State Cross Country Standouts
North Fort Myers senior Zachary Kovacik led a strong field of area performers at the Class 3A Cross Country Finals in Dade City. Kovacik placed eighth with a time of 15:56.
There were 189 runners in the boys’ race and 188 in the girls’ race.
Ida Baker, which qualified as a team in the boys’ competition, took 19th out of 24 teams. The Bulldogs finished with a team score of 436. Fort Myers finished one spot ahead of the Bulldogs in 18th place. The Bulldogs were represented by Jessie Betts (54), Allen Chandler (62), Zachery Stackhouse (105), Jeff Miller (107), Cory Hinkle (108), Ronaldo Nall (131) and Dustin Greco (142).
Cape Coral’s Blake Behr finished 103rd.
In the girls’ race, Katie Russo of Fort Myers claimed 12th place with a time of 19:02. North Fort Myers runners Chelsea Humbert-Llinas and Wally Rosario finished 67th and 71st, respectively, and Baker’s Amanda Kane placed 97th.
The Bishop Verot boys came in 14th out of 24 teams in the 2A finals.
The Vikings were led by Jeremy Ploplis, who finished 22nd, and Sean Quinn, who finished 23rd.