a strong effort from Lake Placid (44 points) to claim first place with 41 points. Avon Park, paced by Charles Hubbard (19:48) and Dexter Grenier (19:49), who finished second and third, respectively, came in third with 62 points.

Sebring placed four of its girls in the top five, as Jayme Faircloth (26:40) and Emily Smith (27:06) rounded out the top five. Avon Park's Minerva Arreguin was third, after a 25:18.

But the story of this meet, at least on the girls side, was Tubbs.

"She's got very good form, she's got a good work ethic," Shoemaker said. "She does what it takes, and it didn't take her long to figure out that she likes it."