Amanda Beach finishes 12th in the 2016 Foot Locker National Championships (J. Nepolitan)

Ka'Deem Wynn - Melbourne Central Catholic senior Amanda Beach and Riverview junior Bailey Hertenstein finished in the top-20 at this year’s Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in San Diego, CA. Beach finished 12th overall in a field filled with some of the best girls in the nation, running 17:53, and Hertenstein finished 20th overall in 18:02.

The girl's championship race got out at a relatively decent pace, as champion Claudia Lane and runner-up Nevada Mareno battled it out, bringing the race through in 5:18. Beach came through fairly comfortably in 5:33, Hertenstein right with her. The two pushed on and continued to tackle the course, moving up together, going through two miles just under 11:30. The two began to separate shortly after 2.5 miles and a bit more as they hit the three-mile mark.

“I felt a lot of pain,” Hertenstein said after her race. “To be honest, I can’t recall much of the race other than the pain, it all happened so quickly.”

Outside of the hardships of racing, she added, the entire Foot Locker experience was incredible. Along with having fun and being excited about the race, she got to not only see but also feel what it was like to being in a national championship race with some of the best in the nation.

The lone Floridian in the boy's championship race, Charles Hicks tackled the historic San Diego course, finishing 36th at this year’s championships, running 15:54 respectively.

The leaders of the boy's race, Seth Hirsch, the Midwest Regional champion, led the way during the race, bringing the lead pack through the first mile in 4:46. Hicks came through under control in 4:53, and continued to move up through the pack. At two miles, still running with a pack, Hicks came through in 10:06, then 15:24 at the three-mile mark. His first time out at Balboa Park and only a sophomore, today was an impressive day for Hicks, and perhaps a momentum builder for the young runner.

With this meet wrapping up the final one of the season, that means two things: one being that the 2016 high school cross country season is officially over! The other is that three athletes can now rest during the holidays and gear up for the upcoming 2017 outdoor track season.

(L-R) Bailey Hertenstein, Charles Hicks and Amanda Beach

FULL RESULTS / MEDIA LINK

Girls Race Replay LINK HERE

Boys Race Replay LINK HERE