Last night’s meet was held at the New World Sports Complex in Jacksonville. Thick, looming clouds and frequent rumbles of thunder cooled the evening’s temperature for the athletes at Cecil Field, which was a welcomed change from the heat of afternoon practices.  This was the first time that the Knights had competed in the Summer Classic and the second time they competed at New World. The last time the Knights competed at New World was last November for the Class 4A Region 1 Championships when the Knights took third place as a team. The cross-country course at New World is a two-loop, relatively flat and fast grass course on a former golf course turned disc golf course.

Girls from 31 different teams throughout Florida participated in last night’s elite division at the Summer Classic.  East Ridge’s first runner to cross the finish line was junior Rhyen Foley.  Foley placed tenth overall (out of a field of 245 elite varsity girls) and finished in a time of 18:56! Foley’s performance made her the first female in East Ridge’s history to break the nineteen-minute mark in August – when the weather is not its most cooperative and the season is young. Additionally, Foley’s result is now the fifth fastest time clocked by a Knight in the school’s history! The Summer Classic also gave Foley her new season best time, which was more than a thirty-second improvement from last week’s preseason race! 

The second Knight to finish was junior Veronica Peterson.  Peterson finished in 23rd place and posted a time of 19:41! Her performance last night was more than a minute faster than her performance at last week’s preseason meet!  Peterson’s performance enabled her to join Foley in the medal line at the Summer Classic, as the top 25 finishers of the elite division received medals and a Cecil Field Summer Classic t-shirt.

The third finisher for East Ridge was senior Hanna Warren who finished in 32nd place and in a time of 19:57! Neither Warren nor Peterson had ever broken the twenty-minute mark in August in their careers until last night’s race – an indicator of their improved conditioning at the beginning of the season. Warren’s performance at the Summer Classic was a near-minute improvement from her performance at the preseason meet last week!

The fourth finisher for the Knights was junior Adriana Mustin.  Mustin placed 74th overall and posted a time of 21:10 – an improvement of more than a minute from her performance at the preseason meet last week! Her new season best performance was also the first time that Mustin had ever broken the 22-minute mark in the month of August.

The fifth finisher and final scorer for the Knights was sophomore Taylor Walker. Walker placed 86th overall and posted a time of 21:40, more than a minute and a half faster than her performance at the preseason meet last week! Like Mustin, Walker had never broken the 22-minute mark in August either until last night’s meet. Senior Neelyanis Lugo was the sixth finisher for the Knights. Lugo followed in her teammate by four seconds, clocking a finish time of 21:44 and placing 91st overall. Lugo’s performance at the Summer Classic was a near two-minute improvement from her performance at the preseason meet last week!

Junior Avery Post was the seventh finisher for East Ridge, as she finished in 22:34 and placed 134th overall. Post, in the second race of her high school career, improved her time by just over two minutes from last week’s preseason meet! Sophomore Lexi Whitehead was the eighth finisher for the Knights. In her second varsity race of her high school career, Whitehead placed 161st overall and clocked a finish time of 23:12 – a new career personal best performance! Freshman Kori Lindley, in her second race of her high school career, finished in 23:32 and placed 173rd overall. Lindley’s performance last night was a near thirty-second improvement from her time last week at the preseason meet!

East Ridge High School ultimately took sixth place in the elite division of the Cecil Field Summer Classic.  Medaling two runners and running a team average of 20:16 – the fastest average a team has ever had in August in East Ridge’s history – earned the Knights the third-best team place of all of the Class 4A teams at the Summer Classic last night. Creekside High School out of St. Johns, Florida, a Class 4A rival for the Knights, took the top honors by medaling three girls at the Summer Classic. East Ridge was edged out by another 4A rival, Buchholz High School out of Gainesville, Florida, who took fifth place.  Buchholz was the Class 4A state champion last season. The overall individual winner for the girls’ elite division at the Summer Classic was junior Alyson Johnson from Creekside High School. Johnson finished the race in a swift time of 18:00.

The Knights also had seven runners participate in the girls’ junior varsity race last night at the Summer Classic. Sophomore Jessie Volz took 23rd place overall (out of 325 total junior varsity finishers) in the junior varsity race! Volz finished in a time of 22:56 – a new career personal best time by more than two minutes!

