High school cross country: Nick Kamen leads Gulf Coast boys to Lely Invitational title

Gulf Coast High School senior Nick Kamen had a slow start to Saturday’s Lely Cross Country Invitational. But a much better finish by the Sharks’ top runner brought the team a first-place trophy.

Kamen ran a relatively-slow 5:25 in the first mile of the course at Lely High, but then “coasted” from there, topping Palmetto Ridge junior Christian Garcia by nine seconds to win the first-place ribbon.

With all the teams in the 24-team field closing in on the end of the regular season and the district meets in two weeks, Kamen put on plenty of mental focus to come in first.

“I wanted to run as fast as possible over those last two miles,” Kamen said. “I prepared for a finishing kick at the end with all the great runners that were here. I had to pull away before the finishing kick. It was a fast course with a lot of twists and turns. So, it took all I had to win.”

With its sum maybe being greater than its parts, Kamen was the Sharks’ only top 10 finisher, but three other runners placed in the top 20. Joshua McHarris was 15th, Micah Evans was 16th and Jackson Pope came in the 19th for Gulf Coast.

Palmetto Ridge was fifth in the meet, led by Garcia in second and Saindeley Dorsainvil, who placed third.

Port Charlotte senior John Perez was fourth individually at 16:56.65. Oasis High’s Preston Dunn was fifth with a time of 16:57.19. Lely’s Ian Rivera-Garcia was sixth and Anthony Alvarez was seventh.

Barron Collier junior Walker Brunner was 10th with a time of 17:19.

Led by Rivera-Garcia and Alvarez, the Trojans were second in the field. Barron Collier was sixth.

“Our team has broken expectations so far this year,” Kamen said. “I am proud of all of our guys. They have worked hard all year and have stuck together.”

In the girls meet, Gulf Coast was third and Palmetto Ridge came in fourth as a team. The Bears were led by Mo Palmer, who finished third individually at 19:47, and freshman Sonia Lountchenko, who was fifth at 20:51.17.

Cape Coral senior Cheyenne Young won the race at 18:52.31. Isabella Coogan of Port Charlotte was second. Evangelical Christian School senior Elizabeth Wetmore came in fourth at 20:44.95.

Palmer, a senior for Palmetto Ridge, excelled on what she felt was a very challenging course. She didn’t win a customary first-place ribbon, but was nonetheless satisfied with a No. 3 finish Saturday.

“I wanted to do a personal best today while preparing for the county meet next week. More than anything, I wanted to get my time down,” Palmer said. “The competition was great, so in a way I didn’t expect to win. It was a matter of staying as close as possible to the front.”

Palmer has been maybe the best in the Collier County Athletic Conference this season thanks in part to a little luck in the health department.

“I’ve had no big injuries this season, and the team has been very supportive of me,” Palmer said. “We have the conference and district meets coming up. I’d like to win those, of course, but I’d really like to see all of us get back to the state finals. We haven’t been there since I was a freshman.”

LELY CROSS COUNTRY INVITATIONAL

Boys

Team scores

Gulf Coast 73, Lely 110, Ida Baker 137, Dunbar 155, Palmetto Ridge 156, Barron Collier 187, Port Charlotte 193, Venice 229, Fort Myers 282, Cape Coral 304, Marco Island Academy 306, Southwest Florida Christian 338, Seacrest Country Day School 346, Clewiston 369, Island Coast 375, Charlotte and Oasis 437, North Fort Myers 473, St. John Neumann 484, Mariner 486, Community School 491, Naples 527, Mason Classical Academy 623, Golden Gate 656.

Top 10

1.  Nick Kamen (GC) 16:37.45; 2. Christian Garcia (PR) 16:46.86; 3. Saindeley Dorsainvil (PR) 16:50.07; 4. John Perez (PTC) 16:56.65; 5. Preston Dunn (O) 16:57.19; 6. Ian Rivera-Garcia (L) 16:58.99; 7.  Anthony Alvarez (L) 17:08.00.; 8.  Franklin Caceres (IB) 17:09.26; 9.  Terrell White (D) 17:13.05; 10. Walker Brunner (BC) 17:19.00.

Girls

Team scores

Charlotte 50, Cape Coral 79, Gulf Coast 109, Palmetto Ridge 124, Venice 165, Port Charlotte 169, Southwest Florida Christian Academy 210, Lely 240, Ida Baker 263, Fort Myers 265, First Baptist Academy 304, Barron Collier 305, Naples 310, North Fort Myers 337, St. John Neumann 342, Mariner 386, East Lee County 402, Dunbar 520, Clewiston 533, Golden Gate 591.

Top 10

1.  Cheyenne Young (CC) 18:52.31; 2. Isabella Coogan (PTC) 1911.06; 3. Mo Palmer (PR), 19:47.00; 4. Elizabeth Wetmore (ECS) 20:44.95; 5. Sonia Lountchenko (PR) 20:51.17;  6. Mackenzie Flowers (Cha) 20:53.10; 7. Grace O’Malley (CSN) 20:53.17; 8. Victoria Simeone (Cha) 20:53.41; 9. Camille Strackbein (GC) 20:56.84; 10. Gracia Rojas (M) 20:57.25.