by Grant Mollett, East Ridge High School
November 5, 2022 – Tallahassee, Florida
On Saturday morning, the East Ridge High School girls cross country season came to an end with the conclusion of the Class 4A State Championships at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee. The meet was a showcase of all of the elite female runners in the entire state of Florida. For East Ridge High School, the state meet has seldom become a reality for individuals and teams throughout its history. In fact, prior to this season, only three individual females and just one team had qualified for the state meet in the school’s twenty-one-year history. Specifically, the last time the school had an individual female state qualifier, it was Mackenzie Hill in 2020. Beyond that, it had been since 2011 that East Ridge’s girls cross country program sent a team to the state championships – that was, of course, until last week, when this season’s team placed fifth at the 4A Region 1 Championships, qualifying them for the school’s second state championship berth!
The venue for the state championships was Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee. The park has a challenging cross-country course with a diversity of terrains and undulating hills. About half of the course is grass, which has some flat straightaways and some gradual downhills. The other half of the course is tightly packed gravel on sand, and it features a lengthy uphill, affectionately known as “the Wall,” that runners must complete twice within the course. Runners get a scenic view through some wooded areas and spectators and coaches get multiple great views of their athletes with the course’s two loops. In the middle of the loop is a cut-through for coaches and spectators to move along in order to see their athletes multiple times throughout the race. The venue definitely made for a beautiful but challenging, cross-country course.
Girls from 32 different state-qualifying schools and a dozen qualifying individuals competed Saturday morning in the Class 4A State Championships. The girls’ race went off at 9:55 AM. Assigned in box three, nearly hugging the left side boundary line of the starting area, East Ridge’s girls’ team made final preparations by stretching, striding, and sipping water, before the race. The official called the runners to their marks and fired the starting pistol. With that, the Knights, amidst 234 elite runners, took off across the grassy straightaway, heading straight into a glaring sun!
The large field of runners made their way down the straightaway in a tight pack. The field narrowed quickly, and it was difficult to pick out individual runners. Passing through the first checkpoint, at approximately 750 meters, sophomore Hanna Warren was positioned in 53rd place. Immediately surrounded by dozens of girls who were jockeying for more favorable positions, Warren gained the upper hand on 22 opponents, as she rounded the first-mile marker! Warren was clocked at a swift 5:52 first mile and spotted in 31st place! The second mile is traditionally when runners tend to settle in, and paces normalize. Runners know that lurking around the halfway point is “the Wall.” Warren was undaunted, as she scaled “the Wall” during the second mile, she also surged past another nine opponents! She was clocked at the two-mile mark in 12:26 and spotted in 22nd place! Warren kept her favorable position as she worked through mile three. She worked diligently, one more time up “the Wall,” and made it to the near 500-meter straightaway that leads the runners directly to the finish line. In that straightaway, Warren would overcome two more opponents! She finished in twentieth place and in a historically brisk time of 19:39! Hanna’s performance was East Ridge High School’s fastest time and best finishing position in the school’s state championship history! Previously, Anita Green had the fastest time at the state championships in the school’s history – a 20:19, which dated back to 2011. Also, previously, Kelsey Arellano had the best finishing position at the state championships in the school’s history – 47th place, which dated back to 2005. Hanna’s performance is also the second-fastest 5K time in the school’s history!
Hanna put down a spectacular performance at the state meet to cap off a spectacular season! However, Hanna’s spectacular season did not come easy to her. Last spring, Hanna was sidelined at the district meet for track and field. Throughout the track season, Hanna anchored the 4×8 team and had the fastest times in both the one-mile and two-mile events on her track team. She was a regional and state track hopeful her freshman year. The unfortunate timing of an ankle injury kept her from making those hopes into a reality. Hanna rested for the month of May and then began her return to running in June, as she joined her cross country teammates for their summer workouts. Through a gradual reintroduction to those summer workouts coupled with a commitment to her physical therapy, Hanna had made improvements into July and was ready for full participation in the cross-country season by the end of August. Her patience and diligence not only resulted in an even better sophomore cross country season, but Hanna medaled in six meets throughout the season!
