NORTH PORT — It was an epic day for area runners who participated in the biggest race in the region, the North Port Invitational meet, at North Port High School on Saturday.
Lemon Bay swept the small school boys and girls titles, Charlotte won the large school girls title, Port Charlotte reached the podium on the boys side with a third, and host North Port finished just ahead of the Pirates while watching the girls compete and hang with the best in the state in the elite race.
Great team results usually mean great individual results, and that’s what Lemon Bay got. Kyle Domke finished first among all boys (the large and small school divisions raced together) with a time of 16:12.33, a career best.
He was among four Mantas who finished in the Top 10 in the small division. Ron Marquette was fifth, Elliot Cooper was sixth and Alex Skadal was eighth as they scored 32 points to breeze past runner-up Hardee (48).
Domke struggled throughout the race until the final 400 meters, where he found his stride and earned the win by almost a minute, with his teammates working hard for top finishes.