It was a steamy September morning at West Orange High School on Saturday with humidity reaching record morning levels. This also made footing a bit tricky which does not make for typical scorching fast times at the West Orange Invitational. Despite the heat and humidity, the East Ridge Boys Cross Country Knights put together a very solid outing placing fifth overall. The winner of the race was powerhouse Hagerty High School with the runner-up being Geneva School, who won in a tie-breaking finish which goes to the higher of the sixth placing scorers for each team. The West Orange Invitational brings out the top schools in Central Florida and this year was no different.
The star of the race and overall winner was super Sophomore Axel Sallault. Sallault ran a very smart race as he ran with the lead pack for over two miles of the race. He was perfectly content to let some of the other front runners dictate the pace. Once those lead runners began to get tired legs, Sallault then made his move as he moved in front with over 800 meters to go and never looked back. It was another beautiful race by Sallault who continues to improve as a runner with each and every race he competes in. Sallault completed the course in a time of 16:26, almost 20 seconds faster than the previous year.
