By Coach Grant Mollett, East Ridge High School
October 25, 2025, Tallahassee, Florida
The East Ridge High School girls cross country team traveled to Tallahassee to compete in the Pre-State Meet at Apalachee Regional Park. The last time the Knights competed in the Pre-State Meet was in 2023. Last season the Pre-State Meet was canceled due to complications caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. That cancellation made last season’s FHSAA State Championships the only time the Knights were able to race at Apalachee. This season the Pre-State Meet was a go and was an opportunity for the Knights to get themselves acquainted, and for some reacquainted, with the Apalachee course that will be used for the FHSAA State Championships next month. For the seven Knights who competed in the Pre-State Meet on Saturday, three of them had never raced at Apalachee before. Teams that compete at Pre-State certainly get the advantages of having experienced the Apalachee course and the competition of the Elite Division in preparation for the State Championships
The event at Apalachee was a two-day showcase of middle school, high school, and collegiate races. Collegiate races were held on Friday morning, while middle school and junior varsity high school races were held on Friday afternoon. In fact, East Ridge alumnus Neelyanis Lugo raced on Friday morning in the FCSAA Division I & II Championships. Lugo joined the Lake Hawks of Lake-Sumter State College this year, and will also compete in the upcoming indoor track and outdoor track seasons. Saturday morning was slated for eight different high school races. Those eight races include four girls races and four boys races. Furthermore, each of the girls and boys races are divided into four divisions – Elite, Select, High School A, and High School B. For Pre-State, a committee decides on the placements for each of the teams and individuals that participate in the four different divisions. The Elite Division includes the best 32 teams, as selected by the Pre-State committee, in the state of Florida to this point in the season. With that, the East Ridge girls varsity cross country team earned their Elite placement, and competed among the best in the state.
Girls from 31 different schools along with fourteen individual elite runners from throughout the entire state of Florida participated in the Elite Division at Pre-State on Saturday. The girls race of the Elite Division started at 7:40 AM. Assigned in box 1, on the far left side boundary line of the starting area, East Ridge’s girls team made final preparations by stretching, striding, and trying to stay warm before the race. The official called the runners to their marks, and fired the starting pistol. With that, the Knights, amidst 273 elite runners, took off across the grassy straightaway on a crisp 58 degrees morning.
For the third time this season, senior Veronica Peterson was the first Knight to cross the finish line! Peterson clocked a 6:02 first mile and was spotted in 101st place. She then settled into the second mile and was clocked at 12:33 as she rounded the second mile marker. Peterson was able to pick up a few spots in the second mile, as she was spotted in 98th place. From there, Peterson tried her best to hold her position through the finish – taking 104th overall and finishing in a time of 19:51! Peterson’s performance on Saturday is now the eleventh fastest time set by a Knight at Apalachee!
The rest of the Knights’ chase pack, juniors Taylor Walker and Jessie Volz, remained tight throughout the race. Both Walker and Volz were right with Sallault and Peterson at the first mile marker and only dropped a few seconds of their shoulders in the second and third miles. The duo zipped over the Wall for the second time and charged the long straightaway to the finish line. Walker finished third for the Knights in a time of 20:00! Her performance was a new career personal best and a near minute improvement from her performance at Apalachee at last season’s state championships! Walker is now the eighth fastest girl in East Ridge history! Volz finished fourth for the Knights and clocked a time of 20:05 – an improvement by more than a minute from her performance at the state championships last season! Walker and Volz now have the thirteenth and fourteenth fastest times set by Knights at Apalachee!
Junior Lexi Whitehead finished sixth for the Knights. Whitehead clocked a 21:13 in her debut race at Apalachee – her third fastest time of the season!
East Ridge High School placed 22nd out of 31 total elite teams at Apalachee. Additionally, the Knights came up short by one team point against Class 4A District 3 rival Boone High School, but was able to fend off their other District 3 rival Lake Minneola High School by a few team points. IMG Academy out of Bradenton took top honors by placing their five scorers in the top 37 finishing positions. The overall individual winner for the girls Elite Division was freshman Anabella Tomasic from Bishop Moore. Tomasic finished Saturday’s race in a swift time of 17:29.
The girls cross country team will compete in the Class 4A District 3 Championships at Osceola High School on Saturday November 8. The girls race is set to begin at 8:00 am.