Freshman Sara Garzon placed 128th overall and finished in a time of 25:41 in her debut race as a Knight! Senior J’Mariana Douglas placed 147th overall and finished in a time of 26:15 – a two minute improvement from her performance at the preseason meet last week! Next for the Knights was freshman Daniela Garzon, who placed 195th overall and finished in a time of 27:39 in her debut race as a Knight!  The fifth and final scorer for the junior varsity was junior Thirsa Cnossen, who placed 201st overall and finished in a time of 27:48 – a more than a minute improvement from her performance last week at the preseason meet! The sixth finisher was junior Alyssa Schacht, who placed 206th overall and finished in a time of 27:54 – a new career personal best time! Freshman Annabel Bandelin was the seventh finisher for the Knights. Bandelin placed 258th overall and finished in a time of 30:10 – a more than two-and-a-half-minute improvement from her performance last week at the preseason meet! Ultimately, the girls’ junior varsity team took eighteenth place out of 36 complete girls’ teams. 

For full results for all of last night’s races at the Cecil Field Summer Classic, including the elite girls division and the junior varsity race, visit here: https://my.raceresult.com/304437/results. 

The girls’ cross country team will travel to Whispering Pines Park in Inverness on Saturday, August 31st  to participate in the Whispering Pines Invitational for their second regular season meet. The varsity girls race is the first race of the morning and the start time is set for 8:00 AM.

Photo credit to South Lake Photography

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Clermont, Florida – August 19, 2023

The East Ridge High School girls cross country team participated in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Preseason Invitational Saturday morning, and gave a small glimpse as to what their 2023 season will have in store. This morning’s meet was held at the National Training Center (NTC) in Clermont.

Thin clouds, a slight breeze, and a 7:45 AM race start made for better conditions than what the runners have been training in during their mid-afternoon practice sessions.  This was the first time that the Knights had competed in a preseason race, and it had been more than a decade since one of their teams had competed at the NTC. The cross-country course at the NTC begins on the soccer fields near Legends Way and then descends the long hill to the undeveloped that lie between the NTC and Lake-Sumter State College. Those fields have numerous hills that make for a challenging run, as the runners complete a serpentine course until they reach the NTC’s track facility for a 200M track finish.

Girls from nine different schools throughout Central Florida participated in this morning’s preseason meet.  East Ridge’s first runner to cross the finish line was sophomore Rhyen Foley!  Rhyen, whose previous personal best was 21:01 at last year’s regional championships, absolutely shattered her personal best time with a swift time of 19:52! Rhyen’s performance placed her as East Ridge’s fourth fastest female runner in the school’s 22-year history. Additionally, Rhyen is just the fifth female runner to break the 20-minute threshold in the school’s history. Rhyen was the runner-up out of a field of 62 varsity female runners!  

The second Knight to finish was junior Hanna Warren.  Hanna finished in eighth place and posted a time of 21:18. Her performance today was nearly a minute faster than her performance at her first meet last year.  The third finisher for East Ridge was freshman Taylor Walker who finished in thirteenth place and in a time of 22:58 in her debut race! Both Hanna and Taylor joined their teammate, Rhyen, in the medal line, securing three places in the top fifteen!

The fourth finisher for the Knights was sophomore Adriana Mustin. Adriana placed twentieth overall and posted a time of 23:35 – a near two minutes faster than her first race last season.

The fifth finisher and final scorer for the Knights was junior Neely Lugo. Neely placed 21st and posted a time of 23:48, nearly a minute faster than her first race last season. Junior Madi McCormack finished sixth for the Knights, placing 24th overall and finishing in a time of 24:06.

Senior Lina Maldonado, the team’s seventh finisher, followed in her teammate and took 25th place, finishing in a time of 24:08. Lina’s performance this morning was a near minute-and-a-half improvement from her first race last season. The eighth finisher for the Knights was junior J’Mariana Douglas, who took 41st place and finished in a time of 27:02. The ninth finisher for the Knights was senior Karlie Saint Lot, who took 52nd place and finished in a time of 30:19 – a minute-and-a-half faster than her first race last season.

East Ridge High School ultimately took third place out of seven complete teams this morning.  The Knights were able to place three of their runners in the top fifteen. East Ridge’s crosstown rival, Lake Minneola High School, took top honors at the FCA Preseason Invitational by placing their best five runners in the top ten positions. Lake Minneola placed eleventh in the Class 3A FHSAA State Championships last season. East Ridge was edged out by their Lake County rival, Tavares High School, who took second place by placing five runners in the top eighteen positions.  Tavares placed twentieth in the Class 3A FHSAA State Championships last season. The overall individual winner for the girls varsity race was freshman Cheyenne Thomas from Tavares High School. Cheyenne finished the race in a swift time of 19:37.

