Prep cross country: Lely's Joshua Wagner wins Lely Trojan Invite, Lely boys take second

Senior Joshua Wagner established himself as a speedster in multiple sports at Lely High School, but he decided to take a shot at cross country this year. Now, late in the season, his decision is continuing to pay off.

The Trojans runner pulled away early during Saturday’s 18th annual Lely Trojan Invitational cross country meet and cruised to a first-place finish, leading the Lely boys team to second place overall.

“It was a fun course,” he said. “I’m glad I could win for my school. That was the main goal.”

Wagner, who finished with a 16:49.54, prefers to be behind during races. He likes to chase down opponents.

“I love to race,” he said. “I don’t really see it as running, I see it as racing.”

But, on Saturday, he didn’t have to do much chasing. Miami-Belen Jesuit’s Christopher Garcia passed him momentarily, but Wagner reclaimed the top spot right away and stayed in front, beating Garcia to the finish line by more than 15 seconds.

“I decided to set the pace,” he said “I just decided to take it (the lead). I might as well. See how long I could set the pace.”

Wagner, who has been on Lely’s track team since his freshman year, also played football for the Trojans. With college around the corner, though, he wanted to put more focus on his running. That led to his decision to compete in cross country.

“He turned out to be a star,“ Lely coach Mark McGarity said. “We can’t argue with that.”

Wagner hasn’t committed to any colleges yet, but he is currently fielding offers. He said he recently received an offer from Troy.

Cody Demalavez finished sixth and Kole Bartos earned 12th place to help Lely secure second place. Belen Jesuit took the top spot, finishing with 48 points.

Estero’s Alayna Goll took fourth place in the girls race with a 19:41.83, giving her the fastest time among area competitors. It wasn’t fastest by much, though. She sprinted to the finish line with Naples’ Jillian Dempsey, beating her by less than a tenth of a second.

“After I finished, it felt pretty good,” Goll said. “When you’re running, you've got to have mental strength, because it’s hard to do something like that (win a sprint down the stretch). So, when you can do it, it motivates you more for the next time.”

The Golden Eagles prevailed over Estero in the end, taking third place as a team in the girls race. The Wildcats finished fourth, just eight points behind Naples.

Fort Myers won the girls event, narrowly defeating Miami-Our Lady of Lourdes Academy. Both squads finished with 70 points, so the decision came down to the teams’ sixth runners.

The Green Wave’s Madison Wagoner ultimately broke the tie, finishing 25th, just two spots in front of Our Lady of Lourdes’ Alana Batista. The two runners finished less than two seconds apart.

18th annual Lely Trojan Invitational
Boys 
Team scores
1. Belen Jesuit 48, 2. Lely 69, 3. Fort Myers 140, 4. Dunbar 159, 5. Cape Coral 196, 6. Ida Baker 212, 7. St. John Neumann 226, 8. Island Coast 256, 9. Estero 259, 10. Mariner 280, 11. Charlotte 319, 12. Evangelical Christian 334, 13. Bishop Verot 377, 14. Cypress Lake 398, 15. Community School 436, 16. Mason Classical Academy 436, 17. Clewiston 447, 18. Divine Savior Academy 450, 19. North Fort Myers 452, 20. Barron collier 467, 21. Gateway Charter 600, 22. East Lee County 601, 23. Golden Gate 622, 24. Marco Island Academy 666

Top 10
1. Joshua Wagner (L) 16:49.54; 2. Christopher Garcia (BJ) 17:05.00; 3. Jordan Russo (BC) 17:06.73; 4. Evan Seech (FM) 17:08.03; 5. Mateo Defoor (IC) 17:13.28; 6. Cody Demalavez (L) 17:19.40; 7. Darickson Gonzalez (M) 17:23.89; 8. Juan San Martin (BJ) 17:24.93; 9. Vicente Sanchez (BJ) 17:29.46; 10. Ryan Ringer (IB) 17:40.61

Girls

Team scores

1. Fort Myers 70, 2. Our Lady of Lourdes Academy 70, 3. Naples 140, 4. Estero 148, 5. Charlotte 190, 6. Mater Academy Charter 205, 7. Cape Coral 208, 8. Lely 225, 9. Canterbury 256, 10. South Fork 308, 11. Gulf Coast 309, 12. Island Coast 316, 13. North Fort Myers 333, 14. Cypress Lake 336, 15. Divine Savior Academy 400, 16. Mariner 463, 17. Marco Island Academy 464, 18. Bishop Verot 475, 19. St. John Neumann 500, 20. Clewiston 544, 21. Golden Gate 563, 22. Mason Classical Academy 600, 23. Seacrest 621

Top 10

1. Valerie Lastra (MA) 18:44.14; 2. Kayla Easterly (NFM) 19:12.37; 3. Kristlin Gear (FM) 19:24.35; 4. Alayna Goll (E) 19:41.83; 5. Jillian Dempsey (N) 19:41.85; 6. Jinah Mickens-Malik (MA) 19:44.68; 7. Fiona Kurland (FM) 19:50.00; 8. Rebecca Bergnes (OLLA) 19:56.12; 9. Jeannie Estevez (OLLA) 20:03.78; 10. Olivia Watt (MIA) 20:06.53