East County sports wrap-up

Lady Mustangs run wild
Led by freshmen Kristin Zarrella and Olivia Ortiz, the Lakewood girls cross country team won the Manasota Track Club Invitational Oct. 10 at McIntosh Middle.

Zarrella was the invitational champion, setting a new course record of 20:09. Ortiz finished in second in 20:19 followed by Devin McDermott (fourth) in 21:00, Natalie Novak (fifth) in 21:01, Ashley Platt (seventh) in 21:08 and Elisha Rappleyea (32nd) in 23:22.

The Lady Mustangs are ranked second in the state, with Zarrella ranked eighth; Ortiz ranked ninth and McDermott ranked 17th.

Lacrosse lands in Lakewood
The Lakewood Ranch Lightning Lacrosse League will host a free lacrosse clinic and registration day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Oct. 18 and 25 at Adventure Park in Lakewood Ranch.

The Lightning has a boys Pee Wee team for grades two and under, a boys Youth team for grades 3-6, a boys Middle School team for grades 7-8 and boys JV and Varsity teams for high school students. Additionally, the league also offers a girls Middle School team for grades 7-8.

The Lakewood Ranch Lightning Lacrosse League has more than 10 coaches with experience playing lacrosse at both the high school and collegiate level. For more information visit www.lrlax.com.

Junior Pee Wee Bulldogs win in 3OT
The East Manatee Bulldogs’ Junior Pee Wee team defeated the Palmetto Trojans 13-6 in triple overtime Oct. 10.

AJ Moore scored East Manatee’s first touchdown before connecting with Kyle Struthers who split two defenders in the end zone for the game-winning score. Defensively, Cole Haddad, Cody Hendrickson, Niko Traylor and Chase Tench had several tackles each to lead the way for the Bulldogs.

Mustangs swing to victory
The Lakewood Ranch High boys golf team shot a 155 to defeat Braden River and Palmetto Oct. 12 at Waterlefe Golf & River Club, improving its record to 22-6.

Connor Baldwin received match medalist honors with a 35. The Pirates (10-10-1) finished in second with a 166 and the Tigers (1-12) finished third with a 230.