Seventh grader Arianna Radona decided to take up the sport of cross country this year and is excelling beyond expectations. In her first race at Kapolei Radona came in fifth. She then finished eighth out of 223 in the Kaiser Invitational.

Radona said, “ I never thought of running cross country because the thought of running miles and miles didn’t seem like fun, but after my mom got the email about fall sports from the athletic director she told me I should give it a try, so I did.”

In her first Interscholastic League of Honolulu (ILH) race she came in eighth and then seventh in the Iolani meet out of 203 runners.

In her latest meet at Kapiolani Park against ILH seventh grade girls she placed third, earning a medal.

Radona said, “Usually we run against seventh, eighth and ninth graders but this race was only for girls my age. I was really nervous because I felt I needed to perform even better than usual but am very happy with the outcome.”

Radona has two more races before the end of the season.

“Cross country has been a wonderful experience. I am sad to see it come to an end but look forward to working hard next season and representing Pac5 and Sacred Hearts the best I can,” she said.