by Grant Mollett, East Ridge High School
photos contributed by teammate Alexandra Dimitros.
Winter Garden, Florida – September 24
The East Ridge High School girls cross country team competed in the West Orange High School Invitational in Winter Garden on Saturday morning. The temperature, which held at about 72 degrees, was a bit of a reprieve from some of the muggier and humid mornings from earlier in the season. The last time the girls’ team raced at West Orange High School was one day shy of a year ago, so the returning runners knew the course and the terrain quite well. Last season, the Knights finished in a respectable seventh place out of twenty complete teams at the West Orange Invitational. However, the team goal was set much higher than that this time around, and the girls’ team would ultimately raise the bar! In all, thirteen career personal best times and six current season personal best times were set by the Knights this morning!
Girls from 27 different schools throughout Central Florida participated in the West Orange High School Invitational today. The varsity girls’ race started at 7:15 AM. The start of the race took the girls across some athletic fields near the football stadium. Then, the course took the runners around two loops around the back end of the campus, rounding some soccer fields, and through a small wooded area.
For the third time this season, freshman Veronica Peterson was the first Knight to cross the finish line! Veronica also set a new season/career personal best record by finishing today’s race in a swift time of 20:16 – a more than thirty-second improvement from her time two weeks ago! She placed tenth overall out of a field of 154 varsity female runners! Additionally, Veronica was recognized as the fastest freshman in the field today! Sophomore Hanna Warren also set a new career personal best, as she raced her teammate into the finish chute and across the line! Hanna was barely inched out by her teammate at the finish line, taking eleventh place overall also in a time of 20:16! Hanna’s performance today was more than a minute improvement from her performance at the West Orange Invitational a year ago!
Senior Bre Peine finished in nineteenth place and also set a new career personal best with a time of 20:43! Bre outshined her performance at West Orange last season by more than a minute!
Freshman Rhyen Foley was the fourth scoring Knight this morning. She finished in 31st place and in a time of 21:26 – a new career/season personal best by more than thirty seconds from her performance two weeks ago! The fifth finisher and final scorer for East Ridge was freshman Adriana Mustin. Adriana finished in 35th place and in a time of 21:36 – a new season/career personal best performance! Adriana’s performance this morning was more than a minute and a half improvement from her performance two weeks ago! The sixth finisher for the Knights was sophomore Madi McCormack. Madi placed 43rd overall and finished in a time of 21:59 – a new season/career personal best performance! Madi’s race this morning was nearly a minute faster than her performance from two weeks ago! The seventh finisher for the Knights was sophomore Neely Lugo, who placed 57th overall and finished in a time of 22:21 – a new season-best time by nearly a minute!
East Ridge High School was the morning’s runner-up out of 22 complete teams at the West Orange Invitational. East Ridge’s crosstown rival, Lake Minneola won the West Orange High School Invitational by placing three runners in the top sixteen positions. However, the Knights were able to outperform all of the Class 4A District 2 rivals that competed at West Orange this morning! In fact, East Ridge defeated eleven District 2 teams, including Apopka, Dr. Philips, Evans, Hagerty, Ocoee, Olympia, Seminole (Sanford), University (Orange City), Wekiva, West Orange, and Windermere! The overall individual winner for the Girls’ varsity race was sophomore Emily Knopfle from Olympia High School. Knopfle finished today’s race in a swift time of 18:40.
The Knights also had thirteen runners participate in the Girls’ junior varsity race this morning at West Orange High School. Junior Lina Maldonado placed second out of a field of 132 junior varsity girls! She finished in a time of 23:28 – a new career personal best by exactly a minute! Senior Alanis Melgar finished in sixth place overall and in a time of 24:37. Junior Maja Stjernstrom finished in seventh place in a time of 24:49. Sophomore J’Mariana Douglas finished in thirteenth place overall and in a time of 25:15 – a new season best record by nearly thirty seconds! Senior Brenna Oliveri placed fourteenth overall and finished in a time of 25:18 – a new career personal best record by more than thirty seconds, which she set last season at the West Orange Invitational!
Sophomore Isabella Stuemke came in 24th place and finished in a time of 26:00 – a new season-best performance by nearly two minutes! Sophomore Sarah Tingler finished in 27th place in a time of 26:15 – a new season-best performance by nearly thirty seconds! Freshman Shane George finished in 49th place in a time of 27:21 – a new career/season-best performance by more than a minute and a half! Junior Kayden Page finished in 68th place in a time of 28:19 – a new season-best performance by more than thirty seconds! Junior Karlie Saintlot finished in 72nd place and in a time of 28:51 – a new career personal best performance by over a minute! Junior Reese Phipps finished in 107th place in a time of 34:13 – a new career/personal best performance by more than three minutes! Senior Alexandra Dimitros finished in 112th place in a time of 34:54 – a new season-best performance by nearly thirty seconds! Senior Isabella Zamudio placed 117th and finished in a time of 37:21 – a five-second improvement from her performance at West Orange last season! The Girls’ junior varsity team was the overall team champion at the West Orange High School Invitational this morning!
For full results for the girls varsity and junior varsity races at the West Orange High School Invitational visit: http://results.tfmeetpro.com/Elite_Timing_and_Event_Management/West_Orange_Invite_2022/#event3.
The Girls’ cross country team will travel to Lakeland on Saturday, October 1st to participate in the George Jenkins Cross Country Invitational. The varsity girls race is set to start at 7:30 AM.
