Last year's Ft. Myers Optimist Invitational saw Kacy Smith and Tyler Cardillo steal the show. Smith picked up where she left off in 2010 and has been posting great times to start the season, while Cardillo has since moved on to the University of Florida. Can Smith repeat against tough competition from Lakewood Ranch and Fort Myers? Who will step up and be crowned champion in the boys race? Robert Brown breaks down all the action.
Girls Varsity
The Fort Myers HS Optimist Invite on Sept. 17th will showcase an early season match up of some of the top 3A girls teams in the state. Newly minted 3A Estero HS (2010 2A #1) will take on Lakewood Ranch HS (2010 3A #2) & Fort Myers HS (2010 3A #3) at a tough, spectator friendly course in Lehigh Acres, FL.
Individuals:
Kacy Smith, Estero & Olivia Ortiz, Lakewood Ranch battled it out last week at Ed Radice with Kacy coming out on top by a narrow .30 of a second. I expect nothing less this week from these two state title contenders. Add in some other top state runners like Emily Edwards & Rachel Petrik, FM, Kristen Zerella & Devin McDermott, Lakewood Ranch, Bethany Jenkins & Katy G. Solis, Estero, Araceli Leon, South FM and my dark horse Sarah Candiano, ECS and you have got a great early season race!
Sarah won her 2011 XC debut last weekend by 1:27 over second place Leon Araceli with a 19:10 at the 9-11 Memorial invite after winning the John Clay 5k road race in Naples the week before with a 18:14! Watch out for this racer, she means business.
Virtual Rankings (Based on 2010 PR's)
1. 17:47.10 Smith, Kacy Estero HS
2. 18:15.97 Ortiz, Olivia Lakewood Ranch HS
3. 18:27.65 Zarrella, Kristin Lakewood Ranch HS
4. 18:28.22 Edwards, Emily Fort Myers HS
5. 18:38.66 Petrik, Rachel Fort Myers HS
6. 18:47.12 McDermott, Devin Lakewood Ranch HS
7. 18:48.59 Novak, Natalie Lakewood Ranch HS
8. 18:48.89 Frank, Maria Estero HS
9. 18:50.00 Solis, Katy G Estero HS
10. 18:55.67 Leon, Araceli South Fort Myers HS
11. 18:57.12 Russo, Courtney Fort Myers HS
12. 19:02.90 Jenkins, Bethany Estero HS
13. 19:05.36 Candiano, Sarah Evangelical Christian School
14. 19:05.67 Curth, Aja Estero HS
15. 19:14.54 Slater, Katie Estero HS
Team Championship
This is round two for the Estero & Lakewood Ranch Girls. They are the top two contenders for the girl’s 3A team title this year and will square off several times before getting to Little Everglades. Round one was won by Estero in dominating fashion at the mud soaked Déjà Vu Invite, placing four in the top ten finishing with all seven in the top 50. Lakewood Ranch placed two in the top ten but their 3-4-5 got mired in the muck. Home team Fort Myers did not fair well at Ed Radice last week but are looking to bounce back and defend the home course with some team racing.
Look for Estero to take this one by a narrow margin over Lakewood Ranch with Fort Myers coming on strong for 3rd.
1. Estero HS
2. Lakewood Ranch HS
3. Fort Myers HS
4. Cypress Lake HS
5. Immokalee HS
Boys Varsity:
The Fort Myers HS Optimist Invite on Sept. 17th will feature rebuilding Charlotte (2010 3A #2), rising Fort Myers (2010 3A #6) & and newly 3A Estero (2010 2A #1) .
Individuals
Ryan Schnulle, Charlotte, Aaron Rojas, Estero & Carlos Miranda, Palmetto Ridge will contest for the top spot. Aaron ran a very game 3rd place at Déjá Vu last week against all state contenders Elliott Clemente, Belen & Andres Arroyo, Colonial. Mr. Schnulle did not bring his A game to the mud pit and finished a distant 27th but I bet that won’t happen this week. Carlos won his XC season opener at the 9-11 Memorial Invite over teammate Josh Pelletier and looks in mid-season form. Others to watch are Alan Wise, Ida Baker, Josh Pelletier, Palmetto Ridge, Bobby Ormsby, Cypress Lake, Ace Brown & Brendan Shearman, FM, Jean Deceus, Immokalee and the whole Estero team!
Dark Horses abound in this race with the Ryan Deakian Bobby Ormsby, Cypress Lake standing out as the most likely to surprise. He is running alone on his team this year after the graduation of seniors Craig & Ploplis but he has a reputation of running up to the competition in the field. He finished 8th at the 2A State meet last year as a sophomore. Keep and eye on this one.
Virtual Rankings (Based on 2010 PR's)
1. 15:21.90 Schnulle, Ryan Charlotte HS
2. 15:46.70 Rojas, Aaron Estero HS
3. 15:57.00 Miranda, Carlos Palmetto Ridge HS
4. 16:03.10 Wise, Alan Ida S. Baker HS
5. 16:09.10 Chavez, Julian Estero HS
6. 16:11.10 Pelletier, Joshua Palmetto Ridge HS
7. 16:12.90 Ormsby, Bobby Cypress Lake HS
8. 16:16.80 Briner, Steven Estero HS
9. 16:25.00 Cartegna, Jose G Estero HS
10. 16:29.20 Brown, Aesop Fort Myers HS
11. 16:37.80 Hernadez, Alexander Estero HS
12. 16:46.40 Deceus, Jean Immokalee HS
13. 16:50.80 Adam Sommer Estero HS
14. 16:51.10 Cardenas, Dominic Charlotte HS
15. 16:51.20 Camacho, Chris Lehigh HS
Team Championship
Estero is the clear favorite to win the team title this year but home team Fort Myers looks to push them hard for a close second followed by Palmetto Ridge, up and coming 2A Immokalee and rebuilding Charlotte in that order.
1. Estero HS
2. Fort Myers HS
3. Palmetto Ridge HS
4. Immokalee HS
5. Charlotte HS
The Course
Veteran’s Park in Lehigh Acres is the home of the Optimist Invite for the 4th consecutive year after moving from Buckingham Park in 2008. The park offers some nice topographical features and variations to work with as well as great spectator vantage points. The course is a double loop that incorporates grass, sandy paths and a 9 meter tall hill with twists, turns and unlevel ground throughout. Truly a tough cross-country course that only offers fast times to those who are trained up and ready for the challenge.
Course Records
Boys CC 5k Aaron Rojas Estero HS 15:57.94 LCAC 2010
Girls CC 5k Kathryn Fluehr Community School of Naples 17:29.00 Optimist 2009
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