TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — For the 11th straight year, the Florida High School Athletic Association's Cross Country State Championships took center stage in the Capital City on Saturday and the Big Bend shined.
In Class 3A, the Leon Lions girls cross country team came home fourth and they were led by senior Lillee Tang, who captured a state championship in a time of 17:53.70. On the boys side, Leon would also come home in fourth place as a team, but junior Patrick Koon led the way, repeating as state champion with a time of 14:56.07. That time is the fastest ever for a high school meet at Apalachee Regional Park.
Overall, it was a big day for the Lions on a busy day in Tallahassee.
"You know it's amazing to have my family here and friends here, come out and support me, just I've been running here for so long and it is incredible to be able to win you know my second state title out here and you know it's a great feeling and it's just incredible," said Koon. "I knew that if I ran close to my best, I knew that hopefully I would be able to come home with a win and that is what happened today."
"After the two mile it felt pretty good because I was staying up with Ashley and Melinda, it was really helpful to have them right by me," said Tang. "It means a lot, because both the girls and the boys team did really great today."
Also, in Class 1A, the Maclay girls finished fourth as a team. The Marauders were led by junior Susan Koeppel, who came home 13th.
