ROCKINGHAM — Junior cross country runner Mariana Mendez has been named the Official Richmond County Female Student-Athlete of the Week presented by HWY 55.
With the second meet of the season in the books, Mendez continued her strong start while competing at Lee County High School last Tuesday.
Mendez, who is a three-year runner, earned her second career recognition. She was also named during her sophomore campaign..
Athletic Profile
Year: Junior
Fall Sport: Cross Country
Seed: No. 1
Years on Varsity: 3 years
Other Sports: Soccer
“ON THE COURSE” WITH MARIANA MENDEZ
A week after winning her first race of the season, Mendez helped the Lady Raiders to a second-place team finish.
Competing against a much larger field of runners, which included Pinecrest High School, Mendez managed to still clinch a top-five finish out of 57 runners.
Crossing the finish line in 22:14, Mendez was fifth overall in the 3.2-mile race. She was just 14 seconds from breaking into the top three spots.
In her second race of the season, Mendez improved her overall time. She took 33 seconds off her race time from the previous meet.
Her personal record stands at 21:34.85, which she set during the Sandhills Athletic Conference championship last year. Through two meets this year, Mendez has been the top finisher for Richmond both times.
Mendez and the Lady Raiders will run again on Tuesday at Scotland High School, starting at 5 p.m.
RAPID RESPONSE VIDEO WITH MARIANA MENDEZ
Mendez joins the Richmond Observer to discuss her continued early success, where she’d like to get her time down to this season and shares which running shoe is her favorite and why.
The Richmond Observer will publish its Official Richmond County Male Student-Athlete of the Week soon.
