Two Weeks To Go

Lee County high school cross country is into its home stretch.  Teams and individuals begin competing Thursday to qualify for the State Championships to be held in Tallahassee in a little less than two weeks.  My complaints about their being too many meets and the length of the cross country season took an unexpected turn due to Hurricane Ian.  It dropped an atom bomb on a lot of athletes and coaches right at the height of the season and the fact that so many local schools will probably be racing on November 5th is no small testament to the perseverance and commitment these folks have to the sport.

This time I will start with the men where two runners have dominated the county, Fort Myers junior Joseph Koraya and Cape Coral senior Declan Ziomek.  The two have traded scalps all season.  What happens at State should decide once and for all the county's top XC dog  They will face off again this Thursday at Regions in Lakeland.

Team wise it's been Fort Myers and Cape Coral all season with a surprising surge from Bishop Verot under new coach Tyler Stowell.  Fort Myers has the best chance to podium as they did last year.  But strange things happen in Tallahassee and it wouldn't surprise me if Fort Myers and the Cape both finish in the top five in Class 3A with Bishop Verot doing the same in Class 2A

The biggest surprise from this season was the rough road faced by SFCA's Hayden Tank.  It started with a heat incident at the Fort Myers Invite that led to a health scare.  I want to give Tank all due credit for not letting these setbacks ruin his senior campaign.  He's got the talent and two more weeks of training could put him in position to finish in top 10 in Class 1A, a major accomplishment considering what he's endured.

On the ladies side all due props go to Mackenzie DeLisle of Bishop Verot.  The sophomore star wouldn't step aside for ECS senior standout Ava Povich.  These two are by far and away the best in the county. The two have handed each other defeats with DeLisle winning their last meeting with a victory at Private 8.  Both have been running sensational times.  I wouldn't be surprised if these two both run sub 18 in Tallahassee.

The surprise individual was a freshman from Oasis, Jazlyn Forbes.  She has broken 19 minutes and appears to be capable of a top 20 finish at State Class 2A.  In fact if Oasis gets a strong performance from senior Jenna Rosado the Sharks are capable of cracking the top ten as a team.  

A trio of other Lee County runners stand good chances of claiming All State honors Class 4A.  Lehigh junior Gianna Del Pizzo saved her best performance of the season for the qualifier at Districts running her fastest time to date, 19:11.  South Fort Myers senior Sofia Torres did the same with her fourth place finish at Districts in 19:43 in Class 3A.  The third, Canterbury's Gabriella Santucci should be a lock to earn All State honors as well in Class 1A.  

When it comes to teams there's no question that the girls from Fort Myers can lay claim to the top spot in the county.  The Green Wave should make it to State led by sophomore Masha Dorofeev.  The question will be whether or not the Greenies can crack the top ten.