South Plantation’s Lazo and Dillard’s Richards are Broward Runners of the Year
The goal is always to get faster and stronger if you’re a cross-country runner.
Both South Plantation’s David Lazo and Dillard’s Abigail Richards did just that this past fall.
Each ran the top times this season for Broward County runners and capped impressive seasons with strong finishes at the state championships.
As such, Lazo and Richards are the Miami Herald’s Broward County Cross-country Runners of the Year.
Lazo, a junior, had a breakthrough season after a stellar finish at regionals in which he ran a time of 15:43 - the fastest by any county boys runner this season.
He followed up that success at state by running a 16:07, which placed him 16th in the Class 4A state meet.
Lazo also won a BCAA individual championship and secured a district individual title.
“I learned a lot and got faster and happy with that and I’m ready for next year,” Lazo said. “Winning regionals was a big accomplishment and it took a lot of hard work but I made it happen.”
Richards capped a dominant cross-country career on one of the state’s running powerhouse teams, earning her the Runner of the Year honors on the girls’ side.
Although her time at state (19:12) wasn’t the fastest among her own team, Richards was the most consistent performer in Broward. Richards ran a time of 18:36.70 at regionals, which was the fastest overall in the county this season and helped her finish as individual runner-up at the meet.
The mark was over a minute better than her time of 19:38.20 at the same race last season.
Richards also finished third at districts and regionals and led Dillard to a fifth place finish at state despite having one of their younger squads in recent years.
Richards hasn’t committed to a college yet, but plans to run track once again this spring.
“I feel like I had a good season and improved on my timing,” Richards said. “My team was there for me and God helped me push through. Our team is very close and I feel like we become stronger each year.”
This story was originally published January 22, 2026 at 6:40 AM.
