CRYSTAL RIVER - Holly Van Sicklen, Ben Martucci and the Hernando boys and girls teams took first place Saturday morning at the Crystal River High Invitational.
Van Sicklen, a senior at Crystal River, won the girls race with a time of 20 minutes 48 seconds. Hernando's Anna Gray was second in 21:21.
"It's a tough course," Van Sicklen said. "It never gets much easier. I'm getting back to my normal form. I have been training real hard. My time is okay for this course. The rain makes it sloshy. Me and Anna got in front of (Danielle Dixon and Paige Cooke). She (Gray) stayed pretty close to me."
Gray led the Hernando girls to the title with 34 points; host Crystal River had 37 for second.
"It wasn't easy," Hernando girls coach Erin Sullivan said. "They ran awesome today. This was their best race. They ran through puddles."
Hernando's Martucci twins took the top honors in the boys race. Ben won in 16:36 and Andrew was second in 16:57. Dunnellon's Chad Hannah (17:03) was third followed by Hernando's Jacob Bess in 17:06.
"I took the lead at the mile and one half mark," Martucci said. "It is a pretty tough. The water makes your shoes quite heavy."
The Hernando boys won the title with 29 points followed by Orlando Trinity Prep with 53. The Leopards were recently ranked second in Flrunners.com Class 2A poll.
"We were going to do a few things early in the race," Hernando coach Ernie Chatman said. "We actually got out a little too slow. It is pretty hot."
