Local independent elementary school girls’ & boys’ running teams place 1st and 2nd in statewide competition

Press release from Team FTCKids

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Team FTCKids running teams competed in the 13th Annual Horse Park Invitational cross country running meet on Saturday, Sept. 5, in Ocala. The elementary girls’ team placed 1st out of 16 entering teams and 73 participants. The elementary boys’ team placed 2nd out of 16 teams and 79 participants.

Coach Varetto was elated: “What a way to start the season! Every kid who ran this race last year improved on their previous time. And for those who got to experience their first-ever cross country race here, they ran bravely and put up incredible performances! They all worked so hard through a brutally hot summer and earned every bit of their achievements. The elementary girls brought home our first-ever win as a team! I couldn’t be more proud to be the coach of such an inspiring group of kids.”

The Horse Park Invitational is one of the largest youth cross country races in Florida. Teams travel from all over Florida to join in. It is one of the earlier qualifying track meets for cross country athletes to be allowed to compete for Florida championships in the Florida Youth Running Association.

Both the boys and the girls had great running times, shown below:

GIRLS 2000 Meter Run (Elementary)

Place	Name	Time
7	Isabelle Kay	8:57.7
9	Sofia Gibby	9:21.5
11	Allison Kay	9:33.0
15	Fraances Brooks	10:07.5
16	Harper Payne	10:10.7
23	Layla Johnson	10:27.9
30	Annabelle O’Halloran	10:51.1
32	Brooklyn Veretto	10:59.0

BOYS 2000 Meter Run (Elementary)

Place	Name	Time
3	Holden Griggs	7:54.5
18	Leo Alois	8:43.0
21	Nathaniel Payne	9:03.4
24	Noah Harvey	9:12.1
34	Owen O’Halloran	9:39.5
35	Isaac Payne	9:48.5