by Grant Mollett, East Ridge High School
Photos contributed by Dave Worthington:
October 15, 2022, Clermont, Florida
The East Ridge High School Girls cross country team competed in the Lake and Sumter Counties Championships on Saturday morning. No long bus rides for the girls this week, since the county championships were hosted at East Ridge High School. It had been five years since East Ridge High School was the host site for a cross-country meet. So if you know anything about East Ridge’s campus, it has hills, hills, and more hills! Also, the last time there was a high school level Lake and Sumter Counties Championships for cross country was in 2014, which was hosted on the Polo Grounds in the Villages. East Ridge and the other Lake County schools are hopeful to make the county championships an annual event going forward.
Girls from seven different Lake County schools participated in the Lake and Sumter Counties Championships on Saturday. The varsity girls race started at 8:00 am. The start of the race took the girls across the football field and out of the stadium and onto the grassy and hilly campus of East Ridge. The course ran the perimeter of a lot of the campus, and ascended a large hill affectionately known as the “Green Monster.” Then the course normalized with some flat straightaways, making one big loop around a portion of the campus. The field of runners merged back into the “Green Monster”, but this time to descend it, and re-ran the perimeter, and back into the football stadium, and then finished with an approximately 300M track finish.
For the fourth time this season, freshman Veronica Peterson was the first Knight to cross the finish line! Veronica finished Saturday’s race in a swift time of 21:18! She placed sixth overall out of a field of 48 varsity female runners!
Senior Bre Peine was the second Knight to cross the finish line at the county championships! Bre finished in a time of 21:36 and placed eighth overall! Sophomore Hanna Warren followed in her teammate, finishing in ninth place overall. Hanna finished in a swift time of 21:46!
The Knights also secured fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth places, as they worked tirelessly to slay the “Green Monster!” Sophomore Madi McCormack was the fourth scoring Knight at the county championships. She finished in fifteenth place with a time of 23:02. The fifth finisher and final scorer for East Ridge was freshman Adriana Mustin. Adriana finished in sixteenth place with a time of 23:06. The sixth finisher for the Knights was freshman Rhyen Foley. Rhyen placed seventeenth overall and finished in a time of 23:08. The seventh finisher for the Knights was sophomore Neely Lugo, who placed 23rd overall and finished in a time of 24:33.
Junior Lina Maldonado followed in her teammate, taking 24th place, and finishing in a time of 24:39. Senior Alanis Melgar finished in 29th place in a time of 25:37. Senior Brenna Oliveri finished in 37th place in a time of 26:47. Senior Alexandra Dimitros finished in 47th place in a time of 33:49 – a new season personal best record!
Lake County hosts some of the best performing teams in Central Florida. That made for some stiff competition in the varsity girls race at the county championships! Mount Dora High School, who was fourth in the FHSAA 2A State Championships last season, won the county championships by placing their five scoring runners in the top fourteen positions. Lake Minneola High School was the team runner up. The Hawks placed their five scoring runners in the top eighteen positions. The Knights placed third out of four complete scoring teams by placing their five scoring runners in the top sixteen positions. Tavares High School, who was a 2A state qualifying team last season, took fourth place by placing their five scoring runners in the top 25 positions. The overall individual winner for the girls varsity race was sophomore Hannah Douglas from Mount Dora High School. Douglas, who placed twelfth at the FHSAA 2A State Championships last season, finished today’s race in a time of 19:58!
The Knights also had eight runners participate in the girls junior varsity race this morning at the county championships. Sophomore J’Mariana Douglas placed third out of a field of eighteen junior varsity girls! She finished in a time of 28:04. Junior Sarah Tingler finished in fourth place overall and in a time of 29:10. Freshman Shane George finished in eighth place in a time of 29:42. Junior Karlie Saintlot finished in ninth place overall and in a time of 30:07. Junior Kayden Page placed tenth overall and finished in a time of 30:39. Sophomore Isabella Stuemke came in thirteenth place and finished in a time of 32:40. Senior Isabella Zamudio finished in fifteenth place in a time of 37:49. Junior Bri Romero finished in eighteenth place in a time of 46:48.
Scoring and Timing was managed by Kalil Tucker and Godspeed Timing who did a wonderful job in managing the county championships.
For full results for the girls varsity race at the Lake and Sumter Counties Championships visit: https://fl.milesplit.com/meets/493630-lake-and-sumter-county-xc-championship-2022/results/853364?type=formatted#.Y0vwfXbMI2w.
For full results for the girls junior varsity race at the Lake and Sumter Counties Championships visit: https://fl.milesplit.com/meets/493630-lake-and-sumter-county-xc-championship-2022/results/853367?type=formatted#.Y0vwsHbMI2w.
The girls cross country team will travel to Winter Garden on Saturday, October 22nd to compete in the FHSAA 4A District 2 Championships at West Orange High School. The varsity girls race is set to start at 7:30 am.
Hosting a cross country meet is quite an undertaking that involves the efforts of dozens of people to make it successful. Coach Ferrell and Coach Mollett would like to thank the following people for their help in making the county championships a success this weekend!
Thank you to the following parent volunteers: Christine Carroll, Cheryl Degges, Cece Click, Qiana Peterson, Stan Carroll, Jurjuan Walker, Christine Warren, Vernecia Tingler, Kyle Rattray, Stephanie Rattray, Patricia Gonzalez, Stacy Laack, Mr. Laack, Michelle Peine, Tim Peine, Emilee Oliveri, Thomas Oliveri, Mrs. Zamudio, Christine Dimitros, Giovanna Mustin, CPT. Marcus T. Mustin, and Jessi Bori.
Thank you to the following alumni, alumni parents, and community volunteers: Cassidy Carroll, Alexis Hill, Sean Parks, Jeanette Votava, Jenny Hill, Shane Hill, Tim Hancock, SSG Louis Carrasco, and SSG Alexander Candelaria.
Thank you to the following staff members: Seth Delaney, Al Peterson, Dave Worthington, Rick Everett, Ty Ensor, Monica Donald, Mike Clutter, William Fouraker and his student volunteers, Scott McKenzie, Adam Rubman, Olivia Tolson, Sarah Klosterman and her student volunteers, Eileen Antmann, Monica Arizpe, Keith Hunt, and Raymond Munoz.
