TAMPA - Racing in one of the state's most competitive regions for prep cross country, Plant captured the first-place team trophy in the girls division and finished a strong third in the boys event at Friday's Class 4A-Region 2 meet at Lake Park.For Plant girls coach Roy Harrison, the victory marked the 16th regional crown of his 29-year tenure at the school. But considering it was the first regional title by one of his teams in six years, Harrison said it was a significant piece of hardware. That's because this year's squad has a legitimate shot at winning next week's state championship — if the Panthers can all perform at or near their best on that day.

"There's still too big of a gap between our first and fifth runner, but it's hard for our fifth girl to close it when our top two or three keep improving," said Harrison, who has eight state titles to his credit and 24 consecutive team appearances in the state finals.