Ferguson Falcons Show out in Tropical Park

Ferguson’s cross-country team had an amazing performance on Friday, undergoing the 5,000-meter run, boasting impressive individual times.

In this meet, both the boys and girls teams competed side by side, giving Ferguson the upper hand. All the prominent schools in Miami-Dade were present at the meet, ready to take on the other and in the first competition of the season. Everyone got an inside look on what they are up against for state meets as a result.

With the event having over 650 runners, Sophomore, Samantha Pinnavaia, came in 52nd place, running the 5000-meter run in 25:48.40 minutes. The crowd went wild as she made her way to be one of the prime runners in the meet. Prior to running this past Friday, Pinnavaia attended county championships that she placed exceptionally high in.

“I think the meet at Tropical Park went well! It was the first time I had ran that course but overall, I think my teammates and I did well. I did enjoy seeing people in the crowd since last year spectators weren’t allowed,”  Pinnavaia says. It is different having a crowd of individuals cheer on the runners, but the feeling of being back had the crowd feeling content and joyous.

“I think the meet went well, considering it was the first in the season and a difficult course,” says sophomore Ximena Lara, who came in 88th place, which is impressive as a first-time runner. 

She explains additionally that the season is looking good, considering that a good deal of the runners started training not too long ago. “Everyone on the team is excited for the upcoming races and hopefully states. We all wish to accomplish beating our personal best and making it to states,” she shares.

Normally, new members fall behind in certain meets when beginning cross country because of faulty breathing techniques or overdoing practices, but Freshman, Jude Zayas, came in 116th place, finishing at 22:38.05 minutes. He changed the game entirely, proving that when effort is put in, triumph is imminent. “The environment was hype, and everyone was excited to race, including me,” he says. He adds on stating that the team did well, considering it was the first meet. He gained an excessive amount of knowledge on techniques for running on an open-air course, and that he is excited for his near future as a runner.

“The team and I are going to have to work very hard in order to catch up to Belen and other challengers who might stand in our way to the top. I think we have a good shot at state this year,” he said.

Having all the runners compete and gather an idea of how the other teams operate makes a triumph immeasurably easier. Now that the meet has passed, all runners have been diligently working together pushing each other every practice. Training the way the cross-country team is currently, there are bound to be a good deal of accumulated victories.