Hermanson set new Suwannee record, led girls team to state for first time ever; plus 6 more named to all-area team
LIVE OAK — It wasn’t good and Ryleigh Hermanson wasn’t happy.
In early October, the Suwannee junior placed 16th at the Alligator Lake Invitational, crossing the finish line in 23:17.20.
It wasn’t the kind of race that Hermanson — or the Suwannee team — had come to expect from their top runner.
“That was probably the worst she’s ever run,” Suwannee girls cross country coach Amy Bullock said.
Fast forward two weeks in Jacksonville and Hermanson broke her own school record, finishing in 19:35.00 at the New World Fall Spectacular, where she placed 66th in the elite girls race.
That was more like what was expected out of and produced by the Lake City Reporter’s Girls Runner of the Year.
“Then at New World, you could tell she was very motivated and almost like she had to get revenge on herself for not doing well before,” Bullock said. “She just ran so well and so smart.”
It didn’t take long at the New World Fall Spectacular for Bullock to know it was going to be a good day for her star pupil. It usually doesn’t she said.
Instead, Bullock said if she sets up around one mile into the race, she’s also able to get a good read on Hermanson and how she will do that day. In Jacksonville on Oct. 19, she knew then that Hermanson had turned the page on that bad race in Lake City and was back in form.
“In that race I knew right from the start that she was going to be incredible,” Bullock said. “That race was a really big one and it really helped her confidence because she was pretty down after the Alligator Lake race. I found that…The mental part is tricky. When they have a bad day, it’s hard to motivate them back for the next race to have a good day. The fact she was able to do that made me feel good too.”
Hermanson, too, said she could tell early on that she was going to have a good day at the New World race.
“I had a very positive mindset and I just felt so ready,” she said. “I was very positive that day.”
There were plenty of races where Hermanson should have been positive after helping lead the Bulldogs to their first state meet as a team. Hermanson finished 10th at the District 2-2A meet, finishing in 19:51.00, 15th at the Region 1-2A meet (19:43.10) and then 37th at the state meet (20:02.80). She also had three runner-up finishes throughout the season (Dueling Summits, Wakulla XC and the Suwannee County Invitational) as well as a third-place finish at the Clay County Invitational.
Bullock said that district meet, where Suwannee was moved into a loaded field that included perennial state powerhouses Bolles, Bishop Kenny and Episcopal, was another meet where Hermanson’s talent was on full display.
“That entire race it was Bolles jerseys, Bishop Kenny jerseys, Episcopal jerseys and then Ryleigh was right there in the middle,” she said. “Seeing her run in that group, with the best girls in the state and the best teams in the state, was just a huge moment and powerful. She just ran so well and she wanted it so bad.
“I kept saying to her, you’re running with the best of the best right now. That just shows how elite you are. That was a really cool moment.”
What makes Hermanson an elite runner?
For starters, “a lot of hard work and dedication,” she said.
Bullock agrees, pointing to the training and the attitude Hermanson has in practice for translating on race days.
“She takes it very, very seriously,” she said. “Whether it’s a speed day, a long run, no matter what we tell her to do, she’s going to do it exactly the way she needs to do it.”
Additionally, Hermanson has a knack for understanding her pace as a runner, a skill that Bullock said is the hardest thing for young runners to learn. Hermanson, though, has had it mastered since she has arrived at SHS, knowing exactly when she needs to speed up or what she needs to do to maintain her pace.
Bullock added she also has helped provide an edge to the other Suwannee runners in getting to where they need to be as well.
“She knows exactly where she’s supposed to be and what that feels like,” she said. “She always will get herself to the right paces.”
And where she gets to usually is at or near the front of the pack. She said that has been boosted by paying more attention to her nutrition and hydration.
It’s also been helped by some friendly competition.
A deep and talented SHS team included freshman Olivia Hermanson, Ryleigh’s sister, who actually edged her at regionals, placing 13th. She also won the Suwannee County Invitational and placed second at the Clay County Invitational.
“That competition with her, that always pushed (me) really hard,” Hermanson said.
Bullock pointed to it too as that final piece of the puzzle for Hermanson’s big year.
“She had to be a little more serious and push herself more,” she said. “It wasn’t guaranteed she was going to be first every race — she wasn’t — and so I think that was the difference this year.”
ALL-AREA TEAM
Ryleigh Hermanson
Suwannee, junior
The LCR’s Girls Runner of the Year led the Bulldogs with a 10th-place finish at the District 2-2A meet before placing 15th in Region 1-2A and 37th at the Class 2A state meet. She also set a new school record of 19:35.00 at the New World Fall Spectacular and posted three runner-up finishes at the Dueling Summits, Wakulla XC Meet and Suwannee County Invitational, as well as a third-place finish at the Clay County Invitational.
Olivia Hermanson
Suwannee, freshman
Ran a season-best 19:36.76 to place a team-best 13th at the Region 1-2A meet after placing 16th in District 2-2A, and went on to place a team-best 29th at the Class 2A state meet. She also won the Suwannee County Invitational, was runner-up at the Clay County Invitational, placed fifth at both the Wakulla XC Meet and Alligator Lake Invitational, and finished sixth at the Dueling Summits.
Arwen Haley
Suwannee, senior
Ran a season-best 22:05.30 to place 10th at the Clay County Invitational, posted a season-best fourth-place finish at the Suwannee County Invitational and also finished ninth at the Wakulla XC Meet. Went on to place 54th in District 2-2A, 55th in Region 1-2A and 156th at the Class 2A state meet.
Sadie Siemon
Suwannee, sophomore
Ran a season-best 22:02.10 to place ninth at the Clay County Invitational, posted another ninth-place finish at the Dueling Summits and finished a season-best third at the Suwannee County Invitational. Went on to place 64th in District 2-2A, 71st in Region 1-2A and 173rd at the Class 2A state meet.
Virginia Mayhew
Suwannee, sophomore
Ran a season-best 22:28.42 to place 54th at the Region 1-2A meet after placing 50th in District 2-2A, and went on to finish 180th at the Class 2A state meet. Posted a season-best eighth-place finish at the Suwannee County Invitational.
Madison Chamberlain
Suwannee, freshman
Ran a season-best 22:51.00 at the New World Fall Spectacular and posted a season-best seventh-place finish at the Suwannee County Invitational.
Kayleigh Wardle
Branford, junior
Ran a season-best 23:04.36 to place a team-best 40th at the Region 1-1A meet after placing a team-best 26th at the District 1-2A meet, which helped the entire Buccaneers squad qualify for regionals. Posted a season-best 10th-place finish at the Suwannee County Invitational.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Amy Bullock, Suwannee
Bullock’s Bulldogs won the Dueling Summits, Clay County Invitational, Wakulla XC Meet and Suwannee County Invitational, and they also finished third at the Alligator Lake Invitational during the regular season. They then placed fifth at the District 2-2A meet to qualify for regionals, where the Bulldogs placed sixth at the Region 1-2A meet to qualify for state for the first time ever as a team. Suwannee wrapped up the season with a 23rd-place finish at the Class 2A state meet.