September 7, 2024 – Titusville
Article by Coach Grant Mollett, East Ridge High School
On Saturday morning the East Ridge High School girls cross country team traveled to the Space Coast to compete in the Astronaut Invitational at the Chain of Lakes Park in Titusville, Florida. The wetlands of Chain of Lakes made for a saturated Saturday, and if one looked out at the pond one would have seen some alligators with their heads slightly emerged, looking at the commotion made by more than 700 athletes! The relatively flat grassy course took the runners around two lakes before entering a near 600M finish area. The temperature sat in the mid to high 70s for most of the morning, and the humidity stuck to the runners the entire way too.
This was the fifth time the Knights had competed at the Astronaut Invitational at Chain of Lakes, and had not been back since 2019. However, their return was nothing short of epic!
Girls from 22 complete teams throughout Eastern and Central Florida participated in this morning’s meet. East Ridge’s first runner across the finish line was junior Rhyen Foley. Foley quickly found her district, region, and state rival, Addison Elwell from Viera High School, in the long starting area of Chain of Lakes. Foley and Elwell swiftly moved ahead of the rest of the field of runners, testing each other along the course. Passing the first-mile marker, Elwell trailed Foley by about six seconds. As the duo rounded the second pond and approached the second-mile marker, Elwell had put herself in lock-step with Foley. Elwell pushed the throttle a little more and entered the long finish chute ahead of Foley. Foley followed her through the chute and crossed the finish line in a swift time of 19:10, as she finished runner-up out of a large field of 161 varsity runners! This morning was the fourth time that Foley and Elwell had gone head to head in a cross-country race. Foley defeated Elwell at last season’s Pre-State Meet in Tallahassee. These two elite eleventh graders will have more chances to square off in the latter half of the season.
The second Knight through the chute was junior Veronica Peterson. Peterson had an impressive performance, as she secured fourth place overall and finished in a swift time of 19:50! She was able to beat two opponents from Satellite High School and two opponents from Roswell High School, which helped to put the Knights in a position to potentially win the meet!
Senior Hanna Warren was the third Knight to cross the finish line, as she took ninth place overall and finished in a time of 20:12! Warren was able to edge out district rival Alyssa Klyce from West Orange High School. Furthermore, she was able to finish ahead of Satellite’s third and fourth scorers and Roswell’s third scorer, to increase East Ridge’s likelihood of winning the meet! Both Peterson’s and Warren’s performances enabled them to join Foley in the medal line!
Sophomore Taylor Walker was the fourth scorer for the Knights this morning. Walker placed 21st overall and finished in a new season personal best of 21:30! More importantly, Walker was able to finish ahead of Satellite’s fifth scorer and Roswell’s fourth scorer, further increasing East Ridge’s chances of taking the field!
What sealed it for the Knights was senior Neelyanis Lugo’s performance! Lugo ran in close proximity to Walker for the entire race, and in the final mile, she too was able to finish ahead of Satellite’s fifth scorer. As the Knights’ final scorer, Lugo placed 25th overall and clocked a finish time of 21:42 – a new season personal best!
Junior Avery Post was the sixth Knight to finish. Post placed 62nd overall and finished in 23:32 – her second-fastest time of the season. Sophomore Jessie Volz, in her first varsity race of her career, finished seventh for the Knights. Volz placed 78th overall and finished in a time of 24:14 – her second-fastest time of the season. Sophomore Lexi Whitehead was the eighth finisher for the Knights. Whitehead placed 81st in a time of 24:26 – her second fastest time of the season.
The total team effort put out by the Knights was enough for them to take top honors at the Astronaut Invitational! East Ridge beat several district and regional rivals, to include Viera, Hagerty, Vero Beach, West Orange, Melbourne, and Toho. Satellite High School was the team runner-up, and Viera’s Addison Elwell was the overall individual champion. Elwell finished in a swift time of 18:49.
The Knights had three runners compete in the junior varsity race this morning at Astronaut. Freshman Sara Garzon placed fifth overall in the junior varsity girls’ race, which earned her recognition in the ribbon line! This was Garzon’s second-fastest time of the season. Freshman Daniela Garzon finished in a time of 26:52, which was her second-fastest time of the season. Senior J’Mariana Douglass finished in a time of 27:03, which was her second-fastest time of the season.
For full results from the Astronaut Invitational vist http://results.tfmeetpro.com/Elite_Timing_and_Event_Management/Astronaut_XC_Invitational_2024/.
The girls’ cross country team will participate in the West Orange Invitational on Saturday, September 14 at West Orange High School with the girls’ varsity race scheduled to start at 7:15 AM.
