Spanish River Inv. Recap: Fernandez Kicks Past Collins, Del Re, Pottorff, STA Shine

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The 34^th annual Spanish River Invitational was back again this year and with a huge field of runners. There were 80 teams that showed up bright and early to compete this past Saturday morning. With a few times under 16 minutes for boys, several talented freshmen girls running the top times, and a defending state champion team winning their race, it was definitely a great cross country day. 

The girl's 3A/4A race was the first to start at 7:40 a.m. We knew this was going to be a great race because of the times some of these girls have ran already this year. At the beginning of the race, the entire pack of runners was tight but then separated the next time everyone came around again. Leading after the mile and a half mark was Valerie Lastra who was followed by Rylee Pustilnik, Alexandra Del Re, and Jinah Mickens-Malik. Del Re from Jupiter high school ended up passing the other girls and winning the race with a time of 18:11.05. Next up was, Valerie Lastra and Jinah Mickens-Malik, from Mater Academy. Lastra came in second place with a time of 18:15.94 and Mickens-Malik was third with a time of 19:07.50. Overall, Ferguson ended up winning the team title with 106 points. 

Next up was the girl's 1A/2A race. This race went out a tad slower than the previous one since no runner at the front really seemed to want to take the lead. Coming around the second time, Mia Rodriguez, from The King's Academy had the lead about halfway through the race and actually ended up holding the position till the end. Rodriguez, who is only a seventh grader, crossed the line at 20:08.02. Running that time, Rodriguez set a new personal best and definitely made her parents super proud. Coming in second was, Mariana Gonzalez, from Immaculata-LaSalle high school and she ran a time of 20:14.52. Third place was, Bronwyn Eyeington, from Suncoast who just beat fourth place by less than a second. Eyeington ran a time of 20:20.20 which helped her team win the overall race with 91 points. 

Following the girl's race was the boy's 3A/4A race. In this race were two runners that have been going back and forth for a few weeks now. Those runners were, Deshay Fernandes, from Christopher Columbus and Belen Jesuit's, Joshua Collins. Besides those two battling each other, last year's state champion team was in the race as well. St. Thomas Aquinas opened up the season here. As far as the race itself, there was a tight pack for most of the race until the end. Coming up and over the hill at the end was Fernandes and behind him was Collins, who had a strong kick but not enough time to pull off an upset at the line. Fernandes ran a time of 15:58.92 and Collins ran 15:59.84. Shortly behind them were teammates, Sean Breslin and Nick Rischar, from St. Thomas who helped their team come out with a victory. St. Thomas scored 48 points and ended up beating Belen.

The 1A/2A boy's race followed after. This race was the only one that had a runner lead from the beginning and not let anyone else challenge him. That runner was, Caleb Pottorff, from Lincoln Park Academy. Pottorff looked strong at the start, during the middle, and at the end of the race. He ended up running the fastest time of the day which was 15:43.06 and now his new personal best. Josh Skielnik, from Jupiter Christian came in second and crossed the line at 16:05.10. Skielnik also had a great race and set a new personal best as well. Following Skielnik was, Danny Ferro, from Calvary Christian. Ferro took third place and ran a time of 16:15.79. Overall, Pine Crest won the team title with 60 points.        

More Coverage

• Complete Results/Meet Coverage
• Featured Photo Album By Bill Lenahan
• Race Videos/Interviews by Eddie Romero
• Spanish River Combined Meet Results