This past Saturday, the Leesville women’s cross country team won regionals and beat Green Hope, their rival of eight years, by just two points. The win has given the Pride confidence and a lot of momentum going into state finals.
Nevada Mareno, junior on the Leesville cross country team, is currently nominated for regional performance of the week. However, Mareno completely dominated in regionals. She finished in first place with a time of 16:47. The runner-up was a senior from Green Hope, who finished the race one minute and 24 seconds after Mareno. Third place went to a Wake Forest freshman that finished just four seconds after the Green Hope senior. Mareno was clearly superior to the rest of her competition.
Mareno isn’t the only girl on the Leesville cross country team that has had an outstanding season. The team as a whole has had an amazing season and worked incredibly hard to reach their goals.
“People thought it was a little ambitious to go after Green Hope because they haven’t been taken out for eight years now, but we knew if we thought about it all season and worked towards it, then it wouldn’t be a question,” said Mareno in an interview with the News and Observer. The Pride was very excited to finally beat the Green Hope Falcons, but now they are focused on their next obstacle: states.
Savannah Fraleigh, senior and captain of the Pride’s cross country team, believes that her team is fully prepared for upcoming challenge. “It’s between Leesville and Green Hope to win, so it will be tough to beat them (again), but it’s something we’re definitely prepared to do,” said Fraleigh
The Pride takes on states this Saturday at Ivey M. Redmon Park in Kernersville and will compete against teams from schools like Cardinal Gibbons, Apex and Wake Forest. The women’s team hasn’t won a state championship since 1998, but with a season of wins behind them, they will hopefully change this trend.
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