This past Saturday, the girls cross country team drove out to Lakeland for the Seffner Christian Invitational. Holloway Park being the back drop, a winding 5K course laden with small hills and twisty trails, the Lady Warriors delivered strong races for their second coming at this location.
“There was some good competition,” said sophomore Brooke Santiesteban. “Girls were definitely pushing each other out there.”
Santiesteban ran in the varsity race with freshmen Alexandra Straumann and Sarah Magee. With these three in the top 20, it placed the team to be third overall.
It also shows the depth of the team, as these three runners are young and new to the program, but not to the sport.
Straumann knows cross country well, as she ran in middle school. Yet the transition to high school has its obstacles.
“Moving from middle school to high school races is a challenge,” said Straumann. “There’s a lot more competition, running against faster girls, and making sure you’re maintaining your varsity spot.”
The JV team propelled to first place, led by senior Morgan Hooker and sophomores Alexendra Perri and Grace D’Angelo. They had their top 5 runners all in the top twenty.
“The last time I ran at Holloway Park I was just trying to finish,” said senior Morgan Hooker. “This time I focused on racing and earning my varsity spot back.”
Hooker’s confidence and persistence in this race truly showed, while her underclassmen teammates competed with great results.
D’Angelo looks forward to their next meet and what she can do moving ahead.
“I’m going to improve,” said D’Angelo. “I’m already in the top ten, and this next race I’ll be able to run in varsity and challenge myself and my teammates more.”
The team’s next race is this Saturday, Sept. 14 in Gainesville, at the UF Mt. Dew Invitational.
Anthony Campbell // A&E Editor