The second Knight to finish at the state championships on Saturday was freshman Veronica Peterson! Peterson was in close proximity to Warren throughout the entirety of the state race. In fact, at 750 meters into the race, Peterson was spotted in 51st place, two positions in front of her teammate. Like her teammate, she also began to pick off opponent after opponent! Peterson overcame fourteen opponents as she rounded the first-mile marker in a swift time of 5:55 and was spotted in 37th place! Peterson, who recalled running at Apalachee Regional Park two years prior at the AAU National Cross Country Championships during her seventh grade school year, became reacquainted with “the Wall,” and as she rounded the second-mile marker, she had overcome another eight opponents! At the two-mile marker, Peterson was spotted in 29th place and in a time of 12:33! Peterson came off “the Wall” for the second and final time, and made her way down the straightaway to the finish line, passing by three more opponents! She secured 26th place overall and finished in a sensational time of 19:50!
Veronica’s performance at the state meet is now the second fastest time for a state performance by an East Ridge High School athlete! Reflecting on Veronica’s freshman performances, she contributed to the team’s historical success throughout the duration of the season. She medaled in eight meets and was the individual champion at the Central Bears Invitational this season! Veronica’s district and regional performances now sit atop East Ridge High School’s records, as she has the fastest district and regional performances on record in the school’s twenty-one-year history. Additionally, her medaled performance at the regional championships last week set the school’s new all-time fastest 5K record!
The third Knight to finish was freshman Rhyen Foley. Rhyen placed 104th overall and finished in a time of 21:27, her fourth-fastest performance of the season! This season, Rhyen medaled in two meets, and greatly contributed to the team’s success throughout the season! She set her career personal best performance at the 4A Region 1 Championships in Gainesville – a spectacular time of 21:01!
The fourth Knight to finish was sophomore Madi McCormack. Madi placed 145th overall with a 22:07 at the state meet. She had endured some significant leg pains in the weeks leading up to the state meet but ran a gutsy performance in Tallahassee in spite of the pain. This season, Madi’s career personal best performance came at the 4A District 2 Championships two weeks ago in Winter Garden, as she helped the Knights win their first district championship as the team’s third scorer and running a swift 20:39!
The fifth Knight through the finish chute was senior Bre Peine. Bre finished in 149th place in a time of 22:16. Bre’s senior season had some remarkable highlights! Bre medaled in five meets and was the runner-up at the Run The Lakes Invite in Leesburg! She set her high school career personal best time of 20:43 at the West Orange Invitational in Winter Garden!
The sixth finisher for the Knights was freshman Adriana Mustin. Adriana finished in 163rd place in a time of 22:34. Adriana had also dealt with some late-season calf pains, but that did not inhibit her from pushing hard through the state meet! In her freshman season, Adriana was the individual junior varsity champion at the Run The Lakes Invite in Leesburg! At the varsity level, Adriana medaled at the Central Bears Invitational in Brooksville. She set her career personal best time of 21:05 at the 4A District 2 Championships, where she was the fifth team scorer, helping her team to secure the district title!
The seventh finisher for the Knights was sophomore Neely Lugo. Neely finished in 172nd place in a time of 22:44 – tying her third fastest time of the season! Neely’s season personal best came at the 4A District 2 Championships, where she ran a 22:06!
East Ridge High School took fifteenth place out of 32 complete teams at 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, and its cast of returning underclassmen look to lead their team back to the state championships next season! Buchholz High School out of Gainesville earned their state championship by placing four of their finishers in the first fifteen positions. G. Holmes Braddock Senior High School out of Miami was the state runner-up, as they placed four of their finishers in the top 25 positions. The overall individual state champion was senior Emma O’Day from Boca Raton High School. O’Day finished the state race in a swift time of 18:23.
That is a wrap for the East Ridge High School girls’ cross-country team! What a great season it was to make the state meet and perform at the level they reached!
For full results for the Class 4A Girls State Championships race visit: https://fl.milesplit.com/meets/487209-fhsaa-cross-country-state-finals-2022/results/863715#.Y2fN93bMI2w.
