Patriots post five personal bests at Cross Country States

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Coach Damien Sutton, Trent Guy, Connor Glass, Connor Steward, Lucas Bauman, Mekai Hoo, Sebastian Salgado, Jayden Geathers and Coach Barnes following the team’s finish at State. “We had a good season this year and it’s the first time at States,” Geathers said. “Hopefully next year we can perform better.” (Photo submitted by Jayden Geathers)

The boys varsity cross country team and girls cross country runner eighth-grader Ashley Fitzgerald competed in the cross country State Championship this past Saturday, Nov. 9 at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee after qualifying in the regional race the week prior. 

Junior Sebastian Salgado lead the boys team with the fastest time, senior Trent Guy claimed the second-best time, freshman Connor Glass finished in third and sophomore Connor Steward landed in fourth. Sophomore Jayden Geathers came in fifth for the team and sophomore Lucas Baumann and freshman Mehki Hoo finished in sixth and seventh, respectively. Their appearance at State marked the first such appearance by a Patriot boys cross country team in school history.

“We worked hard all season for states,” Guy said following the meet. “In the end, almost all of us beat our best times.”

Fitzgerald, the only runner from the girls team to advance to the State Championship, became the first girls state qualifier since 2012, placing seventeenth out of the total 230 girls competing. 

Sammy Rosenthal is a senior at American Heritage School in Plantation Fla. and is entering his fourth year writing for the newsmagazine; his second year as the publication’s Sports Editor. Sammy takes pride in being a die-hard Miami Heat and Dolphins fan as well as dedicating his Sunday to watching football.