HIGH-SCHOOL

Mustang girls third, Bobcats second at North Port Invitational

Jim Brockman

Correspondent

North Port High's Autumn Coyle won the pole vault at the North Port Invitational on Friday night.

NORTH PORT — The Lakewood Ranch Mustangs relied on the strength of their middle and long-distance runners to finish third among the 23-team field on Friday night at the North Port Invitational.

Grace Marston led the Mustangs to a one-two-three sweep in the 3,200-meter run, winning in a time of 11 minutes, 9.86 seconds. Mustang teammates Aurora Melzer and Maeve Ingham claimed silver and bronze medals, respectively, in times of 11:15.28 and 12:06.35.

Miami Northwestern ran away with the girls team crown with a total of 159 points. Fort Myers Dunbar was runner-up with 90, edging Lakewood Ranch at 89 points.

Marissa Kempf of Sarasota High finished third in the 1,600-meter run at the North Port Invitational.

Marston narrowly missed becoming a double winner by finishing second in the 1,600-meter run in a time of 5:05.22, less than two seconds behind winner Jessica Edwards of Fort Myers Canterbury.

Kylah Buckle, from the host Bobcats, managed a pair of victories, winning the 400-meter run (54.61 seconds) and the 200-meter run (24.49 seconds).

Senior Autumn Coyle also came through for North Port by winning the pole vault, clearing the bar at 9 feet, 10 inches, a full foot higher than the trio tied for second place.

Grace Marston of Lakewood Ranch runs in the 1,600-meter run at the North Port Invitational. Marston finished second.

“I have only been pole vaulting now for about a total of six months,” said Coyle, who has been a sprinter, a hurdler, a long and triple jumper, among other things, in her four years with the Bobcats. “I’m still kind of new to it.

“It’s all about speed and upper body strength. It takes a lot of core work. It really does. And a lot of determination.

“When you are up that high, it’s like time is standing still. It’s really an amazing feeling.”

Manatee High's Tyniece Barclay brought home gold for the Hurricanes in the shot put with a heave of 38 feet, 11 inches. Barclay’s toss was more than four feet further than Miami Northwestern’s Makenzie Colson’s best effort in second place.

Venice High's Jacey Tippman threw the javelin 108-6 to finish first in that event.

Tyler Wadsworth of Port Charlotte High won the 1,600-meter run at the North Port Invitational.

In the boys competition, Tyler Wadsworth of Port Charlotte High led the 1,600-meter run through the first three laps, but still had to come from behind on the final lap to defeat Zachary Rathburn of North Port. Wadsworth topped his previous best in the event by more than seven seconds, winning in a time of 4:29.74, compared to Rathburn at 4:32.05.

“During cross country and track. I normally rely on my kick at the end to win the race,” Wadsworth said. “So I just try to hone that ability and kick as hard as I can at the end.

“Normally, when I run a race I don’t like to be leading. I try to catch them by surprise. But I just felt good today. Clearly, it went well.”

Also, Booker High's Trevion Thomas won the shot put tossing it 43-8. North Port’s Matthew Morales finished first in the discus with a toss of 133-2 and Reece Willis of Lemon Bay won the javelin competition with a heave of 155-2.

Cameron Turnberger of North Port grabbed the gold at 800 meters in a time of 1:58.99 and Booker’s Caleb Bradley won the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in 41.12.

Fort Myers Dunbar won the boys team title with 129 points, ahead of North Port in second place at 114.50. Miami Northwestern was third with 70 points.