East Ridge Girls Cross Country Three–Peats As District Champions!
East Ridge’s Girls Cross Country Team before the District Championships; from L to R: Lexi Whitehead, Hanna Warren, Neelyanis Lugo, Avery Post, Rhyen Foley, Veronica Peterson, Adriana Mustin, Kori Lindley, Jessie Volz, and Taylor Walker.
by Coach Grant Mollett, East Ridge High School Photos contributed by Jeff Warren November 2, 2024 – Kissimmee, FloridaThe East Ridge High School girls varsity cross country team participated in the Class 4A District 3 Championships on Saturday morning at Osceola High School in Kissimmee. The Knights had not raced at Osceola High School since 2017. The course at Osceola’s campus had two loops that took the runners from the stadium, out to the athletic fields, into a wooded portion, around a small pond, and back into the stadium for an approximate 100M track finish. Most of the course was on grass and compact dirt through a relatively flat campus, but with several turns that seemed to slow the times down for the field of runners. As people may or may not know, time results are not nearly as important as placement results once you reach the postseason in cross country. The course, even with turns and alternating terrain, is a great equalizer for all of the teams, as it tests each team’s conditioning and preparation for tough courses. Additionally, the district meet posed itself as a unique opportunity for the Knights to achieve a third consecutive district championship.
East Ridge’s Big Three – Rhyen Foley, Veronica Peterson, and Hanna Warren, charge the starting field at the Class 4A District 3 Championships; photo by Jeff Warren of South Lake Photography
Girls from twenty-one different complete teams competed Saturday morning in the Class 4A District 3 Championships. The girls race went off at 7:45 AM. The Knights charged the football field and rounded nearly 250M of the track to fight for an early favorable position in a large field of 163 runners.
For the tenth time this season, junior Rhyen Foley was the first finisher for the Knights! Foley quickly put herself at the front of the field and led the race by a few feet ahead of Viera’s Addison Elwell as she neared the halfway point of the course. Coming out of the woods for the second time, Elwell had inched ahead of Foley to take the lead. Foley worked hard to keep Elwell in striking distance, as the two rounded the pond, and made their way to the final stretch on the track. Foley took second place at the district championships and finished in a time of 18:44! This was the first time that a Knight had been an individual runner up at a district championship in the school’s history. Her placement in yesterday’s race eclipsed the school’s previous highest individual placement at a district championship! Previously, two girls had placed third at a district championship in the school’s 23 year history – Foley had done so in 2023 and Meredith Kelly had done so in 2002. Additionally, Foley’s time of 18:44 is now the fastest district performance in the school’s history! The second Knight to finish was junior Veronica Peterson. Peterson put down her second-fastest performance of the season at the district championship! Placing seventh overall and finishing in a time of 19:25, Peterson’s performance landed her with the fifth-fastest district performance in East Ridge’s school history!Running in close proximity to Peterson throughout the race was senior Hanna Warren. Warren was the third Knight to finish, as she secured eighth place and finished in a time of 19:29! This was Warren’s second fastest performance of the season and she was able to join her teammates in the medal line after the race!
The fourth Knight across the finish line was junior Adriana Mustin. Mustin placed 23rd overall in a time of 21:02, her second-fastest performance of the season!
Following Mustin through the finish line was the Knights’ fifth finisher – sophomore Taylor Walker. Walker secured 24th place with a finish time of 21:03 – her second-fastest time of the season! Mustin and Walker’s performances significantly contributed to the team’s success on Saturday, as they were able to edge out some of the rival team scorers.
The sixth finisher for the Knights was senior Neelyanis Lugo. Lugo placed 37th overall and finished in a time of 21:48.
Sophomore Jessie Volz was the seventh finisher for East Ridge and she placed 41st overall and finished in a time of 22:06 – her second-fastest performance of the season!
Junior Avery Post was the eighth finisher for the Knights. Post finished in 58th place with a time of 23:02.
Sophomore Lexi Whitehead was the ninth finisher for the Knights and she placed 66th overall and finished with a time of 23:31.
Freshman Kori Lindley was the tenth finisher for the Knights. Lindley placed 70th overall and finished with a time of 23:43.
East Ridge’s Girls Cross Country Team posing with the District Championship trophy and their individual district champion medals.
East Ridge High School secured their third consecutive district title at Osceola! The Knights won the district title by placing their five scorers in the top twenty-four overall positions, to include three scorers in the top ten! Lake Minneola High School was the team runner up. The overall individual winner for the girls district race was junior Addison Elwell from Viera High School. Elwell finished today’s race in a time of 18:28.
The Knights will compete in the Class 4A Region 2 Championships on Saturday November 9 at South County Regional Park in Boca Raton. The girls race is scheduled to start at 7:30 AM.
