PORT CHARLOTTE — Devin McDermott stood drenched in the morning sun and sipped from a cup of water while she tried like heck to find the right words.
The question: How does it feel to be a member of a regional champion cross country team?
McDermott’s answer: “Awesome ... great ... um ... unbelievable. I don’t know. Just a whole bunch of words.”
The Lakewood Ranch Mustangs ran to their first region title in the program’s history in the Class 4A-Region 3 meet Friday morning at Charlotte Sports Park.
Led by Kristin Zarrella, who finished third in 19 minutes, 15 seconds, the Mustangs claimed five of the top-11 spots to earn a berth in next Saturday’s 3A state meet at Little Everglades Ranch in Dade City.
Olivia Ortiz (19:25) was fifth, McDermott, the lone sophomore in the pack of Mustang freshmen, was sixth (19:35), Ashley Platt (20:02) was ninth, Natalie Novak (20:12) was 11th and junior Emily Wray (21:59) was 35th.
The Mustangs have been among the top 3A teams in the state since they won the season-opening Mountain Dew Invitational in September at the University of Florida. Since the freshman talked about a season-ending trip to the state meet.
McDermott, though, preached caution.
“They would say, ‘When we get to states,’ and I would say, ‘Not when, if.’ I know anything can happen,” McDermott said.
Ranch was favored to win Friday’s meet, just as they were to win the 2008 regional. They were, at the very least, headed to the 2008 3A state meet when McDermott collapsed within sight of the finish line. Suffering from heat exhaustion, McDermott left the meet in an ambulance while her teammates were left wondering what if ....
McDermott said she has thought about the incident during the past year but wasn’t haunted by it.
“It wasn’t like I wimped out during the race,” she said. “I gave it everything I had. But I put it behind me. It’s ‘whatever.’ It’s a hair-flip.”
Fort Myers claimed the top-two places in the meet, but Ranch, as it had in the county and district meets, rolled to their third-straight win, easily out-distancing Fort Myers, which placed second, 23 points behind ranch.
“We had unfinished business,” Ranch coach Mary Quinn said. “We wanted to get to the state meet. That was the cake. The icing was coming in first.”
McDermott received the first place trophy and flashed, perhaps, the biggest smile of her life as she turned to face the crowd of runners, coaches and parents seated in the stands.
“Compared to what happened last year, I’m so glad I could finish this time and not be on my way to the hospital,” McDermott said.
Before the race, her teammates asked McDermott to lead them in a pre-race prayer.
“I asked God,” she said, “to keep everyone healthy.”
@z-BR Agate Bold Centered:CLASS 4A-REGION 2 MEET
Girls
Team scores — 1. Lakewood Ranch 32, 2. Fort Myers 55, 3. Cape Coral Baker, 4. Naples 126, 5. Punta Gorda Charlotte 144, 6. Englewood Lemon Bay 173, 7. Venice 175, 8. Gulfport Boca Ciega 181, 9. Seminole Osceola 223, 10. Naples Barron Collier 232, 11. Braden River 255, 12. Dunedin 374.
Disclaimer: Story comments are intended to provide a place for constructive dialog about issues and events in our community. Your input is encouraged and can make a positive difference. To achieve this, no obscenity, personal attacks, or racial slurs are tolerated. Users brought to our attention for violating our terms of use will be blocked from commenting permanently and without notice. Please help keep the comments on topic by flagging objectionable material and remember that children and young adults may be reading your comments. With freedom of speech comes the responsibility to be respectful of others.
Email Story
Printer Friendly 
Quick Job Search
@Nyx.replyAnswerText@