Ortiz leads Lady Mustangs to district title

The Lakewood Ranch High girls cross country team scored 19 points to capture the Class 3A-District 5 Cross Country Meet Nov. 4.

Sophomore Olivia Ortiz won the individual championship with a time of 18:56.21, edging past Kristin Zarrella, last year’s district champion, who finished in 18:56.52. Devin McDermott (4^th) finished in 19:24.49 followed by Natalie Novak (5^th) in 19:41.49 and Ashley Platt (7^th) in 20:53.93 to round out the scoring for the Lady Mustangs.

Lakewood will now advance to the regional meet Nov. 12 in Estero. The Braden River girls cross country team also advanced to the regional meet after finishing sixth in the district. Madison Daunt (14^th) led the way for the Lady Pirates, finishing in 22:23.68.