So It Begins XC 2022

The first official meets of the Florida High School cross country rolled by this Saturday and surprise, look out for Mackenzie DeLisle.  The diminutive Bishop Verot sophomore is two inches taller and took a major scalp at the preseason meet hosted by Dunbar last week.  DeLisle scored the "upset" by beating ECS senior star Ava Povich.  DeLisle followed that win with another Saturday morning at the Lemon Bay Invitational helping her depleted team to a second place finish to the always powerful squad from Naples High.

Verot is depleted with the loss of senior Julia Reitz.  The Vikings showed surprising depth in finishing ahead of county rival Fort Myers which I had slotted as the top girls squad in Lee County.  Granted the Green Wave was running without senior Olivia Olney but Fort Myers needs more from its squad, three through seven. 

Povich bounced back at the Lehigh Lightning Invitational on Saturday in a cake walk.  The Lehigh meet produced two surprises.  Oasis ninth grader Jazlyn Forbes debuted with a stunning third place finish.  The other shocker came from CSN senior Sergei Guzman who showed what a summer of training can do by winning the first varsity race he's ever run, upsetting SFCA senior Hayden Tank.  For reasons unknown Palmetto Ridge standout Bernardo Barnhart did not run at Lehigh with his team.  Let's hope this senior stud from Collier County is healthy.

Another top Lee County runner was missing in action at Lehigh and Dunbar.  Declan Ziomek didn't run on Saturday and despite his absence, Cape Coral's boys show they will be a force in Lee County winning at Lehigh after finishing second to Fort Myers at Dunbar.  With Ziomek the Seahawks could make a run for the county title against Fort Myers.

As for the Fort Myers boys, they won Dunbar behind junior Joseph Koraya's first place finish and won at Lemon Bay where Koraya finished third.  The boys from Bishop Verot finished second at Lemon Bay without the services of senior Cooper Banks.

Next weekend is the DDD Invitational at Estero Park.  Verot is taking the week off but all of the top Lee County squads will line up for the Fort Myers Invitational the following Saturday night at the Kelly Road Soccer Complex.