Getting to school at 5 a.m., the Coral Gables Senior High cross country team prepared their bags and put on their uniforms, following the normal routine before a cross country race. However, anxiety was on a rise as the runners get on the bus and the realization of where they were going sunk in. In a few hours they would be running in one of their biggest meets of the 2024 season, the 42nd annual Spanish River Invitational. The Gables cross country team ran this race on Sept. 21, aiming to show the results of all their hard work and preseason training.
Before race day came around, the runners prepared for the meet in their own ways. From a pasta dinner with friends to strides on the track in order to shake out all the nerves, everyone could feel the anticipation for what was to come. Aware of how early they had to wake up the next day, a lot of runners went to bed early in order to get all the sleep they could get, knowing that anything less than their usual would affect their race.
“It was my first race of the season. So I was a little bit nervous because I didn’t know how the race was going to go. But overall, after I started the race, I was focused and all my nerves went away,” sophomore Gabriela Mendez-Ruiz said.
Leaving from school at 5 a.m., the team relaxed on the bus, listening to music or going to sleep, before they arrived at their destination, South County Regional Park. This park is known for having one of the fastest courses due to its smooth terrain and simple turns and the team was aware of it, understanding that this was the meet where they could go all out.
After arriving to the park at 6:30 a.m., the team set up their tents and relaxed, doing their own rituals in order to prepare for the upcoming race. Aware of their race starting soon, the boys varsity completed their normal warm up, accustoming themselves to the terrain.
Thinking only of the race, the boys got ready at the starting line and the gun shot at 7:40 a.m., commencing the 4a and 3a boys varsity 5k race. As the boys ran alongside 348 competitors, they encountered muddy terrain because of rain from the night before but they did not let that stop them as they placed seventh place in the 4a department. Junior Jason Norona led the boys with an impressive time and personal record of 16:42.67 which got him a 19th place finish.
“The course is known for being really fast and there’s also a lot of competition, so a lot of good runners. The competition really helps during the race because it pushes me to go faster,” junior Jason Norona said.
As the boys finished their race, the girls varsity team huddled up at the starting line before starting at 8:10 a.m. against 275 other runners. Leading Gables was junior Avril Donner with a time of 19:43.11, which became the new Gables girl’s school record and earned her an exciting sixth place finish. Behind her the rest of the six runners finished, all in under 25 minutes, helping the girls earn a sixth place finish.
“Spanish River is special because it’s an easy course and the weather is always nice. It also exciting because there’s a lot of competition. So, I think that’s why everyone is always super excited for it. And while I’m happy I finally reached this breakthrough of breaking 20 minutes, now I feel pressured to keep that performance up,” junior Avril Donner said.
Lastly, the junior varsity boys and girls teams started their races at 8:35 a.m. and 9:05 a.m., respectively. Despite the morning sun starting to heat up the course, impressive times were run by sophomore Gabriela Mendez-Ruiz who earned a sixth place spot and Santiago Rodriguez who ran a 19:57.67 race.
After such an impressive showing combined with a new record time for the girl’s varsity 5k race, Gables’ team left content with their performances, but aware of their need to improve in the future before they reach the race that really matters, the Florida High School Athletic Association State Finals. Before this race, however, both the girls and boys team will keep on putting in the work, aiming to place well in the rest of their meets and to beat personal records in each race.
“I think the whole team did really good. Not to mention [Donner] broke the school record by a considerable amount. But overall, I think everyone did amazing and it is only going to get better from her since we’re only in the beginning of the season,” senior Lauren Hernandez said.