Cross country preview: Bucs always peak at right time of season

This article appeared in the St. Petersburg Times on Aug. 31, 2003. The photo by Tim Carr shows Danielle Florey, Tammy Roddenberg, and Melissa Dattoli.

By JAMAL THALJI

NEW PORT RICHEY - What makes Gulf so great?

What has made Dean Lofton the Sunshine Athletic Conference coach of the year for three consecutive seasons? Why have his Buccaneers won three consecutive SAC titles, and five in all?

Why is Gulf again the team to beat in Pasco County in 2003?

"I think the fact that they've won conference the past three years helps," said River Ridge coach Erik Hermansen. "(Runners) are joining a winning tradition there."

"I think it's because he coaches girls only," said Land O'Lakes coach Kris Keppel, who has had to coach both genders in a season. "He focuses on training girls and develops a good rapport with them. He's just been around for a while and he knows what works and what doesn't work."

"Dean has been known to have a surprise up his sleeve," Mitchell coach Florie Buono said. "He gets a lot of girls out for his team. I would never put it past him to win."

Lofton's methods never change, and so far neither have the results. His teams always start the season slowly, and the coach rarely gives opponents a glimpse of his lineup's true potential. He doesn't run his girls into the ground - until crunch time.

"That's just what I do," he said. "I don't like to show my hand. I like to take the stress off them every once in a while and let them run down to a lower level."

The risk, of course, is that a team with little big-meet experience might not be ready for the big-meet season.

"It's a risk but it's less of a risk," Lofton said. "I'd rather they be a little bit undertrained than overtrained at the end of the season."

It worked last season. The SAC was only Gulf's second meet together, but the Bucs won. Lofton's mistake had the team arriving five minutes before the start of the district meet, but the Bucs still finished second. They went on to finish runner-up in the region title and a 12th at state.

This season is already proving to be a challenge for Lofton's program. Amber Shuhart, last year's No.2 runner, will not run this season. But as usual, the coach found runners to take her place.

Sophomore Danielle Florey has stepped up so much this summer she will challenge senior Melissa Dattoli for the No.1 spot.

"I'm not upset about it," Dattoli said. "She's just going to push our team to be even better."

Also returning are Christina Angellino and Tammy Roddenberg. Leading a parade of newcomers is sophomore Cara Calafiore. "We're vulnerable at the tail end, at (Nos.) 4 and 5," Lofton said. "We're going to make somebody out of one of these girls I've got."

It's all about timing, Dattoli said.

"You can see every year in the beginning people question us," she said, "and in the end we just show them what we've got."