It takes a while to get used to racing 5Ks. The cool thing about that learning curve is that new runners tend to improve every time they race. Ravenwood's 2023 cross country team is young, with lots of freshmen and sophomores. Saturday morning showed that their hard work is paying off as 15 girls ran their season best time.

In only her second high school race, Hadar Biger led Ravenwood with a 21:26. Senior captain Isabella Bolinger was right behind her, followed by Morgan Block, Abby McMullen, Charlotte Remkus, and Kelly Gilroy. Five of the six varsity girls ran their season bests, with four turning in PRs. Only Isabella and Abby had run high school cross country prior to this season. 

In the JV race, Tiffany Rocha, Carol Milne, and Menaal Javed all placed top ten, earning medals. Tiffany's 22:13 was 4:07 faster than her PR from last season! Paisley Stone and Annabelle Klein also scored for Ravenwood, with Addison Boggs and Ivy Blanton finishing sixth and seventh. The JV girls had the best finish of any of Ravenwood's team as they were runners up behind Brentwood. 

"I really like how the team is coming together," said Coach Mueller. "Each time out we get faster, and that improvement inspires the girls to push even harder. They are fun to coach and seeing their smiles after running as hard as they can for 3.1 miles is really great." 

The Lady Raptors will be back in action this weekend at the Southern Showcase in Huntsville, Alabama.