The East Ridge High School girls cross-country team participated in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Preseason Invitational this past weekend at the scenic property of Southern Hill Farms in Clermont. Between the difficulty of the course’s terrain and the blistering temperatures at race time, Southern Hill presented itself as a challenging preseason meet.

The Knights soldiered through the challenging course in an effort to get some early-season race jitters out of their system. The course begins with an approximately 100-meter start that merges into a long stone straightaway to the back of the farm’s property. After that, the course becomes a grass and dirt terrain through the field roads of the property. Numerous grass and dirt straightaways led the runners back to the long stone straightaway and the finish line.

(East Ridge High Girls on straightaway, race Behind the Lead Cart at Southern Hill Farms; Photo by South Lake Photography – Jeff Warren)

Girls from 10 complete teams throughout Central Florida participated in the preseason meet. East Ridge’s first runner to cross the finish line was senior Veronica Peterson! Peterson placed sixth overall out of a field of 80 girls! She ran in close proximity to other Class 4A opponents from Lake Minneola, Lake Brantley and Windermere.

In her final push across the finish line, Peterson was able to edge out the opponent from Windermere to finish in a time of 21:26! Speaking of close proximity, Peterson’s teammate, senior Rhyen Foley, took eighth overall and finished in a time of 21:33. Foley and Peterson worked off each other’s paces throughout most of the race, but then hit the long stone straightaway where a small increment of time would separate the two at the end. Peterson and Foley provided a one-two punch to the opposing teams, which was crucial in the Knights’ success this morning!

(Seniors Rhyen Foley and Veronica Peterson Leading the Knights’ Charge! Photo by Jeff Warren)

The third Knight to finish was senior Adriana Mustin! Mustin finished in 10th place and posted a time of 21:52! Her performance today was more than a 20-second improvement from her result at the preseason meet last year at Southern Hill! The conditions and the hot temperature made it nearly impossible for the field of runners to improve from last season’s time.

However, Mustin was one of the outliers. Her teammate, junior Taylor Walker, was the fourth Knight to finish. Walker placed 13th overall in a time of 22:27 – a near one-minute improvement from her result at the farm last season! Mustin and Walker were fortunate enough to position themselves in the top 15, which earned them spots in the medal line after the race.

(Senior Adriana Mustin & Junior Taylor Walker at FCA Preseason; Photo by South Lake Photography – Jeff Warren)

Rounding out the scoring positions for the Knights was freshman Hortance Sallault. Sallault’s cross-country debut contributed to the Knights’ team effort. She placed 19th overall and finished in a time of 23:14! Following up in close proximity was sophomore Helen Robertson. Robertson, a summertime transfer, finished 20th overall and in a time of 23:15 in her debut as a Knight.

(Sophomore Helen Robertson & Freshman Hortance Sallault at FCA Preseason; Photo by Jeff Warren)

East Ridge’s pack held tight throughout the race as the Knights’ seventh finisher, junior Lexi Whitehead, placed 22nd overall and in a time of 23:23. Whitehead’s performance this morning was a near minute-and-a-half improvement from her result at Southern Hill last season.

Junior Jessie Volz stormed the finish line in close proximity to her teammate to secure the 23rd overall position. Volz finished in a time of 23:24, which was more than a minute-and-a-half improvement from her result at the farm last season.

East Ridge High School ultimately took the top honors. The Knights were able to place six of their runners in the top 20. One of East Ridge’s Lake County rivals, Tavares High School, was the team runner-up, as they placed three runners in the top 20. Tavares placed 16th in the Class 3A FHSAA State Championships last season. The Knights were also able to hold off some district rivals, including Horizon, Lake Minneola, Windermere and Apopka.

The Knights also had four runners participate in the girls junior varsity race this at the FCA Preseason Invitational. Freshman Jamie Volz took second out of 19 total runners in the junior varsity race. Volz finished in a time of 27:03 in her debut as a Knight! Junior Livia Chouinard was the second Knight to cross the finish line in the junior varsity race. Chouinard placed fifth overall in a time of 29:11 in her debut race. Freshman Saryna Stewart was the third Knight to finish as she placed sixth overall in a time of 29:22. Junior Yeidy Diaz placed seventh overall and finished in a time of 30:26 – more than a minute improvement from her result at the farm last season.