By Grant Mollett (the majority of the photos are contributed by Jeff Warren of South Lake Photography).
September 13, 2025, Clermont, Florida
The East Ridge High School girls cross country team competed in the Third Annual SSG Hammond Invitational on Saturday morning. Saturday’s meet was in honor of the late Abraham Hammond, a Staff Sergeant in the United States Army. SSG Hammond served his nation with valor whose awards and decorations included Meritorious Service Medal (Posthumous); Army Commendation Medal (4); Army Achievement Medal (1); Army Good Conduct Medal (3); National Defense Service Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Korean Defense Service Medal; NCO Professional Development Ribbon (2); Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Ribbon; North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Medal; Certificate of Achievement; and Recruiting Badge. SSG Hammond passed away in February of 2022 at the age of 27. Members of SSG Hammond’s family were in attendance at Saturday’s meet. Coaches, athletes, and spectators participated in a memorial walk around East Ridge’s track to commemorate Hammond’s life.
The temperature at race time was 73°, which was a welcomed change from the humid mornings of August. 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 High School. 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 ended with an approximately 300M track finish.
Girls from seven complete teams participated in the Third Annual SSG Hammond Invitational on Saturday. The varsity girls race started at 8:00 AM. East Ridge’s pack of runners positioned themselves in the top ten positions pretty early into the race. Spotted near the first mile marker, East Ridge’s pack of four, to include senior Adriana Mustin, Juniors Taylor Walker and Jessie Volz, and freshman Hortance Sallault, were running in near tandem with each other. By the second mile marker, Walker, Volz, and Sallault had pushed the throttle to overtake Windermere’s second runner. Determined to not let any other Windermere or Tavares runners split them up, the three Knights descended the Green Monster, rounded the final u-turn, and hit the track.
Sallault, slightly ahead of her two teammates, went into the final 300 meters with what remaining energy and adrenaline she still had to expend. Finishing in a swift time of 20:49, which is now her second fastest time in her career, Sallault placed seventh overall out of a field of 57 varsity runners! Her time is now the eighth all-time fastest time set by a Knight on the current home course! Additionally, she recorded the all-time fastest result by an East Ridge freshman on the current home course!
Next, Walker and Volz sprinted the final 100 meters to keep opponents behind them. Approaching the chute, both Knights charged the finish line! Walker finished in eighth place with a time of 20:56.99 while Volz finished in ninth with a time of 20:57.41! Walker’s result is now the ninth fastest time recorded by a Knight on the current home course while Volz’s result is now the tenth fastest time recorded by a Knight on the current home course! Walker’s performance on Saturday was a near one-minute improvement from her performance at Hammond last year! As well, Volz’s performance on Saturday was a three minute improvement from her result at the meet last year!
Sophomore Helen Robertson set a personal best as a Knight with her performance at Hammond on Saturday! She finished in twelfth place overall and clocked a time of 21:37! This was the first time that Robertson finished as a scorer for the Knights! Senior Adriana Mustin was the fifth finisher for East Ridge. Mustin followed in her teammate, securing thirteenth place. She finished in a time of 21:40 – an improvement of more than thirty seconds from her time at Hammond last season! The sixth Knight through the finish line was junior Lexi Whitehead. Whitehead placed nineteenth overall and finished in a time of 22:09 – a more than three minute improvement from her performance at Hammond last year!
The Knights were the team runner up on Saturday – falling short by seven points to county rival Tavares High School. Tavares secured three of the top four finishing positions, which was just enough to edge out the Knights. East Ridge was able to defeat four 4A teams, including Windermere, Horizon, Lake Nona, and Apopka. Sophomore Arabella Duffell of Lake Nona High School was the individual champion, as she finished in a swift time of 18:52 – nineteen seconds shy of senior Rhyen Foley’s course record.
The Knights also had ten runners participate in the girls junior varsity race on Saturday at Hammond. Freshman Jamie Volz took the top individual honors as she defeated 32 other runners in the junior varsity race! She finished in a time of 24:15 – a new career personal best time by more than thirty seconds! Sophomore Sara Garzon took fourth place overall and finished in a time of 25:13 – a new season best performance 17 seconds! Sophomore Daniela Garzon took sixth place and finished in a time of 26:26. Junior Yeidy Diaz finished in ninth place overall and in a time of 27:48 – an improvement by more than three minutes from her result at Hammond last season! Freshman Saryna Stewart placed fourteenth overall and finished in a time of 29:29. Freshman Gabriel Paul took nineteenth place and finished in a time of 30:46. Freshman Isabelle Gutierrez took twentieth place and finished in a time of 31:10. Junior Marietta Aguirre Rincon took 24th place and finished in a time of 32:32 – a new career personal best time by eight seconds! Freshman Annabelle Baggett took 26th place and finished in a time of 33:01 – a new career personal best by more than forty seconds! Junior Alexa Puello placed 32nd overall and finished in a time of 43:13 – a new career personal best performance by nearly two and a half minutes!
Scoring and Timing was managed by Khalil Tucker and Godspeed Timing who did a wonderful job in managing the Third Annual Hammond Invitational.
For full results for the the Third SSG Hammond Invitational visit: https://fl.milesplit.com/meets/665547-3rd-annual-ssg-hammond-cross-country-invitational-2025-2025/results.
The girls cross country team will compete in the West Orange Invitational at West Orange High School on Saturday September 20, 2025. The girls varsity race is the first race of the morning and it is set to start at 7:15 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 Third Annual SSG Hammond Invitational a success this weekend!
Thank you to the following parent volunteers: Eddy Sallault, Marcus Mustin, Stacy Laack Valentine, Steven Valentine, Jill McCleary, Terrence McCleary, JurJuan Walker, Tamara Walker, Mike Volz, Kristen Volz, Jennifer Dedon, Olivia Baggett, Taneika Paul, Maria Puello, Karen Stewart, Jonathan Vasquez, Cherryl Degges, and Marc Degges.
Thank you to the following alumni, alumni parents, community support, and student volunteers: Christine Warren, Jeff Warren, Haley Warren, Laura Barber, Kai Paul, Scott McKenzie, Evan Degges, Luke Degges, Ethan Laack, Alexander Stuemke, Tim Hancock, Jeremy Arguelles, and SSG Luis Carrasco.
Thank you to the following staff members: Seth Delaney, Rick Everett, Ty Ensor, Monica Braswell, Brandon Braswell, Lee Fouraker and his Television Production students, John Watson, Jim Barber, Olivia Tolson, Sarah Klosterman and her Spirit Club members, Eileen Antmann, Monica Arizpe, Virginia Walker, David Bentz, Julie Robinson-Lueallen, Keith Hunt, and Eric Calabrese.
