JACKSONVILLE -- A day of highs and lows for Lakewood Ranch and Palmetto athletes at the Class 3A state track and field meet started with a state title and ended with a frightening injury to the area's top female distance runner.
Lakewood Ranch's Olivia Ortiz -- who joined teammates Devin McDermott, Natalie Novak and Kristin Zarrella to win the 3,200-meter relay and finished second in the 1,600 run earlier in the day -- crumbled to the track with about three laps left in the 3,200 run at the University of North Florida.
The junior runner who had talked openly about winning a pair of gold medals in her two specialties, the 1,600 and 3,200, fell hard to the track as she was approaching the finish line.
Medical personnel quickly rushed to her and lifted her on a cart and wheeled her to a waiting ambulance.
"Please hurry, please hurry," she pleaded to attendants as they prepared to put her inside the ambulance while her mom and Lakewood Ranch officials looked on anxiously.
