Cross Country 2022

Lee County high school cross country rolls out on August 20th with the Dunbar Jamboree.  I will write here what I have written before.  The Florida high school cross country season is too long.  And I think every meet run before Labor Day should be just 3000 meters.  Lee County boasts one of the State's best distance runners and potentially one of the State's best teams.

Ladies first.  When it comes to individuals, it's Ava Povich and a handful of girls who would like to take her scalp.  Povich, a senior from ECS, is a Bona fide Division One recruit and a sure fire bet to finish in the top five Class 1A at State.  She was the best that Lee County had to offer last fall and there's no reason to think that she won't repeat as the best of the best in this neck of the woods.

Since you score the first five on a cross country team we will mention four other girls.  Mackenzie DeLisle was a freshman star for Bishop Verot.  If she can get healthy for her sophomore campaign she could make a legitimate run for the top ten in Class 2A.  Health will also play a role in one of her teammates who should shine for Verot, senior Julia Reitz.  Reitz was hobbled by the end of last spring's track season.  The question is whether both girls have been able to put in the summer miles.

Canterbury's Gabriella Santucci comes into her senior campaign with an eye on a top ten finish in Class 1A.  She finished 11th last fall and showed continued improvement during her spring track season.  The other girl that is my dark horse for the fall is Fort Myers junior Elizabeth McHugh.  She battled injuries for the better part of a year and showed a lot of promise at the end of last spring's track season.  She could be better than returning LCAC champion Olivia Olney who is a returning senior.

That brings us to the teams and only two are worth mentioning.  Fort Myers has everyone back from a team that went to the Class 3A State meet.  With a healthy McHugh, Olney, sophomore Masha Dorofeev and a slew of other girls capable of running 21 minutes or better, the Green Wave could be a top five team in its class this fall.

The other top team is Bishop Verot.  It all comes down to the health of the Vikings top two.  With the departure of Jorge Fleitas, Verot has a capable replacement in Tyler Stowell who has made his bones as a youth coach.  Stowell has last year's entire squad that went to State returning including senior Kylie Thomas who could be a sleeper as an individual.   

The boy's scene will offer something of a shakeup after two years of domination by Estero's Kolton Pickard who has graduated In other words, picking the best for this fall among the boys is a hot mess..  Based on last spring's track season Fort Myers junior Joseph Koraya should ascend to the top of Lee County's pecking order.  SFCA senior Hayden Tank could be the best of the best given his better 3200 credentials and his 19th place finish in Class 1A.  Koraya was 22nd as a sophomore in Class 3A and ran 30 seconds faster on the same course; than Tank.

The real mess is deciding which runners three runners belong in the top five.  Declan Ziomek has left Ida Baker to run at Cape Coral High.  I suspect the graduation of Matthew Speruta led Jake Jacoby and Ziomek to make the switch where they will have William Canales to train with.  I like Ziomek and Fort Myers sophomore Craig Allard, Jr.  The hardest pick is number five and I'm going with Canales.  

When it comes to sorting out the top teams, it's an easy pick.  The boys from Fort Myers lost their best runner in Colsen Palmer to graduation but almost everyone else is back.  The team is loaded and could be eyeing another podium spot in Class 3A at State.  Last year's squad finished second. Timothy Schultz and Quin Roberts give the Green Wave some seasoned vets.  Coach Yancey Palmer has done a great job coaching both the boy's and girl's teams.

The other top team is Bishop Verot.  Tyler Stowell has a couple of studs to coach.  Leaving Grayson Tubbs and Cooper Banks off my top five was really hard to do.  Both had outstanding track seasons. Banks skipped cross country last fall but now realizes that a season of fall running will help his outstanding ability at 800 meters.  Tubbs had a standout spring in both the 800 and 1600.  The Vikings have enough depth that a return to State Class 2A seems a sure thing.   

What I am watching for is whether Povich can join the elite ranks of Lee County girls to break 18 minutes over 5000 meters.  The last girl to do it was Fort Myers High's Stephy Ormsby.  She's running for the Florida Gators now.  Povich and the Fort Myers boys are the ones to watch.