Barron Collier Invitational Recap

It’s High School Cross Country kick-off weekend and as usual another scorcher just above the 26th parallel here in Naples, FL. The Barron Collier Invite was the season opener for 23 teams from around SWFL and they were greeted by a glorious late summer morning befitting of the sub-tropics. Air as thick as the lazy river that flows right next door to the course at the Sun-N-Fun Lagoon and temperatures rising as fast as the blazing morning sun. At 7:30am it was 80º / 78% = 91º heat index.

 

The course is a modified triple loop around the soccer and baseball fields of North Collier Regional Park. Long burmudagrass (2” – 2.5”) was 85% of the course with 14% on cinder warning track and >1% asphalt. I think that the constant rhetoric about short courses on these boards has some meet directors building in extra length to their layout just to avoid being called out. This combined with the weather conditions insured there would be no PRs on this day.

 

The Girls varsity race started right on time at 7:45 and the field featured reigning 3A state champions Estero as well as 3A contenders Lakewood Ranch, Naples, Fort Myers and Cypress Lake. The competition also had 1A powers Community School as well as top runners Sarah Candiano and Sarah McBeath from Evangelical Christian. At the gun the usual suspects charged out front, Kacy Smith the afore mentioned Sarah Candiano, Katy Solis, LWR’s Katie Wray and a name that hasn’t been called in awhile, Fort Myers Junior Emily Edwards. At the mile the lead group was still together but was starting to put some distance on the rest of the strung out pack. Edwards then started to pull away meter by meter so by the 2 mile mark had a good 25 meters on Smith who was followed closely by Candiano, then a pack of Estero runners. The last mile held that positioning with Emily claiming the title in 19:11. The Estero girls put 6 in the top ten, scoring a mere 26 points / 20:23 avg., besting LWR by 70.

 

The 8:20am Boys Varsity race was held up for 15 minutes for the course to clear allowing the sun to fully clear the trees lining the east side of the park and to blast down on 90% of the treeless course. The field included top 3A Fort Myers, Estero, and SAT depleted Naples squads as well as 2A contender Immokalee. As the charge went out emerging elite Tyler Bennett lead teammate Ace Brown, Cypress Lake’s Bobby Ormsby, Estero’s Jose Cartegena and Alex Hernandez. This held through the 1 mile mark as the team packs from rivals Fort Myers and Estero looked good but by the 2 mile the Estero pack uncharacteristically came apart. Bennett increased his lead seemingly unaffected by the heat as his competition melted away. Tyler blew through the finish in 16:27; 28 seconds over 2nd place Ormsby. Fort Myers boys took the team title by grouping their 5 in the top 25, scoring 46. Estero scored 61 to take second.

 

The JV races were both taken individually by Fort Myers freshmen; Stephen Fedec on the boys side and Bianca Ferrara on the girls. Team trophies also went to the Green Wave as the boys scored a 17 and the girls 23.

 

The course will be seen again this year by the 3A teams of district 12 when the district meet is hosted by Barron Collier HS on Halloween morning. Let us hope that Mother Nature is better behaved then.

 

This was a great first meet for the Barron Collier high school. Facilities and management were first rate. Special thanks/congrats go out to Coach Carl Egbert and his staff, Gulf Coast Runners timing and Collier County Parks & Recreation.

 

 

Results and Photos from Barron Collier Invitational...