Jake Turner and Lily Henne conquered the Holloway Park hills at the Jim Ryun Invitational.
Boys Race:
Armwood junior, Jake Turner, opened up his cross country season winning the varsity race with a time of 16:38. With a 5k PR of 16:19, Turner showed that he is ready to run sub 16 later this season.
This past track season, Turner PR'd in the 1600m and 3200m, running 4:21 and 9:27. These improvements and a strong summer base is paying off for Turner this early in the season.
Tuner was followed by Anderson Denton, out of Lake Wales, and Onix Ortiz, out of Windermere.
Windermere and Lake Wales went head to head for the team championship.
Ortiz along with teammates, Liam Pirie, Noah Ellenback, and Mason Taylor led the Windermere Wolverines to a 71 point win.
Lake Wales, led by Anderson Denton and Mac Updike, followed second with a point total of 100.
Girls Race:
Montverde Academy freshman, Lily Henne, captured the girls win with a time of 18:50.
The girls race was a pack of three for the majority of the race. Henne, Alyssa Hendrix, and Parker Valby, worked together to conquer the Holloway Park hills.
Henne looked strong as she turned the corner for the finish.
Riverview Junior, Alyssa Hendrix, was runner-up in a time of 18:58. This was Hendrix's second time racing in 4 days. Earlier in the week Hendrix, ran a time of 18:28 at the East Hillsborough Invitational.
Parker Valby finished third for the girls in a time of 19:17. Valby has a 5k PR of 19:08, and this past track season tells us we will see more top finishes from Valby this season. With several 11:01 3200m performances, Valby has shown that she is a strong consistent athlete.
It was a battle for the team title on the girls side. Taylor Stone led Osceola HS to the overall win with a total of 59 points. Montverde Academy followed second with 61 points without a key athlete, Kendyl Cardwell, in the mix.