By Grant Mollett, ERHS Girls Cross Country Team Coach
photos taken/contributed by Jeff Warren, team parent.
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.
