Aquinas’ Finneran and Westminster’s Pena are Broward Cross-Country Runners of the Year
Grace Finneran personified perseverance while Jonathan Pena exemplified consistency.
Both traits helped them finish among the top cross-country runners in the state after stellar seasons.
Finneran, a senior at St. Thomas Aquinas, and Pena, a senior at Westminster Academy, are the Miami Herald’s Broward County Cross-Country Runners of the Year.
Finneran is the Girls’ Runner of the Year after a comeback season of sorts where she went from finishing 161st at state and collapsing at the finish line at last year’s state meet in Tallahassee to finishing 12th overall in Class 4A.
Her time of 18:26.00 was the best of any Broward County girls competitor and helped the Raiders finish seventh overall at state.
“I faced some struggles throughout my four years, but keeping my faith in God, my parents and my training helped me achieve my goals,” Finneran said.
Finneran’s steady performances helped Aquinas win district and regional titles while she took home individual crowns at each. Her top time of 18:18.60 also led all Broward runners. Finneran also contributed in terms of leadership as she mentored several underclassmen runners who hope to continue to keep Aquinas’ program among the best in years to come.
“We had probably our youngest team I’ve been on yet,” Finneran said. “We had a freshman and a couple of sophomores so it was great to show them the ropes and help our team get better. I had seniors do that for me when I was a freshman so I just wanted to embody what they taught me.”
Pena led the way for a young Lions squad, which placed fourth at the Class 1A state championships, with strong finishes at every meet he competed in. Pena finished with a time of 15:47 to finish third individually at the Class 1A meet, and ran a season-best time of 15:14 at the New World Fall Spectacular.
Pena also exemplified leadership at the top of a core that included Tanner and Tyler Pritchard, who each recently signed with Stetson University. Westminster Academy, once a perennial state champion in the 1980s, hopes to build toward becoming a champion in the near future.
