This is the latest in the series of features honoring the members of our the flrunners.com All-Decade Team. We hope to highlight as many athletes as possible on this list and will hopefully continue to release one per day until the start of cross country regular season.
Career Summary
Christa Benton was sweet and quiet off the course, but on it she was a force to be reckoned with! She was utterly dominant in the smallest classification, winning three straight cross country state championsions between 1998 and 2000, competing for Keswick Christian under late, great coach Lance Lipham. Her senior year she had the fastest time of any girl at the state meet by almost 30 seconds. She won the difficult (and now extinct) three mile course at Brevard Community College through the muddy orange groves (what is now the flrunners.com Invitational course, but before they built the lakes and tore out the groves!) with a time of 17:25.
She also added a 3200 state title in track in 2001 (11:11.09) to go along with a number of other top three state meet performances in the 1600 and 3200.
Benton qualified for Footlocker Nationals twice, winning Footlocker South as a senior. Running on the Disney golf course version of Footlocker Nationals, before the move back out to San Diego, she came in 25th (17:58) her junior year and then her senior year grabbed All-American honors with her 12th place (17:42) performance.
High School Personal Bests
16:55 - 3 Mile XC
17:42 - 5K XC
11:11.09 - 3200
5:15.37 - 1600
Interview
When you reflect back on your high school career what are you most proud of?
I remember my first year at the state xc meet finishing 2nd as a freshman. At the awards ceremony my coach was so proud of me, and as he hung the medal around my neck he said "Do you know how hard it is to do that?". Three years and three FL XC state championships later as a senior in HS, I remember my coach crying with pride as he asked the same thing after I won the Footlocker South Regionals, qualifying for HS XC nationals one final time. Two weeks later I went on to finish 12th at XC nationals earning All-American status.
Who or what things made the biggest impacts on your success?
Having a loving, supportive family that understood my desire to run and compete made a huge impact on my running career. For instance, having a mom that took interest in my sport and was willing to travel all over to watch me run is something I still remain thankful for. However, the greatest impact on my running would have to be my coach- Lance Lipham who passed away just last year. He took notice of me my first year running as an 8th grader. Through the years, he continued to invest in me, not only as his athlete, but also as a cherished student. Besides teaching me everything I know about running, he was very much a mentor and a dear father-figure in my life. When it came time to compete he always told me the same thing before the race: "Christa, just run your own race."
Who were some of the athletes you remember that you loved competing against?
After qualifying for XC nationals the first time, I remember fellow Florida runner Hilary White running over to me after the race and saying "Congratulations! us Florida girls are going to have so much fun at nationals!". She was right!
What are some of your fondest memories from high school athletics?
There are so many... mile repeats, team bus rides, muddy courses, sometime getting "lost", big team dinners after the races, how our coach would pray with us before our races and sometimes sing songs or tell silly stories to make us laugh if we looked too nervous before the start.
What are you doing now as far as career, competing, family?
I am excitedly beginning my 4th year as an elementary school music teacher. When possible, I enjoy running with the middle school and high school xc and track athletes at the school I teach at. During the year I train for and race distances from 5K up to the marathon with my top goal being to hit an Olympic trail qualifying marathon mark for 2012. I am also very thrilled to announce my engagement to Lee Stephens. We will be getting married on June 5th 2010!
What else do you want to add or say to the flrunners.com community?
My advice to other athletes would be to enjoy their sport and honor God with it. Be thankful for the simple gift of running. Remember to run your best because there are so many people out there who won't or can't. And of course, "always run your own race".
Webmaster's Note
BIG CONGRATS TO LEE AND CHRISTA!!!
Lee has been a long time friend of this site and a good friend to me personally. Lee was a star runner at Land O' Lakes HS and later USF and Florida Southern College. Have known them both for years and am so happy for you two, as I'm sure we all are!!
-Jason