Edwards and Bennett lower the BOOM at North Port Invite

North Port XC Invitational
Robert Brown

 

On-Site Coverage

Meet Summary by Robert Brown

With its flat mixed surface course the North Port Invite can splash out some really good times. Add good weather conditions and you get great times, but this edition saw some times that will cause ripples throughout the state all the way to Tallahassee.

It was cool and humid as dawn broke over the North Port HS campus. The busses groaned in the parking lot, pouring out 40+ teams onto dew covered grass of the football stadium. A nice 72º with cloud cover and a bit of a breeze had these southern Florida runners excited to compete just against each other without having to battle nature as well.

Girls Large School Varsity – She’s Back!

At 7:30am came the first surprise of the day, North Port Coach James Simpson employed a cannon, yes, you read that right, a cannon to start the days races. So with a loud BOOM, and a lot of surprised faces, the girls kicked off the 2012 North Port Invite. The Estero Wildcats were pre-race favorites but a game Plant squad had other ideas. From the start it was Kacy Smith & Katy G. Solis, Estero, Julia Rodriguez & Scarlett Fox, Plant, Emily Edwards & Jillian Richter Fort Myers, Chelsea Manning, Cypress Lake and Kristin Zarrella, Lakewood Ranch pushing the pace. Sub 6 through the first mile with diminutive Solis out in front followed by Edwards, Smith and Rodriguez. By the two mile the race had strung out considerably with Solis and Edwards gapping Smith and Rodriguez by 25 meters. Emily surged during the next mile getting around Katy for the lead, which she held to take the tape in a state leading 18:23, for her second win of the season. Solis barely held off a surging Rodriguez for second followed by Smith and Fox. Plant’s five, finished 3-5-9-10-13 but Estero’s scorers came in 2-4-7-8-16 for the three point win 37 to 40. Fort Myers Girls slipped past Lakewood Ranch for third with Ida Baker nailing down the 5 spot.

Boys Large School Varsity – Tyler Bennett? Heck, He Broke It!

The boys varsity race lived up to it’s billing as a battle royale in 3A. When the second retort of the cannon on the day started the Boys large school race 162 harriers charged the battlefield. The expected front runners were there; Tyler Bennett & Ace Brown, Fort Myers, Jose Cartagena, Estero, Bobby Ormsby, Cypress Lake, Courtland Bernard, Sarasota and Leonel Delacruz, Immokalee. It was Bennett all the way at the mile in 4:49 followed by Ormsby, Brown, Cartagena and Delacruz in that order. 10 minutes in at the 2 mile mark Bennett had built a 50 meter lead over teammate Brown with Ormsby hot on Ace’s heels. Delacruz held 4th but a surging Bernard was breathing down his neck in 5th. Bennett didn’t stop there, blistering the final 1.107 miles in 5:27 for a course/meet record 15:27 (also a state leading time). Brown also bettered the meet record for 2nd place followed by Bernard, Delacruz and Ormsby. A total of 25 runners ran under 17. The Green Wave placed 5 in the top 22, scoring 49 points to take their 3rd win in as many tries with a 16:11.9 team avg. Steinbrenner was 20 back followed by Estero, then Sarasota with home team North Port rounding out the top 5. Plant boys did not make the trip.

Girls Small School Varsity – Candiano? CandiaYES!

Even though I mistakenly thought the Lemon Bay and Sebring teams were in the large school meets I didn’t mistake who would win the individual crown. When the cannon scared started the small school Girls race into action the ECS Sarahs were up front leading the way with Sebring’s Taylor Tubbs in tow. At the mile Candiano and Tubbs were shoulder to shoulder with McBeath 5 paces back, followed by Sabrina Whiting, Seffner and Abigale Weinfield, Lemon Bay. At the 2 Candiano was content to be 2 meters in the lead and cruising over Tubbs. McBeath was 3rd but was being hunted by Weinfield and Whiting. Sarah busted out on the last mile putting 28 seconds between her and 2nd place Taylor, winning in 18:25! Weinfield took third, Whiting forth and McBeath finished off the top five. Lemon Bay took the team trophy with Community School of Naples next, one point over third Seffner. Clewiston was forth also one point over fifth place Sebring.

Boys Small School Varsity – Nothing Placid about Shelton.

By now everyone knew to cover their ears when that blasted (sorry for the pun) cannon went off. Erick Medina, LaBelle, Shelton Dalton, Lake Placid, Josh Keenan, Seffner, and Miguel Casiano & Christian VaZquez, Lehigh were some of the names out front. At the mile Dalton lead Medina followed by Keenan then Vazquez and Casiano. The 2 saw a tight pack of 4, Dalton, Kennan, Casiano and Vazquez right on top of each other. Dalton narrowly pulled away over the next mile for the win in 16:08 with Keenan 2nd followed by Casiano, Vazquez and Medina all under 17. The team race had LaBelle put  5 in the top 28 but Seffner’s first four were better than Labelles by enough to get the win by 9 points! Mariner came in third with Bishop Verot edging Lemon Bay by 1 point for 4th and 5th.

The JV team races were both taken by the Fort Myers hoard. Brian Kerry, Sarasota won the boys JV individual and Haley Blem takes the top girls crown.

Another fine meet hosted by North Port HS. Best trophies, prizes and coaches buffet of any meet that I have been to, bar none. Special shout outs to North Port head coach James ‘Jimmy’ Simpson and his entire staff, Jeremy Criscione / Elite Timing & Event Management, and North Port HS for continued outstanding support of our sport.

 

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