2007
OrlandoSentinel.com
ATHLETES THIS WEEK'S BEST
Overall Girl: Alyssa Burkert, Ocoee cross country
Geat expectations
Tania Ganguli
Sentinel Staff Writer
October 11, 2007
When you have a freshman season that makes you the best cross-country runner in Central Florida, expectations can be pretty high for
the next season.
Ocoee runner Alyssa Burkert has felt that this year, but the pressure isn't coming from the outside. She's putting it on herself.
Burkert is this week's girls player of the week for her time of 18 minutes, 42.86 seconds in the FLRunners.com Invitational. She was the
area's top finisher and fourth overall in the Titusville race.
Though Ocoee isn't ranked in the Sentinel Super 6, Burkert, who is also on the swim team, is distinguishing herself again as one of the
area's best. In fact, she's on pace to do better than she did last season. Ocoee Coach Brian Pitts said Burkert was breaking 19 minutes at
this time last year. But that hasn't stopped the sophomore sensation from being hard on herself.
"She's not really happy with where she is, but she'll be all right by the time we get to the conference and districts in a couple of weeks,"
Pitts said.
"She has really high expectations. And she's shooting after the young lady at Boone, Brittany [Koziara]."