GAINESVILLE - Being a powerhouse is relative, as Tampa's Wharton High found out on the first day of the 2004 Florida Relays.
The Wildcats' boys 4x1,600 meter relay team finished in seventh place with a time of 18:53.82 during one of only two high school races held on the first day of competition at UF's Percy Beard Track and Field Complex.
While the team held a strong hold on third place halfway through the race, coach Jason Tyrell might have figured his team would not be able to stay there.
"I ran my top two runners up front because I wanted to make sure we got out into a good place early," he said.
"They ran decently and then my other two guys did a good job to keep us up in there."
The coach was quick to give his relay team of Paul Pakidis, Jose Rodriquez, Zach Sanchez and Ryan Kniery credit for breaking the school record time in the event.
Wharton, along with schools from across the southeast, will continue competing today when preliminaries for Saturday's competition will be held.
While he is happy with his team's initial showing, Tyrell said that the Wildcats are still trying to prove they belong with the elite high school teams in the country.
"There is unbelievable talent out here," he said.
"In Tampa, everybody considers us a powerhouse, but I don't really consider us one. I consider us a good team that is struggling to become great."
