St. Thomas Aquinas alumna and former 4A state champion, Alexa Cruz, has had one heck of a transition to college athletics.
Plagued by injury her first two seasons, Cruz did not let circumstances crush her dreams or her spirit for the sport. She persisted through the trials of transition.
In January, Cruz had her first official indoor season for Alabama where she ran a new 3000m PR of 10:14.28 to finish fifth at Vanderbilt's Music City Challenge.
With an indoor season under her belt and a healthy body to support her goals, Cruz had her outdoor 5000m debut at the 2019 FSU Relays. Cruz was giddy at the start, pumped to see what she could do and to go for her goal of sub 17:30 to start off her first collegiate outdoor season.
Cruz finished up the race in a new PR, hit her race day goal, and finished third overall with a time of 17:29.84. Back in the fall of 2016, there was no telling where Cruz's journey would lead. No one wishes to be injured, but it is the growth that Cruz developed during this trial that led to a sweet victory this past weekend.
The outdoor season is officially underway for all of our Florida alumni. Here is the alumni report for this first week of the official outdoor season (Mar 18, 2019 - Mar 24, 2019).
Men's Events
Discus
Decathlon
High Jump
Hammer Throw
Javelin
Long Jump
Pole Vault
Shot Put
Triple Jump
100 Meter Dash
110 Meter Hurdles
200 Meter Dash
400 Meter Hurdles
400 Meter Dash
800 Meter Run
1500 Meter Run
3000 Meter Run
5000 Meter Run
10,000 Meter Run
Women's Events
Discus
Leah Hardgrove
(Washington University in Saint Louis)
/ 87-6 /
Washington University St. Louis Mini Meet
High Jump
Hammer Throw
Heptathlon
Javelin
Long Jump
Pole Vault
Shot Put
Woodeline Chery
(Lincoln University of Missouri)
/ 25-5.5 /
Washington University St. Louis Mini Meet