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Jacobsen by an inch, Zboyan claims victory - Cobra Cross Country Invitational 2014Published by
By Steve Dorsey
DistancePreps.com
BOCA RATON – Meet organizers of the Park Vista Cobra Invitational could not have scripted a better inaugural race.
Two juniors – Nic Jacobsen of St. Andrew’s and Ilio Sanchez of John I. Leonard – delivered a thrilling early-morning photo finish in the boys race Saturday, with Jacobsen lunging at the finish line to nip Sanchez by a fraction of a second.
 The two runners were neck-and-neck down the stretch, but Jacobsen was declared the winner with a time of 16:16.86 over the 5K course at South County Regional Park that was mushy in spots from recent rains. Sanchez, who had not lost in his previous four races this season, had to settle for the runner-up medal with a time of 16:17.16, although Jacobsen said he thinks it was closer than that. “It was probably an inch,” an elated Jacobsen said of his margin of victory in only his second race this season. “That last 100 yards was a battle.”
Jacobsen, who is the defending Palm Beach County boys champion, was runner-up to Sanchez two weeks ago at the King’s Academy Invitational in West Palm Beach. He acknowledged that he was determined to reverse that result on Saturday, thus his dramatic lunge that carried him to the turf after crossing the finish line.
“I wasn’t going to let him beat me,” Jacobsen said. “After the two-mile mark, he put 10 to 15 yards on me. With about a quarter mile to go, I made a pretty strong kick. Ilio’s an extremely strong runner. The last couple of years, it’s been him and me in the county. I was closing in at 50 yards, 40 yards, and winning was my only goal in this race. If I dived (at the finish) and didn’t win, it would have been embarrassing if I finished second.”
St. Andrew’s coach John O’Connell was impressed with Jacobsen’s final kick, especially since the junior hasn’t done any speed work in his training so far.
“He pulled a Pete Rose,” O’Connell said of Jacobsen’s victory lunge at the tape.
“Ilio’s a little crushed, because he was undefeated, but I think he needs it to know there’s other guys out there,” John I. Leonard coach Al Jordan said of Sanchez. “He needed to be pushed, and in the long run it will help him. He improved on his time, so that’s a plus.”
Sanchez and his teammates did collect the top piece of hardware, as John I. Leonard won the boys team title with 50 points, placing their five scoring runners among the top 19. Boca Raton was a close runner-up with 53 points, followed by Park Vista with 90.
Jupiter senior Courteney Zboyan ran away from the field in the girls varsity race, clocking 20:15.47, 53 seconds faster than runner-up Vanessa Church, a sophomore from Olympic Heights. It’s a sign that Zboyan, who has battled various injuries the past two seasons, might be regaining the form that carried her to the county title as a freshman three years ago.
“Staying healthy, that’s my No. 1 goal,” Zboyan said of her first win in three races this season. “I definitely felt the humidity, but everybody felt it. I just ran my pace.”
Zboyan and her Jupiter teammates edged Park Vista, led by Barbara Prol’s third-place finish, for the girls team title by one point. Only 11 points separated the top four girls teams. |
