We've hit the midway point of the Florida high school cross country season. Things haven't unfolded as one would have suspected among the Lee County squads, mainly due to injuries. That could shake things up, especially on the girl's side.
Estero senior star Kolton Pickard is back. A freak injury thanks to the stupid a coach and his girl's team deciding to cross the Fort Myers Invitational course in front of the lead pack of boys led to Pickard tweaking his hamstring. Pickard now has back to back wins at Lely and at the Hoka FlRunners meets to show that his form is just fine.
The surprise of the season on the boy's side is Hayden Tank of SFCA. He's picked up right where big brother Ethan left off. Tank finished a respectable 5th in Lakeland, just 30 seconds behind Pickard. With Cooper Banks ditching cross country for soccer, Tank, just a junior, appears to be the top small school harrier in Lee County.
When it comes to which Lee County boy's team will lay claim to the number one spot, standby. Fort Myers and Dunbar aren't exactly shining right now. Both teams appear ready to make a run to State but neither has raced particularly well. Fort Myers made a decent showing at North Port two weeks ago with Dunbar notably in need of a stronger number five runner. Neither team raced particularly well this weekend at Hoka FlRunners.
If Fort Myers can be healthy they could top Bishop Verot. Senior Amy Meng, a top five finisher at State last year, has been dealing with nagging injuries. One of the Green Wave's other top runners, sophomore Elizabeth McHugh, is on the comeback trail from a stress fracture. Fort Myers can still make a run to State without two of its top runners as could the Estero girls.
A lot of inter-county bragging rights will be on the line this weekend at the Bishop Verot Invitational on Saturday. Assuming all of the top runners in Lee County participate, the meet will mark the last time schools both large and small will face off against each other.
No comments:
Post a Comment