Pine Crest's Tsion Yared Qualifies For XC National Championship Meet

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A year after being sidelined with a stress fracture during the high school season, Tsion Yared of Pine Crest and Panther Nation qualified for the Dec. 3 Nike Cross Country National Championships in Portland, Ore.

Yared, a freshman, finished fourth among 256 runners at the NXR Southeast Regional on Saturday in Cary, N.C. She finished in 17:42.4, averaging 5:41 miles for the 5K cross country course.

"It's an incredible feeling to have an athlete qualify for Nike XC Nationals," Pine Crest coach Paul Baur said.

Yared is only the second girl in Florida history to advance to the national championship. Bolles' Caitlin Collier, sixth in 17:55.90, also qualified, making her the third girl in Florida history.

In 2014, Tsion Yard finished 29th.

Teammates Mahdere Yared was 17th in 18:26.4; Maya Beleznay, 60th in 19:06.2; Simone Vreeland, 104th in 19:42.3; Emily Faulhaber, 118th in 19:46.2; and Amanda Schwartz, 162nd in 20:07.6.

Panther Nation finished fifth with 229 points and just missed a wild card bid.

The top five individual runners qualify for nationals. Individual and club qualifiers from eight regional championships will now compete next month for national titles.

The reigning State 2A champion Panthers were hoping to qualify as a club team. Panther Nation had the highest seeding among Florida teams with a fifth-place ranking.

Also in high school cross country news, Pine Crest finished with a No. 1 ranking in the Saucony Flo 50 rankings. According to DyeStat, Pine Crest girls finished as the No. 1 team in Florida and boys program was ranked No. 10.

At the Foot Locker South regional qualifier on Saturday at McAlpine Greenway Park in Charlotte, N.C., Belen Jesuit junior Josh Collins was 13th in 15:22.3, averaging 4:56 miles, just missing nationals by three places.

MORE CROSS COUNTRY

Senior Michael Cabral of Pine Crest ran a best time 16:17.30 and was the South team's top finisher placing 11th overall at the 20th FACA Senior All-Star Classic at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee.

Antonio Martinez of St. Thomas Aquinas was 15th in 16:51.3. Other South runners in the Top 25 were: David Hernandez, Calvary Christian, 16th, 16:51.4; Christian Vitagliano, St. Thomas Aquinas, 17th, 16:54; Sean Breslin, St. Thomas Aquinas, 19th, 17:04; and Pierce Statham, 22nd, 17:18.

The boys' team, coached by St. Thomas Aquinas coach Trish Butler, was fourth with 77 points.

Ferguson's Jazmyn Martinez was the girls' top finisher placing 12th in 19:50. Ferguson teammates Kaylee Alfaro, 16h, 20:05 and Gabriela Crespi, 22nd, 20:59 were in the Top 25. St. Brendan runners Gabriela Gutierrez and Julia Villena and Calyope Ortega of Our Lady of Lourdes were also in the Top 25.

The South All-Stars finished fourth with 97 points. Pine Crest girls coach Paul Baur coached the South girls All-Star team.

The Pine Crest girls were recently ranked No. 1 in the U.S. for the Hoka-One One Postal Nationals with an 11:30 two-mile team average. Tsion Yared had the fastest time in 10:49 followed by Mahdere Yared, 11:19; Maya Beleznay, 11:29; Simone Vreeland, 11:43; and Emily Faulhaber, 11:45.

St. Thomas Aquinas cross country coach Trish Butler was awarded USA Track and Field Florida Masters Female Athlete of the Year for long distance running. Butler coached the Raiders to back-to-back boys' state team titles.

TRACK AND FIELD

Damion Thomas of Northeast, one of the nation's top hurdlers and ranked No. 2 in the 110-meter hurdles for the upcoming track and field season, recently committed to Louisiana State University at his signing party.

Thomas, a 2020 Olympic hopeful, chose LSU over North Carolina, South Carolina and Southen Cal. All four colleges are known for their hurdles program.

The senior is a Jamaican junior national champion in the hurdles, has the age group world record for both 14-year-olds (14.05) and 15-year-olds (13.64) and is defending high school state champion in his signature event.