On-Site Coverage:
Mix one of the states oldest continuously held CC meets, an outstanding venue with a tough as nails course and 32 raring to go teams and you get the 34th Optimist Invitational hosted by Fort Myers HS.
The conditions were a typically serene mid-September, Southwest Florida morning. Warm and humid as dawn broke over Veteran’s Park in Lehigh Acres and there was an added hint of autumn coolness in the gentle breeze. That cool serenity would soon be broken as 820+ raging athletes would start challenging the double looping snake of a course and hundreds of fans would come to full throat cheering them on.
8:00am sharp the gun went off heralding the start of the Girl’s varsity race. Coach Jeff Sommer’s squad was the hands down favorites to take the team hardware but it was still up in the air as to who would earn the individual triumph. Charging up the steep hill the first time were the two Sarahs from Evangelical Christian, Candiano & McBeath, Chelsea Manning, Cypress Lake, Emily Edwards, Fort Myers and Kacy Smith & Katy Solis, Estero. The one mile mark came just a tick under 6 minutes for the quickly thinning lead pack of 4 of Candiano, Solis, Smith and Edwards followed by Estero teammates Jenkins and Slater. By the time they had to take the punishment of the hill again Smith & Solis were out in front as a fading Candiano and Edwards followed. In the end Smith pulled away for her first victory of her senior campaign in 19:04, over teammate Solis with a surging Bethany Jenkins taking third. Edwards snuck in front of Candiano to round out the top five. The Estero team did not disappoint, putting 5 in the top 12 and posting a 23, 68 points better than second place Fort Myers. Naples fell to third by one point and Cypress Lake and Immokalee completed the top 5 teams.
The boys varsity race lived up to it’s billing as a battle royale in 3A. When the crack of the gun started the 8:40 race 187 harriers charged out 100m before making the sweeping left turn towards the hill, the expected front runners were there; Carlos Miranda, Palmetto Ridge, Tyler Bennett & Ace Brown, Fort Myers, Jose Cartagena, Estero, Miguel Casiano, Lehigh, Bobby Ormsby, Cypress Lake and Buddy Gates & Lee Shearer, Naples. The first mile was taken in around 4:55 as Miranda, Bennett, Gates and Brown started to pull away. By the time the brutal second trip up the hill they were single file with Carlos and Ace leading the way over Tyler and Buddy. Ace got around Carlos on the backside of the hill but was retaken at the two mile mark. Miranda never relinquish the lead again as he put a 10 second cushion on Brown that held to the finish line. Carlos’ time was a little over a half a second off his dramatic win here last year. Brown came in second and was followed by fellow Green Waver Bennett in third with Gates and Ormsby finishing the top 5. Home team Fort Myers won it’s second straight invitational and first Optimist title since 2007 by packing 3 in the top ten and 5 in the top 30, scoring 59. Estero 75, Naples 89 were next with Palmetto Ridge and North Port rounding out the top 5.
The JV races went off with out a hitch with Stephan Fedec, Fort Myers winning his second JV meet of the year on the boys side and Maria Frank, Estero destroying the field for the win on the girls. Fort Myers swept the team trophies with the Girls scoring a 30 and the Boys posting a 24.
This meet just gets better and better with a record 32 teams registered this year. I really can’t say enough about the outstanding course, truly a CC raceway that should be included on the short list of the best in the state. An outstanding job by host Coaches Kelly Britton and Yancey Palmer and all their volunteers, John Biffar and the Endurance Sports Timing team, Lee County Parks & Recreation and Mother Nature for easing up on us just a little bit this week.