The Knights also had five runners participate in the girls’ junior varsity race this morning at the FCA Preseason Invitational. Freshman Lexi Whitehead took fourth overall in the junior varsity race this morning! Lexi finished in a time of 28:57 in her debut as an East Ridge Knight.  Senior Kayden Page was the second Knight to cross the finish line in the junior varsity race. Kayden placed seventh overall in a time of 29:36.  Senior Sarah Tingler was the third Knight to finish and she placed eleventh overall in a time of 31:00. Next for the Knights was junior Bianca Brauti-Heidemann, an exchange student from Norway, who placed thirteenth overall and finished in a time of 31:26 in her debut as a Knight.  The fifth and final scorer for the junior varsity was sophomore Shane George who placed sixteenth overall and finished in a time of 33:53.

Ultimately, the girls junior varsity team took second place out of three complete girls teams. Additionally, four of the Knights medaled in the junior varsity race!

For full results for the girls varsity race at the FCA Preseason Invitational visit: https://fl.milesplit.com/meets/544905-fca-cross-country-preseason-invitational-the-ntc-2023/results/949114?type=formatted.

For full results for the girls junior varsity race at the FCA Preseason Invitational visit: https://fl.milesplit.com/meets/544905-fca-cross-country-preseason-invitational-the-ntc-2023/results/949116?type=formatted.

The girls cross country team will travel to Whispering Pines Park in Inverness on Saturday August 26th to participate in the Whispering Pines Invitational for their regular season opener.

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Kissimmee, Florida – October 16, 2020

The East Ridge High School girls varsity cross country team traveled to Kissimmee to compete in the JT Memorial Cross Country Race at Austin Tindall Park on Friday, October 16. The event is dedicated to the life of Julius Tharpe, known as JT to his coaching friends who started the event. JT was a beloved coach, teacher, and referee in Osceola County schools, and the coaches from Gateway High School and Osceola High School decided to create a memorial race after JT passed away in 2019. The race was held on Friday evening, and the temperature and sunset made for optimal conditions for runners to showcase their mid-October performances. For East Ridge High School, Friday night was the last meet of the regular season, and the girls cross country team was excited for their last race before they begin their final preparations for the district meet at the end of the month.

Girls from seven different schools throughout Central Florida competed in the JT Memorial Cross Country Race on Friday evening. Senior Mackenzie Hill led the Knights as she swiftly moved along the soccer fields of Austin Tindall Park.  In her final regular-season race of her high school career, senior Mackenzie Hill led the entire field of 46 varsity female runners.  Mackenzie was spotted finishing the first of two loops in a close race with two runners from Holy Trinity Academy.  By the end of the second loop of the race, Mackenzie had opened up a considerable distance between herself and the Holy Trinity runners.

Mackenzie posted a swift 18:31 finish time and placed first overall, and was the JT Memorial individual champion!  Mackenzie celebrated her last regular season meet of her high school career by winning her first invitational individual championship of her high school career! Sophomore

Bre Peine was the second Knight to cross the finish line on Friday evening.  Placing thirteenth overall, Bre finished in a time of 20:14!

The third Knight to finish was senior Heidy Castillo.  Heidy placed fifteenth overall and finished in a time of 21:09.  Sophomore Alanis Melgar was the fourth scorer for the varsity team.  Alanis placed 24^th and came across the line in a time of 22:21. The fifth runner for the Knights was senior Olivia Peine.  Olivia placed 29^th and finished in a time of 22:52.  Junior Keira Votava was the sixth runner for East Ridge Friday evening.  Keira placed 31^st and finished in a time of 23:36.  Senior Caitlyn Cavender was the seventh runner in for East Ridge, and she finished in 40^th place in a time of 28:42.

East Ridge placed fourth out of seven schools that fielded complete teams. Holy Trinity Academy out of Melbourne won the invitational by placing its first five finishers in the top fifteen positions.

East Ridge also had three runners compete in the junior varsity race. Freshman Addison Dodd placed third overall and finished in a time of 21:42. Sophomore Alexandra Dimitros placed sixth overall and finished in a time of 24:16. Sophomore Brenna Oliveri placed eighth overall and finished in a time of 27:28.

