by Grant Mollett, East Ridge High School
October 29, 2022 – Gainesville, Florida
The East Ridge High School girls’ varsity cross country team participated in the Class 4A Region 1 Championships on Saturday morning at Santa Fe State College in Gainesville. The last time the Knights had the opportunity to compete at this venue at the regional level was in 2019. That year the Knights finished in fifteenth place out of nineteen regional teams, ultimately not qualifying for the state championships. Just like in 2019, this season the top eight teams at the regional meet moved on to the FHSAA Class 4A State Championships. However, this time around, the Knights competed far more closely with the region’s top teams! East Ridge placed fifth among the sixteen regional teams, making it the second team to advance to the state championships in the school’s twenty-one-year history!
Girls from sixteen different schools competed Saturday morning in the Class 4A Region 1 Championships. The girls’ race went off at 7:45 AM. The large field of state-hopeful teams and individuals darted across a long and descending straightaway, into a path that took to the perimeter of the campus, and into an out-and-back straightaway affectionately known as “the Tunnel” since so much of the straightaway is ran between rows of tall trees. The runners made two-and-a-half loops around Santa Fe’s campus before taking a left turn down the middle of the field to rush the near 300 meters to the finish line. Conditions were a runner’s delight, as the temperature sat at approximately 63 degrees and was chilled with a slight, but unobstructed, breeze in the air.
For the sixth time this season, freshman Veronica Peterson was the first finisher for the Knights! Veronica’s first time exiting the Tunnel, approximately three-fourths of a mile into the course, she had swiftly put herself amidst the top twenty-five runners in the region. Coming back to re-enter the Tunnel, she had made headway on some of her opponents, and was spotted in the top twenty positions. Exiting the Tunnel the third time, just slightly past the two-mile mark, Veronica held her side for a brief moment. “Fight, Veronica! Fight!” yelled Coach Tim Ferrell. Re-entering the Tunnel, now merely two-thirds of a mile from the finish line, Veronica fought – and kept fighting! Along the slight but long incline back into the Tunnel, Veronica surged past three more opponents! One last time around half of the perimeter of the campus, Veronica darted down the middle of the field, rushed the finish line, and secured an impressive thirteenth place out of 116 regional-qualified varsity runners!
Veronica’s performance at the regional meet broke two long-held school records! The fastest regional performance by a Knight was 20:00, which was set by Anita Green in 2011. Veronica’s regional performance was twenty-seven seconds faster! Moreso, the fastest individual 5k on record for East Ridge High School was 19:44, which was set by Kelsey Arellano in 2006. Veronica’s regional performance shattered that record, as she finished in an impressive time of 19:33!
The second Knight to finish was sophomore Hanna Warren. Hanna placed 29th overall and finished in a time of 20:18, her third-fastest performance of the season!
The third Knight to finish was senior Bre Peine. Bre was a freshman on the 2019 team that raced at Santa Fe at the regional meet. Her performance this time around was a near minute-and-a-half improvement from her performance on the same course in 2019! Bre placed 52nd overall with a 20:54 – her third-best time of the season!
The fourth Knight through the finish chute was freshman Rhyen Foley. Rhyen finished in 57th place in a time of 21:01 – a new career personal best time by fourteen seconds!
The fifth finisher and final scorer for the Knights was freshman Adriana Mustin. Adriana finished in 60th place in a time of 21:20 – her second fastest time of her career!
The sixth finisher for the Knights was sophomore Madi McCormack. Madi finished in 74th place in a time of 21:45 – her third-fastest time of the season! The seventh finisher for the Knights was sophomore Neely Lugo. Neely finished in 98th place in a time of 22:44 – her third-fastest time of the season!
East Ridge High School took fifth place out of sixteen complete teams, which qualified the team for next Saturday’s FHSAA Class 4A State Championships in Tallahassee! This was the second time in the school’s history that a team has qualified for the state meet! The last time a team qualified for the state meet was in 2011. That year, East Ridge competed in Class 3A, making this year’s team the first to qualify in Class 4A in the school’s history. Buchholz High School out of Gainesville earned their regional championship by placing four of their finishers in the first eight positions. Niceville High School was the regional runner-up, as they placed four of their finishers in the top eighteen positions. The overall individual winner for the girls’ varsity race was senior Olivia Niewald from Spruce Creek High School. Niewald finished the regional race in a swift time of 18:28.
The Knights will compete in the Class 4A State Championships on Saturday, November 5 at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee. The gun time for the 4A girls’ race will be 9:55 AM. For information regarding the FHSAA State Championships, visit: https://fhsaa.com/documents/2022/10/27//2022_FHSAA_XC_State_Championship_Meet_Information.pdf?id=3536.
For full results for the Class 4A Region 1 girls race visit: https://fl.milesplit.com/meets/505078-fhsaa-4a-region-1-2022/results/861556#.Y15sgnbMI2x.
