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Montoya cherishes state’s second fastest time
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Two days after competing in a state track and field final, Erick Montoya was back doing what he does best: winning races.
Montoya — representing the 3D Running Club — won the Tropicool 5K in Naples on Sunday morning.
As an Estero Wildcat on Friday night, Montoya came within half an Adidas shoelace or so of winning a state championship at Showalter Field in Winter Park.
An agonizing close loss, you’d think?
That’s not the way Montoya saw it.
“I’m proud of my time,” said Montoya. “I’m proud of being second.”
It was less than a second that separated Montoya from being crowned a state champion in the 3200-meter run. In fact, his time of 9:23.42 was faster than the champions in the state’s other three classes, but not in 3A.
Eric Larson, a senior from Washington High in Pensacola, held off Montoya at the finish line. Montoya easily topped his personal best time by 17 seconds, but it wasn’t enough to get past Larson.
“Eric Larson is the best kid I’ve raced against my whole career,” said Montoya. “I’m glad he pushed me to my limits.”
The Estero sophomore — who finished third last year as a freshman — expressed no regrets about the outcome.
“I’m ranked No. 2 in the state. My time was faster than any of the other state champions. That’s great,” said Montoya, who captured LCAC, district and regional titles this season.
Montoya, who said he received an additional jolt of motivation by watching the movie “Iron Man” earlier in the day, used a burst of adrenaline with about 500 meters left to pull away from a pack of six runners and take the lead. But with about 200 meters left, Larson passed Montoya and never relinquished the top spot.
“He did a great job outkicking me,” said Montoya. “In the last 100 meters, I kind of new I was going to get second.”
Immediately after the race, Montoya congratulated Larson.
“He showed great sportsmanship. We talked and laughed,” said Montoya. “I asked him how it felt to be a state champion. He said, ‘Great. You’ll get it next year.’”
Indeed, Montoya plans to make Larson’s statement come true.
“I’m not going to let Southwest Florida down,” he said. “I’m going to come back tough.”
Class 3A Boys 3200 Meter Run
Friday, May 2
Showalter Field, Winter Park
1. Eric Larson, Washington (Pensacola), sr., 9:22.81
2. Erick Montoya, Estero, soph., 9:23.42
3. Matt Mizereck, Leon, soph., 9:28.81
4. Will Stanford, Leon, frosh., 9:32.56
5. John Wilkins, Plant, soph., 9:39.98
6. Jake Brooks, Fort Myers, sr., 9:41.14
7. Duncan Hock, Plant, sr., 9:42.72
8. Felix Soto, Land O’Lakes, jr., 9:51.24
9. Christian Homme, Seminole, sr., 9:56.88
10. Jason Thomsen, Lake Region, sr., 9:58.22
11. James Stern, Satellite, soph., 9:59.89
12. Joseph Hebel, Naples, sr., 10:00.53
13. Matt Schwartz, Land O’Lakes, soph., 10:02.29
14. Keegan Bixler, Newsome, soph., 10:22.83
15 Jonathan Esteban, Robert E. Lee, sr., DNF
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