Friday’s race capped off the 2020 regular season for the girls’ cross country team.  Now the focus for the team is the district meet.  The girls will compete in the Class 4A District 6 meet on Friday, October 30 at West Orange High School at 8:00 AM.  The team has worked hard to give themselves an opportunity to qualify out of districts into the regional race.  Last year East Ridge finished seventh out of seventeen teams at districts and qualified for the regional meet for the second season in a row. The girls’ team hopes to make a third consecutive trip to the regional meet!

The course for the junior varsity race measured 2.5 miles.  The course for the varsity race measured three miles. For full results from the JT Memorial Cross Country Race visit the following links:

Girls Varsity Results: https://fl.milesplit.com/meets/390437-jt-memorial-xc-race/results/708606/formatted#.X4w9-9BKg2w

Girls Junior Varsity Results: https://fl.milesplit.com/meets/390437-jt-memorial-xc-race/results/708569/formatted#.X4w8idBKg2w

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This morning the East Ridge High School girls cross country team competed in the Windermere High School Invitational at Lake Louisa State Park in Clermont.   It had been two years since the Knights had competed at Lake Louisa.  Lake Louisa was a beautiful setting to the morning’s race, as the course was on the equestrian trails of the state park.  The temperature at the state park sat in the mid-70s, and the sun glared on runners for most of the morning.  Girls from more than 33 different schools competed Saturday morning in the Windermere High School Invitational.  Deviating from tradition, the boys’ race went off first.  The boys were to begin at 8:00 am, but the meet was delayed due to the high volume of spectator traffic.  Therefore, the girls’ race went off at 8:50 am, approximately 20 minutes later than the planned start time.

The field of runners for the varsity girls race was 244, and the narrow chokepoint from the starting area to the equestrian trail made for quite a scramble of elite girls trying to establish favorable positions.  Senior Reagan Parks knew she needed to get a good position early if she was to compete with the elite runners in the morning’s meet and attain her goal of a sub-20 minute 5K.  She has been chasing a sub-20 minute 5K for four years, as it had evaded her time and again.  So, Reagan hustled to the head of the field and found herself in fourth place through the first mile of the race.  Reagan’s second mile had a two-fold goal of recovering but keeping her positioning.  Reagan was spotted in sixth place just past the two-mile mark.  Recovered and with minimal positioning loss, Reagan dug in to improve her third-mile pace.  She knew her third-mile pace needed to be closer to her first-mile pace if she was going to give herself a shot at breaking the 20:00 mark.   As she rounded the final turn and approached the finish line, the giant race clock caught Reagan’s attention.  Undoubtedly, Reagan did some quick mathematics in her head.  Her eyes widened and a grin formed on her face, as she made her final acceleration.  Reagan placed seventh in a time of 19:56, and became the second girl in East Ridge High School’s history to break the 20-minute threshold.  East Ridge’s fastest 5K on record for girls is 19:44, and it was set by Kelsey Arellano in 2006.

The second Knight to finish was junior Mackenzie Hill.  Mackenzie finished in 44^th place in a time of 22:16.  Her time on Saturday was more than 40 seconds faster than her performance at Lake Louisa during her freshman season.  The third Knight to finish was junior Mia Vogel-Lag. Mia placed 86^th overall in a time of 23:51.  The fourth runner for the Knights was junior Olivia Peine.  Olivia placed 92^nd overall and posted a time of 23:59.  The fifth runner for the girls’ varsity team was freshman Alanis Melgar.  Alanis placed 97^th in a time of 24:02 to round out the Knights’ scoring positions. Junior Heidy Castillo finished sixth for the Knights in a finish time of 24:52 – a new personal best. Junior Caitlyn Cavender finished seventh for the Knights in a time of 29:18.

East Ridge had three girls compete in the junior varsity race on Saturday morning.  Freshman Bre Peine placed fifth in a field of 146 female runners.  Bre finished in a time of 24:09 – a new career personal best.  Sophomore Peppa Marin finished in 58^th place in a time of 29:43, and sophomore Mansi Patel finished in 63^rdplace in a time of 30:05.

As a team, the East Ridge girls came in seventh out of 33 scoring teams. Harmony High School took first place by placing its first three runners in the top ten.  The individual champion was Ashley Klingenberg of Lake Brantley High School.  Ashley finished in a swift time of 18:35.

For full results from the Windermere High School Invitational visit https://fl.milesplit.com/meets/360344/results/671726/raw#.XZj2NyhKg2w. The girls’ team will compete in the Seventh Annual Trinity Catholic Celtic Invitational at Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala Florida on Saturday, October 12.

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