This season we want to highlight athletes weekly who have had incredible improvements, supported their team in a profound way, and have a championship mindset on and off the cross country course.
Last year, she finished the George Whitmire Classic in a time of 26:44 in 69th place. Flash forward to this past weekend, she crushed that performance, finishing 20th in a time of 20:23 -- over a six minute improvement year-over-year!
Here's some perspective - Cadieu ran a PR of 12:57 in the 3200m this spring. That is about 6:25 mile pace for two miles. Her 20:23 run this weekend averages out to a 6:33 mile pace with an increase in distance she is already significantly stronger than she was earlier this year.
To add on to her breakout weekend, Cadieu also ran a new PR of 20:19.08 in the 5k at the Kowboy XC Invitational at the end of August. The week prior to that she raced a strong 21:07 on the always difficult Holloway Park course -- another huge improvement from her performance on the course last season.
What's in Cadieu's future? Well, possibly the opportunity to cap off her senior season with her first XC state meet. Last year, she made it to the FHSAA 3A Region 2, finishing 40th in a then PR of 22:08.38. This year her early season performances predict her to finish top 15 at regionals and head to Tallahassee in November. Beyond that, she could lead her Auburndale squad to a state meet qualifying performance.
This weekend she will race the St. Cloud Invitational and then race the FLRunners Invitational at the end of the month.
More Coverage:
- Kya Cadieu Athlete Profile
- Auburndale HS Profile
- FHSAA 3A Region 2 Team Rankings
- FHSAA 3A Region 2 Individual Rankings
