Finally A Champion

Southwest Florida distance runners can hold up their heads for their performances at last week's Florida State High School Track and Field Championships. The four classes competed on four separate days spread Wednesday through Saturday. 

In the end Bishop Verot the boys and girls proved their teams can claim the spot as the top distance power in Lee County when looking at all of the results. And finally for one Southwest Florida distance star, a state championship could be claimed. 

Starting with Class 4A ladies Gianna Del Pizzo, the Lehigh junior, pulled off a fine double placing 4th in the 1600 with a personal best of 5:05.8. She doubled back in 11:29.52 in the 3200 placing 11th. Ahead of her in that race was the breakout sensation from Riverdale, junior Ansley Kelly. She placed 5th running 11:11.52. 

I usally don't touch on Collier County runners but the performances of Palmetto Ridge senior Bernardo Barnhart and Gulf Coast junior William Montoya in the 3200 stand out. Barnhart clocked one of the fastest 3200 times from the area in years hitting 9:12.24 for 3rd while Montoya was close behind running 9:17.82 to finish 5th. 

The biggest Class 3A result came from the boys of Fort Myers in the 4x800. Timmy Schultz and Joseph Koraya helped lead the Green Wave to a 4th place finish in the 4x800 in a school record 7:57.68. Schultz and Koraya doubled back in the 1600. Koraya, only a junior, took seventh running 4:24.73. Schultz, a senior, was 14th in 4:29.24. The only other podium finish came from Declan Ziomek. The Cape Coral senior finished 8th in the 3200 hitting the finish in 9:31.50. Dunbar junior Joshua Dorestin came close finishing 9th in the 800 running 1:57.75. 

The only girl to race in an open event was Fort Myers sophomore Masha Dorofeev who passed up the 1600 to focus on the 3200. Her decision almost paid off with a podium finish with Dorofeev placing 9th in a personal best of 11:15.06. Class 2A was the Bishop Verot show. Both the boys and girls squad grabbed 4th place in the 4x800. 

The Verot girls of Sofia Roman, Julia Reitz, Kylie Thomas and Mackenzie DeLisle did it in style clocking a school record of 9:31.44. Reitz followed that up with a fine 8th place finish in the 1600 with a personal best 5:07.65 while super sophomore DeLisle took 4th in the 3200 running 10:55.26. The Vikings Grayson Tubbs doubled back in the open 800 taking 3rd in 1:56.52. Class 1A saw the girls of SFCA snag an 8th place finish with a 10:00.32. 

We also want to give a nod to SFCA senior Hayden Tank who wrapped up his fine career with a 9:38.06 and a 9th place finish. Hard to believe that Tank would run that fast and not podium. The capper goes to Ava Povich who once again showed what it takes to be ready for a state championship. Povich ran a sterling 5:01.84 to take 4th in the 1600. Then making a bold move with two laps to go the Florida State bound star held on to win her first state title running 10:47.99. Povich now joins the ranks as one of the best distance to ever come out of Lee County.

State

Ava Povich, ECS

First, I apologize for not writing more about this wonderful season of high school track and field produced by Lee County athletes.  Life comes at you pretty fast and this 67-year-old just couldn't lock in and put forth the effort to follow all of the great performances that were produced this season.

This week a strong contingent of Lee County distance runners will travel to the University of North Florida to compete at the Florida High School Track and Field Championships.  Before I delve into the results class by class, I will state my biggest complaint about the sport in this state.  The season is way too long.  Meets started in early February and run through mid-May.  Given the awful temperatures and humidity in Florida the season should end the last week of April.  Ten weeks of competition is more than enough to separate the wheat from the chafe.

We're going with the biggest class first, Class 4A where two girls will compete. First is Gianna Del Pizzo.  The Lehigh junior will run in the 1600, her strongest event, and the 3200.  Del Pizzo is one of a handful of Lee County girls to break 5:10 this season.  She appears ready to make a run at a sub-five clocking and has a good shot at making the podium in the 1600.Second there's Riverdale junior Ansley Kelley who burst on the scene this spring. She's got a shot at a podium finish in the 3200.  If he can rebound with a performance like the one he had at Districts he's got a shot at a top eight finish.

Class 3A is chock full of individuals and teams that could podium.  At 800 meters Dunbar's Joshua Dorestin barely scrapped through the qualify for State.

Over 1600 JoJo Koraya of Fort Myers hasn't quite shown the brilliance of his sophomore campaign.  Koraya will need a sub-4:20 effort to medal as will his senior teammate Timmy Shultz.

Koraya and Shultz will help put the Green Wave in a position to win the 4x800.  The dark horse team will be the Dunbar Tigers in this event while Cape Coral could make the podium as well.

The Cape Coral 3200 duo of Declan Ziomek and William Canales will certainly put their nose in this super competitive event.  Ziomek has the best chance to podium but it will take a big PR to claim a spot.  

On the girl's side Fort Myers will send its 4x800 team while it has one girl competing in the 1600 and 3200.  Sophomore Masha Dorofeev will need to score a big personal best to score in either event.

Class 2A is where Bishop Verot has stamped itself as the distance power of Lee County, both boys and girls.

Grayson Tubbs has a great shot at making the podium in the 800.  His rival from Estero, Max Sedmak, has an outside shot at a top eight finish.

In the girl's 800 Bishop Verot senior Kylie Thomas will need to run yet another personal best to score in the 800.  Don't count her out as her season has been one PB after another.

Another Verot senior Julia Reitz came close to breaking 5:10 earlier in the season and may need to run that fast to make the podium.

Verot super sophomore MacKenzie DeLisle joined the exclusive sub 11 club earlier in the season.  She will need to run one of the fastest times in Lee County history to win the state title but she appears to have a lock on second.

The best chance for gold for the Verot girls is in the 4x800 with DeLisle, Reitz, Thomas and Sofia Roman leading a solid squad.  The Verot boys could also snag a gold in the 4x800.  Regardless, this season has been a real feather in the cap of Verot distance coach Tyler Stowell.

We wrap it up with Class 1A which includes one of the best female preps in Lee County history.  As of right now ECS senior Ava Povich is looking at a 4x800, 1600 and 3200 triple.  She's a competitor who appears to run better the more she races.  It wouldn't surprise me if she skips the 1600 and opts to race the 3200 only as it's her best bet to finally take an individual state title.  ECS had a shot at a team championships but those chances slipped away when sprint star MacKenzie Travis tore her hamstring.  Povich may consider cutting back to a double since those team points won't matter as much.

ECS also has a stellar entry in the 800 Casey Johnson.  The girls from ECS will compete in the 4x800 with a squad from SFCA.  The boys from SFCA has a real shot at making the podium with 800 finalist Jack Gifford and distance ace Hayden Tank leading SFCA's boys squad.

Two other Lee County seniors look to podium in the 3200 in their final state meet. Tank appears ready to run another PR and should land on the podium even if he doesn't.  As should Canterbury Gabriella Santucci who has finished 10th and 9th respectively, missing the podium by one spot last year.