ODA girls cross country advance to FHSAA State Meet.
Led by eighth-grader Maria Shaw, the Out-of-Door Academy girls cross country team finished second at the Class 1A-Region 2 meet Friday at Santa Fe College in Gainesville.
Shaw completed the 5K (3.1-mile) course in 20 minutes, 5 seconds, finishing third and helping the Thunder score 103 points to end behind only Gainesville Oak Hall (62).
Also scoring for Out-of-Door were sophomore Maeve Studdiford (20th in 21:23), seventh-grader Aubrey Robbins (26th in 21:36), seventh-grader Abigail Burwood (35th in 21:59) and junior Abigail Eakle (39th in 22:16).
Cardinal Mooney also qualified for the state meet with a fourth-place finish with 176 points.
The top finisher for the Cougars was freshman Hallie Monserez (37th in 22:04). Other Cardinal Mooney scorers were freshman Madison Smithers (43rd in 22:24), Rachel Jarrett (44th in 22:27), freshman Natali Mercadante (47th in 22:36) and freshman Jenna Santiago (49th in 22:43).
The top six teams and first 15 individuals advance to the FHSAA State Meet on Nov. 10 at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee.
At the Class 2A-Region 3, Lemon Bay freshman Katelyn Ziarnicki grabbed the final individual qualifying spot, taking 15th in 21:39 on Friday at Holloway Park in Lakeland. She was the only area qualifier, girl or boy, to reach the state meet from 2A-3.
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