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Sanchez remains undefeated - Mucino notches victory at East meets West - East meets West Invitational 2014Published by
By Steve Dorsey
DistancePreps.com
WEST BOCA RATON – Ilio Sanchez added another notch to his victory belt Thursday afternoon and further solidified his status as the top-rated boys distance runner in Palm Beach County.
The John I. Leonard junior joined Wellington sophomore Brooke Mucino atop the awards stand, as they sloshed their way to victory at the East Meets West Invitational cross-country meet.
Mucino clocked a personal-record time of 20:45.76 to win the girls 5K race that was staged during a steady rain at South County Regional Park. Sanchez easily won the boys race in 16:30.95 to lead John I. Leonard to the team title.
Sanchez crossed the finish line more than 23 seconds ahead of runner-up Brendon Hessler of Wellington. Sanchez has won all four of the races he’s entered this season and sprinted to the lead early Thursday and gradually pulled away from the field.
“I try to keep opening up the gap to make it harder for those behind me to catch up,” Sanchez said of his race strategy.
Sanchez led a pack-running John I. Leonard team – the Lancers’ other four scoring runners placed 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th -- to a slim margin of victory to claim the boys team title. Leonard had 59 points, with Spanish River, led by Bryan Vidal’s third-place finish, finishing a close second with 60 points. Boca Raton, the meet’s co-host with West Boca, was third in both the girls and boys team scoring.
Sanchez, whose PR is 15:59, said that his goal is to trim at least 30-35 seconds off that time by the time the district and regional meets arrive on the schedule. He’s also been helping to mentor the team’s younger runners as they aim for a top-10 finish at the state meet in November.
“I just keep telling them not to let any course dominate you,” Sanchez said.
Mucino is relatively new to the cross-country scene, but ran like a veteran Thursday despite the wet conditions.
“It was nicer than running in the heat,” Mucino said. “I’ve been a little tired lately because I’ve been training so much, so I’m happy for the most part.”
This is only the second year that Mucino, who also plays soccer and runs track, has competed in cross-country.
“Last year I was just running for fun with my friends, so I didn’t expect to do too well,” said Mucino, who is a miler and 800-meter runner in track. “But I love running.”
Mucino had to hold off a strong challenge by another sophomore, Vanessa Church of Olympic Heights who crossed the finish line only 2 seconds behind Mucino.
Junior Barbara Prol placed third in 21:04.87 to lead Park Vista to the girls team title. The Cobras’ five scoring runners were among the top 14 finishers for 51 points, 16 ahead of runner-up Wellington. |
