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Some goals never change

The faces may change, but Wesley Chapel and Ridgewood's rivalry remains fierce.

The names have changed - oh, have they changed - but the rivalry remains the same.

For Ridgewood, the goal is to beat Wesley Chapel. For Wesley Chapel, the goal is to beat Ridgewood - again.

"It's going to be a good one," Rams coach Sue Vien said. "We'll see whose team comes ready for action."

Friday's Sunshine Athletic Conference meet at Mustang Stadium will see the rivals go at it for the same hardware they battled over last season.

Ridgewood's streak of 14 straight conference titles was on the line, but Wesley Chapel ended the dynasty in the night's last event, the 4x400 relay.

But not all the Wildcats and Rams remember last year's down-to-the-wire finish. New names and faces dominate both rosters.

"Yes we've got some new girls," Wesley Chapel coach Kristi Frye said. "But the girls who came in are very talented. We have a completely different team, but we're strong throughout."

"They're young and they have a lot of potential," Vien said, "and they've been working really hard. I see a lot of good things to come."

"I think after about three days of practice I wasn't worried anymore," she said. "I knew these new girls were coming out but I didn't know what they were capable of. But when I saw them keeping up with the veteran girls who were big points-scorers last year, I knew we had something special within the first couple of days."

Now Wesley Chapel is an underclassmen-dominated team whose only standout facing graduation is middle-distance runner Lindsay Lucado.

Most of the team's veterans are underclassmen, such as junior distance star Stephanie Amerman, junior sprinter Jasmine Cabrera, sophomore hurdler Jerrica Cabrera and sophomore hurler Sami Polston.

But so too are the rookies: sophomore five-event standout Isaria Ranson, sophomore sprinter Janice Williams, sophomore hurdler Heather Bradley, sophomore runner Kamill Correa and junior runner Aisha Afre. None of whom are competing in just one event.

"These girls are very versatile to be able to come in their first year and do five events," Frye said. "You just don't get that very often."

Frye said Wesley Chapel's schedule, toughest in the county, helped her team grow up fast.

"They're not just rookies,' she said. "The competition we've had so far this year has been hard. So far they've been able to step it up against a higher level of competition, and I think that's made them stronger and more confident in themselves."

Five-event athletes Tiffany Powell, Ashley Krupinski and Ashley Prescott, high jumper Michelle Cotharin, hurdler Heather Stonestreet, hurler Natricia Wade and pole vaulter Anna Lowe are the upperclassmen Vien relies on. She also needs newcomers - runners Stephanie Fleres, Stephanie Mendes and Leticia Thompson, hurler Jennifer Galizia and hurdler Ida Ihler - to produce.

The Rams have some growing to do Friday, which is why Vien said her team has to be perfect.

"The team I have, we all have to be on," she said. "We all have to be ready. No excuses. That's the only way it's going to get won."