Yared, Ferro win as Pine Crest sweeps

FORT LAUDERDALE — Pine Crest’s girls took six of the top seven spots, handily winning the team trophy, in the Thursday’s Pine Crest Invitational cross-country meet at Mills Pond Park.

The Panthers finished with 19 points, while Cardinal Gibbons’ girls finished with 113 for second place. Pine Crest’s boys team also won for a sweep of the event that the Fort Lauderdale private school hosted.

In the 3.1-mile race, Tsion Yared exploded out of the gate and never looked back, finishing first with a time of 18:11, her season best so far. Jinah Mickens-Malik of Miami Mater Academy finished in second at 19:10.92, almost a minute behind Yared.

The Pine Crest freshman, who won the state crosscountry title as a seventhgrader, said she used the John Deere Gator pacing the event as her competition. As long as she kept up with the ATV, she thought, therewas no one who could touch her.

“I expected more competition, but I realized it was just me out there, and that I had no one but myself to beat,” Yared said matter-offactly.

Yared’s sister, eighth grader Mad here, finished in fifth place.

Calvary Christian junior Danny Ferro won on the boys’ side with a time of 16:32.72, besting William Shine of Archbishop McCarthy, who finished in 16:47.47 for second.

“It was not my best time ever, but I ran hard and I will take the win,” Ferro said.

Ferro, the Sun Sentinel’s Runner of the Year last season after winning the district title and placing sixth at states, missed his personal best of 15:59, which he ran at the Foot Locker Southern Regionals in North Carolina in November. Still, he was pleased with the overall result and said he will have time to beat records later in the season.

Ferro’s effort gave Calvary’s boys a secondplace showing in team competition. Pine Crest won with a score of 35, while Calvary had 43.

“We are a good team and gave it a solid effort,” Ferro said. “I am proud of how everyone ran, and we have nothing to be ashamed of.”