Prep cross country: Manatee County meet slated for Saturday

photo by Grant Jefferies
Bayshore's Canaan Meester-Kitterman will look to defend his county title Saturday at G.T. Bray

The Manatee County cross country meet returns to G.T. Bray Park this Saturday. Last year's race was run at the Lakewood Ranch Sports Complex.
The girls varsity meet begins at 8 a.m. and the boys meet is scheduled for 8:35.
Prizes will be awarded at 11:30 following the JV boys and girls races.
Teams are allowed to race 10 runners, though there will be a 30-minute cut off in the varsity races.
Bayshore's Canaan Meester-Kitterman (above) was the boys champ last year with a time of 17 minutes, two seconds, and Lakewood Ranch won the team title with 41 points, defeating runner-up Manatee by three points.
Lakewood Ranch dominated the girls race as Olivia Ortiz (17:49) won the individual title by nearly two minutes over teammate Devin McDermott. The first seven finishers were Mustangs, who cruised to the team championship with 15 points.
Ortiz broke her femur during the Class 3A state track and field meet last spring and is not competing this fall, which means a new girls champion will be crowned.