Gulf's best runner Melissa Dattoli has a heavy load

This article appeared in the St. Petersburg Times on Nov. 14, 2002. Photo courtesy of Tim Carr.

By JAMAL THALJI
Times Staff Writer

NEW PORT RICHEY -- Melissa Dattoli doesn't have the luxury of an off day. She can't miss practice. She can't slack off.

She can't afford to be less than the best teammate, the best leader, on and off the course, that she can. Because wherever the Gulf junior goes, the Bucs are sure to follow. All the way to the finish.

"She is not only a good runner, she's the leader for us," coach Dean Lofton said. "She does a good job of keeping those girls on pace and helps me and makes sure they're doing what they're supposed to be doing.

"If someone doesn't show up for practice, she's the first one to pick up the phone and call their home to see where they are."

The burden of leadership weighs heavily on Dattoli. Not that she would have it any other way.

"I enjoy it a lot," she said. "It is also, very, very hard.

"I have the rest of the team looking up to me. I feel if I don't run well, I'm letting the team down. I kind of felt that way at conference, even though we ended up as champs."

She finished fifth at the Sunshine Athletic Conference meet in 21 minutes, 20 seconds, helping Gulf to back-to-back titles for the first time in Bucs' history.

History means a lot to the Bucs. Dattoli's role was shaped and defined by former teammates Barbara Carr, a four-time SAC champion, and Valerie Malie.

"Barbara Carr, I looked up to her a lot. After she graduated, it was Valerie," Dattoli said.

"And coach Lofton, he runs with us every single day. He does the exact same workout. It's rare to have a coach like that. I look up to him. I feel the team has more of a bond. They respect the coach more to actually have him out there."

If Dattoli respects the coach so much, then why is the captain telling him what to do?

"I have a very strong personality," Dattoli said. "If he's saying to do one thing in practice and I feel the girls want to do another thing or I feel we can get more out of practice, I'll tell him."

Not that her coach minds.

"I can say stuff until I'm blue in the face," Lofton said. "But sometimes it means more coming from their peers."

Being the leader means more than just being vocal in practice. It means leading on the course, too.

"There's a lot of pressure in a race," Dattoli said. "I feel if I have a bad race I've let the team down."

Dattoli rarely does that. She finished second at last week's Class 2A, District 3 meet in 20:40, 17 seconds off the lead. She led the Bucs to the district runner-up trophy, just four points off the district title. Her best time of the season is 20:32, run at the Citrus Invitational on Oct. 12.

The rough terrain of the Whispering Pines Park course of the Citrus Invitational throws off many runners. But not Dattoli.

She thrives when she has to grit her way through a race.

"She's a strength runner," Lofton said. "I think the tougher the course is, the better she's going to be. If it's a fast course, if it's nice and flat and has great conditions, a lot of speedier runners are going to take it from her.

"But if it's a tough course, on hills, sand and stuff like that, she's a really strong runner. That's where she's going to shine."

That should help Dattoli in the region meet Saturday at Lecanto. The course is extremely difficult with hills and slow sandy patches.