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IMG Academy's track & field and cross country program has been doing just that.. competing across the country! Check out the latest recap of the program's accomplishments, records, and milestones from this impressive group of student-athletes.
The Desert Twilight XC Festival took place in Mesa, Arizona, and IMG student-athletes brought their A-games to the course under the lights at The Links Golf Club. Finishing with a score of 87-98, IMG's girl's team consisting of Tatum David, Jais Ward, Carly McNatt, Emilia Puskas, Eve Siff-Scherr, Mia Andreae, and Marcela Guzman took home the Sweepstakes section of the meet. David, a Foot Locker and Nike Cross Nationals All-American, set a new course record and career best of 16:41.5 for 5K, and she captured an all-time Florida high school runner state record as well. Currently, her time is the fourth fastest high school girls time in the nation as well as the fastest time run by a sophomore girl this season.
The 10th grader certainly set the tone for the Ascenders, currently ranked No. 18 on the latest MileSplit50 updated prior to this competition. David finished first overall, passing the '08 record for the previously-set time of 16:46.66 while Ward and McNatt also aided the team to victory with their top-10 results of 18:03.2 and 18:12.1, respectively. They became the first Southeast girls team to capture this title, with nine of IMG's 17 student-athletes running lifetime best performances at this meet and 13 running the best marks of their IMG careers.
Following this performance by the program, David secured a No. 10 ranking on the 2020 MileSplit50 Cross Country Girls Rankings for individuals.
Check out David's post-race interview on DyeStat and RunnerSpace by clicking this link.
Check out the girls team's full interview by DyeStat by clicking this link. You can also view a separate interview of the team through this link on MileSplit.
It means a lot to me to be on a team this great and this passionate about the sport, and it's amazing to come here and focus on and execute this. It's very special to me to be on this team and to have great coaching."
- Tatum David, IMG Academy track and field, Class of 2023, #1254 above
In the same meet, IMG Academy's boys team ran in the Championship section and finished at No. 2 overall. Comprised of student-athletes Alex Weekes, Cole Piotrowski, Noah Winters, Vince Mwangi, Isaac Carney, and Isaac Perez, this group of individuals capped off a notable trip to Arizona.
Check out some images of the program's student-athletes venturing to Cathedral Rock in Sedona, AZ, the Grand Canyon, and Flagstaff, AZ, one of the most prominent running communities in the country!
In addition to such a monumental meet, IMG Academy's track and field and cross country program has been competing in the weekly Nike Cross Country Virtual Nationals competition. Based on their results so far, IMG Academy's girls team is currently ranked No. 3 nationally and is the fastest group from the southeast region. The boys team is also ranked No. 2 in the southeast region. Tatum David is sitting at No. 1 nationally with her time of 16:14.4, and David, Ward, McNatt, and Puskas make up the top-4 ranked girls in the Southeast as of the second week of the virtual competition.
There's so much more that this program will accomplish both individually and collectively as the season continues. The culture within the program and across the entire IMG Academy campus yields an unmatched camaraderie and support system that hold true from the classroom to the track. Whether it be a challenging academic curriculum within our college-preparatory environment or a competitive athletic training regimen that's proven in developing next level stars, IMG Academy's track & field and cross country program is truly the optimal setting for dedicated and passionate student-athletes.
