BRADENTON — The Lakewood Ranch Mustangs crossed the finish line in a blur.
Kristin Zarrella was first, followed quickly by Olivia Ortiz and Devin McDermott. Natalie Novak was fifth. Ashley Platt was seventh.
By the time Platt finished, the Mustangs had clinched the Manatee County Cross Country Championship, easily beating the field Wednesday at Robinson Preserve.
It was the fifth straight county championship for the Mustangs, who have their eyes set on bigger prizes this fall, like the district and region titles and strong day at the state meet.
So, that left the county meet as, what?
“The first big step,” said Ortiz, one of four freshman in the Mustangs top five. “The difficult meets are at the end of the season. This is a giant step.”
“Any win is a good win,” said McDermott, the lone sophomore. “We don’t take anything for granted.”
Wednesday was unseasonably hot, and the course offered little in the way of shade for the runners.
“This course takes a lot out of you, because I felt like I was running a decent time,” said Zarrella, who finished the 3.1-mile course in 19 minutes, 12.68 seconds.
Manatee’s Nick Algozzine won the boys race in 17:22.14 to pace the Hurricanes to their third straight county title.
Algozzine and Ivo Lima of Braden River traded the lead over the final 800 yards, with Algozzine regaining the lead 200 yards before the finish line. Teammate Chris Owens was third, followed by Matthew Sanchez (fourth) and Chris Pate (fifth). Jordan washer finished seventh for the Hurricanes.
“We came through this. We survived,” Manatee boys coach Mike Smith said. “We got a week to go before districts to regroup and find out where we are.”
Palmetto’s Hunter Rayl finished sixth.
On the girls side, Saint Stephen’s Hannah Howell (fourth) and Palmetto’s Jessica McKinnis (sixth) stood in the way of a clean sweep by the Mustangs.
“We did fantastic,” Lakewood Ranch coach Mary Quinn said. “We finished one, two, three, five and seven. How can you do better than that?”
Quinn was pleased that four of her runners finished in less than 20 minutes. Novak’s time of 19:49.27 was 20 seconds lower than her previous personal best.
“I knew a break-through was coming for her,” Quinn said. “I didn’t know it was (Wednesday), because it was so hot.”
Manatee’s Eric Steinke (19:05.37) won the boys junior varsity race. Hailey Stoffel (24:30.43) of Lakewood ranch won the girls JV race.
@z-BR Agatehed:Results
@z-BR Agate Bold Centered:GIRLS
Team: 1. Lakewood Ranch 15, 2. Manatee 50, 3. Braden River 80, 4. Southeast 89.
@z-BR Agate Bold Centered:Individual
Top 10: 1. Kristin Zarrella, Ranch 19:12.68, 2. Olivia Ortiz, Ranch 19:19.74, 3. Devin McDermott, Ranch 19:20.65, 4. Hannah Howell, Saint Stephen’s 19:26.62, 5. Natalie Novak, Ranch 19:49.27, 6. Jessica McKinnis, Palmetto 20:45.81, 7. Ashley Platt, Ranch 20:50.68, 8. Diana Nelson, Manatee 21:44.27, 9. Bridget Lanier, Braden River 21:51.71, 10. Madison Daunt, Braden River 22:22.58.
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