- Complete Results & Meet Coverage
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Photo Album by Robert Brown - Over 1,000 Photos!
The 3A District 12 course is the same modified triple looper around the soccer and baseball fields of North Collier Regional Park that was the site of the inaugural Barron Collier Invite earlier this season. With its deep Bermuda grass, slightly long measure, and redundant trek it has proven to be a tough-to-PR course. That said, the weather conditions on this day were excellent to buck that notion and see some fast times.
Edwards eats up the field, is hungry for more
The girls race started right on time at 9:00am and the field featured 3A state contenders Naples, Fort Myers and Gulf Coast led by Green Wave junior Emily Edwards. At one mile, the race was all but decided with Edwards in the lead by 40 meters over a pack of Gulf Coast Sharks led by junior Caroline Barlow. Just behind were teammates Danielle DeGreef and Samantha Davis followed by Danielle Avery, Courtney Hogrefe of Naples and Viviana Mendoza of East Lee County. Emily kept the hammer down through the two pulling out a 200m lead. In the end Edwards finished in 18:19, a full 1:08 over second place Barlow.
The team race in the virtual meet had Fort Myers favored, but Gulf Coast, fresh off a Conference championship, used some solid team racing to upset the Green Wave by putting three in the top five and all scorers in the top 25. Those two squads will be joined at the region three meet by third place Naples and fourth place Ida Baker. Viviana Mendoza will be the lone individual transfer by virtue of her eighth place finish.
Miranda surprised by Green Wave duo
At 9:45 am the much anticipated Boys race started as early clouds dissipated allowing temperatures to rise. The field included state contending Fort Myers, Naples, and Palmetto Ridge squads and included five of the top twenty-five individuals in the state, all classifications. As the charge went out, Fort Myers’ Tyler Bennett & Ace Brown, Palmetto Ridges’ Carlos Miranda and Naples’ Lee Shearer & Buddy Gates took control. The lead pack went through the mile right at 5:00 with Bennett surging to a slim lead. The two was felled in just under 10:00 with Brown taking the lead over Bennett and Miranda uncharacteristically fading. On the third and final loop around the soccer complex, Tyler and Ace traded the lead while pulling away from Carlos. In the end Bennett finished 3.9 seconds over Brown, posting a course record 15:44.
The Green Wave put three the in the top five and all scorers in the top 13, putting up just 30 points for the team win over Naples who scored 44. Palmetto Ridge and Ida Baker will also be transferring to the Region 3 meet next week. There were no individual transfers.
Another smoothly run meet for the host Barron Collier high school. Facilities and management were first rate. Special thanks/congrats go out to Coach Carl Egbert and his staff, John Biffar and Bobby Tyler at Endurance Sports timing and Collier County Parks & Recreation.