Junior Elena Almonte ran in the 2024 WIAA State Cross Country Championships meet in Wisconsin Rapids, WI, on Saturday, Nov. 2. Almonte finished with a final time of 19:56.3, leaving her in 67 place out of 190 runners.
She finished eighth overall at the sectional meet in Menominee, WI, qualifying her for the state meet. She was the fifth and final individual runner that qualified.
Almonte ran in the State Division one race, starting out hot with a first mile split of 5:55. She gained 46 seconds between her first and second miles, struggling with getting trapped behind other runners.
“It is common for me to get pretty claustrophobic during races, and that’s exactly what happened down at state,” Almonte shared. “190 girls is no small amount, and my biggest fear going into that race was coming out the gate when the gun went off. I knew that if I didn’t get out hard and in around the top 30/40 girls, I would get sucked in and put in a position that would be hard to come back from.”
Between a course filled with hills and intense competition, her season came to a bittersweet end.
“I was a little disappointed. I knew that it was going to be a tough course with tough competition, but I still held high expectations for myself. I ran a 19:56, which is 37 seconds slower than my PR at sectionals,” Almonte stated.
Although the cross country season is over, the training continues. Almonte plans to run over the winter, as well as participate in Bigger Faster Stronger after school in preparation for track and field in the spring.
