The only thing standing between Cedar Ridge’s Elizabeth Zarzar and more individual championships during the 2016 fall season were the very best runners in the state.
Zarzar finished 3rd in the Big 8 Girls Cross County Conference championship on a sultry fall day at Chapel Hill High School. The only runners who crossed the finish line ahead of her were two from Chapel Hill, a squad that captured the 3-A state championship claimed its second straight state championship.
However, nothing held Zarzar back on October 11 at Orange High. Competing against runners from Orange, J.F. Webb and Southern Durham, Zarzar completed the course in 21:05, beating the closest competitor by over one minute.
“I was proud of my run,” said Zarzar. “Especially because of the heat. My time was a lot better than I thought. I didn’t get my personal record, but I really wasn’t expecting to because of the heat. I was really happy with how I placed.”
Zarzar also finished 3rd in the 3-A Mideast Regionals at Northwood High School in Pittsboro, earning at spot in the state championships. In the 3-A state meet, she finished 11th overall at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville.
Chapel Hill junior Katherine Dokholyan captured the conference, regional and state championships.
Zarzar, a senior, was still proud of her season, often running in temperatures far warmer than previous years.
“I thought I started this year really strong,” said Zarzar. “We start training in June, so once conference and regionals come around we have to make sure we don’t get sore.”
Elizabeth is ranked 6th in her class at Cedar Ridge and holds all of the school’s long distance records. She earned WRAL’s Extra Effort Award in October.