(Photo courtesy of Pine Crest XC)
As rain clouds subsided and the sun descends in the sky, 44 teams gathered on the Treasure Coast for an extraordinary night of racing. At the Martin County Under the Lights Invitational, we saw battles of rivals, bold moves, intense team battles, and marshaling mishaps.
Girls 1A/2A
The girls 1A/2A race was dominated by Pine Crest. In typical fashion, Julia Montgomery (Pine Crest) went out hard and strung out the field early. The former 2A state champion continued to push her lead and crossed the line in 19:09, taking a big win and putting herself out there as the on to beat come November. Jasmine Hincapie (Boca Raton CS) and Skye Zeller (Space Coast) also dipped under 20 minutes, finishing 3 and 4 in 19:46 and 19:56. Pine Crest's Alyssa Pujals and Mahdere Yared round out the top 5 in 20"01 and 20:06. Pine Crest seemed to be on their A-Game tonight, taking the win in 23 points! All 5 scorers in the top 7! Satellite High School finished second place with 78 points.
Boys 1A/2A
From the gun, Caleb Pottorff (Lincoln Park Academy) and Trevor Kattenberg (Satellite) were battling for 2A superiority. These two immediately broke away from the field. Following from a distance, Satellite and Pine Crest runners were following in suit, making each team earn each point. At the finish line, Caleb Pottorff had slipped away, beating Trevor Kattenberg 16:25 to 16:29. John Cacciatore (Satellite) finished 3rd in 16:52. Michael Kennedy (Pine Crest) and Egan Kattenberg (Satellite) round out the top 5 in 16:53 and 17:03, respectively. Satellite High School takes the team title, 34 to 45 over Pine Crest, placing 2,3,5,12, and 14.
Girls 3A/4A
In the latter of the girls' races, Nicole Megrath (PB Central) was off to an early lead, followed by a LARGE pack of girls. Crossing the mile, Nicole yelled out, and I quote word for word, "I have to pee so bad!" By the start of the second lap, the large pack had caught Megrath and a couple of Vero Beach girls were picking off those getting dropped. Katrina Wynne (South Fork) pulled ahead of the field, taking the win in 21:21. Victoria Stewart (Boca_ was not far behind, finishing in 21:31. Elly Murillo (PB Gardens) came in third in 21:37. Barbara Prol (Park Vista) and Amber Pearce (Jupiter) round out the top 5 in 21:40.536 and 21:40.686. Despite only placing one runner in the top 10 (Brenna Duncanson, 10th place) the Vero Beach Lady Indians kept a close pack in the top 40 to take the win 94-102 over fellow 4A Region 3 Park Vista. (Very proud coach right here).
Boys 3A/4A
Of all the races tonight, this was my personal favorite. Not because my own athlete almost beat his region rival, but because we saw the number 1 and 2 4A Region 3 boys battle it out for 5000 meters. Off the rip, Ilio Sanchez (John I. Leonard) and Joe Granberg (Vero Beach) showed us that they were here to win. While Ilio lead most of the race, the real battle was going to be the final mile and who wanted it more. Behind the leaders, a couple of Viera and Spanish River boys were strung out from the fast early pace. With 800m to go, Granberg had finally pulled away, continuously opening the gap. The race was in his hands, until a course marshal decided not to tell him where to go. Joe made a wrong turn and continued to run off course while the marshal neglected to say anything to him until I started yelling halfway across a soccer field...and then she puts him back on the course going the wrong way! Meanwhile, Sanchez capitalized on this conundrum and sped past, taking it in 17:03 to 17:06. Collin Quigley (Viera) finished third in 17:21. Nicholas Evans (Boca) and Sam Shaffer (Viera) finished 4th and 5th in 17:33 and 17:43, respectively. Viera High School was able to capitalize on placing 3 in the top 10 and take a tight team battle over Spanish River, 61-69. Spanish River also placed 3 in the top 10.
Despite a reminiscent course mishaps of last year's race (ironically it was another Vero runner) the invitation under the lights went very well. The fields were filled with talented teams and the races were very enjoyable to watch, both as a coach and a avid follower of the professional side of the sport. Being only the second racing weekend of the 2015 season, we are in store for both great individual performances and grueling team battles come post season. Happy cross country season!