2021 SUN Preps All-Area Athletes & Teams
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1466350
www.yoursun.com Page 21 By VINNIE PORTELL SPORTS WRITER The girls Cross Country runners were just as impressive, with Girls Runner of the Year Finalists Juliana Courville, Aleecia Collins and Katelyn Ziarnicki all reaching personal goals as they led their team into the postseason. Venice girls cross country coach Brenda Clark helped Courville win a district championship while the Lady Indians took second place as a team, with three players on the First Team. Clark is the Girls Coach of the Year. First Team Juliana Courville - Venice Sophomore Courville followed up on a standout freshman season with another big year. It didn't take her long to become the Indians' best runner -- winning the district title by breaking the 20-minute mark. "Juliana worked tirelessly to achieve a sub-20 minute time this season," Venice girls cross country coach Brenda Clark said. "I cannot be more proud of our district champion." District Finish: 1st overall with a time of 19:50.07 Regional Finish: 15th overall with a time of 20:12.67 Katelyn Ziarnicki - Lemon Bay Junior The Mantas' top runner again in 2020, Ziarnicki was a steady performer. Despite catching the flu late in the season, she still turned in top-15 finishes at both the district and regional meets. "Katelyn was a consistent leader for our team," Lemon Bay girls cross country coach Tom Trealout said. "She won the Mariner invitational meet held early in the year and was our top performer for nearly all meets that she competed in. She placed in the top 15 at Regionals." District Finish: 10th overall with a time of 21:59.48 Regional Finish: 15th overall with a time of 21:45.80 Tyler Sabadin - Venice Sophomore Sabadin's top-three finish at the district meet was key in Venice taking second place. She was one of just a few area runners to break 21 minutes. District Finish: 3rd overall with a time of 20:36.39 Regional Finish: 44th overall with a time of 21:35.63 Alyssa Crettol - Venice Senior After posting a personal-best 21:21.20 in last year's district meet, Crettol continued to up her game in 2020 -- nearly breaking 21 minutes in both the district and regional meets. District Finish: 5th overall with a time of 21:03.54 Regional Finish: 30th overall with a time of 21:05.48 Girls Coach of the Year Brenda Clark, Venice Clark not only helped Courville become a district champion in just her sophomore year, but also fielded the area's deepest girls team -- with three runners capable of breaking 21 minutes. Second Team Faith Winkler - Charlotte Senior Winkler finished in 11th place at both the district (22:02.19) and regional tournaments (21:01.39) as one of the Tarpons' most consistent performers. Hanna Martin - Charlotte Freshman Martin's first year as a Tarpon turned into one to remember with an eight place finish at the district meet. She turned in an even better time (21:48.26) at regionals, ending in 27th. Kerri Matson - Lemon Bay Sophomore Lemon Bay's top performer at the district meet, Matson had a solid sopho- more year as one of the Mantas' top runners. She finished 8th (21:48.47) at districts and then 30th at regionals. Katrina Machado - Port Charlotte Freshman Machado burst onto the scene as the Pirates' top runner, finishing 14th at the district meet (22:25.32). She then went on to break 22 minutes at regionals. Brielle Carty - North Port Freshman One of a few impressive area freshmen, Carty placed 10th (22:22.18) at the district meet before finishing her season in regionals. Player of the year Aleecia Collins (Charlotte Senior) Collins came in to 2020 with her sights set high after a breakthrough junior season in which she was named the Sun's Girls Runner of the Year. She only got better as the season went on, breaking the 20-minute mark at both regionals and states, where she earned a medal for her top-15 performance. "Aleecia is a very dedicated runner who makes it look very easy," Charlotte cross country coach Chris George said. "She is academically and athletically gifted. Aleecia can keep up with the boys on daily workouts and pushes herself on race day when it matters most. She set a goal to achieve a medal at states and achieved that this year. "Her leadership and dedication was outstanding this season." District Finish: 2nd overall with a time of 20:10.19 Regional Finish: 2nd overall with a time of 19:47.94 State Finish: 14th overall with a time of 19:14.3 COLLINS SUN PREPS ALL-AREA GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS Charlotte's Collins leads the pack SUN PHOTOS BY CHRIS BLAKE North Port's Brielle Carty (1340) and Brenda Smith (1345) try to gain position during the start of Saturday's Regional Cross Country race at North Port High School.