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Streaks Sweep Home Run

Brian Gjurgevich/Highlands Today

Lake Placid's Erica Resendiz kicks to the finish while the crowd at the final turn looks on Tuesday at the Sebring Invitational at Highlands Hammock State Park. Resendiz won the girls race in 21:27.

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By BRIAN GJURGEVICH

Highlands Today

Published: October 16, 2008

SEBRING - Erica Resendiz enjoys running in Highlands Hammock State Park, and not simply because the Lake Placid junior was the first female to cross the finish line during Tuesday's Sebring Invitational.

"The shade, the trees, it's flat - I like everything," said Resendiz after she finished just her second race of the season in 21:27. "On the straightaway, I felt like, yes, there's the finish line, it's time to start picking up the pace.

"This is only our second meet, so I plan on improving."

After competing in two of his season's most competitive events, Sebring sophomore Connor Bauer breezed to a victory on the boys side, winning the race in a cool 18:18. Sebring coach Jeff Shoemaker said his team is by no means tapering down its training as districts approach, but that Bauer didn't feel the need to overexert himself after strong showings at the Polk County meet and Disney 5k last week.

"We've been training hard and we have some big races coming up," Shoemaker said. "The Polk County meet was big and the Disney race had elite runners from all over the eastern U.S.

"This wasn't a letdown necessarily, but you just don't have to kill yourself every meet."

Both Sebring teams earned team victories on the 3.2-mile course, with Blue Streaks Maxine Copley (21:51) and Heather McIntyre (22:03) leading the way for Sebring with a 2-3 finish. DeSoto's Aileen Ariciaga took fourth in 23:31, while Sebring's Caitlyn Maulds took fifth in 24:02.

Sebring won the team competition with 31 points, followed by Lake Placid (40), DeSoto (62) and Hardee (84).

On the boys side, Lake Placid's Vicente Ramos broke a school record and became the first Green Dragon to break 19 minutes with an 18:56, good enough for second place.

"Vicente's an awesome runner and he's always a great runner in practice because he always pushes hard," said Lake Placid boys coach Scott Morgan. "He was right there with Bauer most of the race and that's a great sign because (Bauer) is just an amazing athlete.

"Anyone that can keep up with him has good stuff going on."

Walker Memorial's Travis Martinez was right on Ramos' heels and took third in 19:02, while Hardee's Murad Ottalah took fourth (19:11) and Sebring's Michael Polatty finished fifth in 19:25.

Sebring won the boys competition with 29 points, followed by Walker Memorial (71) and DeSoto (79).

All seven of Sebring's boys finished in the top 11, something Shoemaker said is a good sign as the team trains for districts.

"They've proven themselves pretty injury resistant," Shoemaker said as his team ran a three-mile cool-down run. "I don't want to break them, but we're still running strong and training hard."

The Streaks and Dragons are back in action on Tuesday, Oct. 21 at the Lake Placid Invitational.

SEBRING INVITATIONAL

Top Finishers

Girls

Erica Resendiz, LP, 21:27

Maxine Copley, SHS, 21:51

Heather McIntyre, SHS, 22:03

Aileen Ariciaga, DeSoto, 23:31

Caitlyn Maulds, SHS, 24:02

Thelia Espinoza, LP, 24:27

Lisa Ontermaa, SHS, 24:55

Jessica Landers, LP, 26:01

Micala Martinez, 27:20

Brianna Aguila, Hardee, 27:27

Boys

Connor Bauer, SHS, 18:18

Vicente Ramos, LP, 18:56

Travis Martinez, WM, 19:02

Murad Ottalah, Hardee, 19:11

Michael Polatty, SHS, 19:25

David Ontermaa, SHS, 19:30

Eloy Ochoa, DeSoto, 19:45

Alex Kennedy, SHS, 20:02

Taylor Martin, SHS, 20:18

Donavan White, SHS, 20:22

Jimmy Polatty, SHS, 20:23

Brian Gjurgevich can be reached at 863-386-5841 or bgjurgevich@highlandstoday.com.

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