Horizon's lighting speed placed girls and boys cross-country in first

Horizon’s Abigayle White pinpointed different objects around the course of the 2025 Metro West Championship to keep her running. 

Once she reached one, she made another and continued to play different mind tricks on herself to keep her focused on the goal. Her eyes honed in on the finish line, and in that moment, she had one focus — don’t slow down. 

When Horizon’s Jacob Finch ran the same course, he focused on the gator — the golf cart driving the course. Seeing the parents and the girls team cheering him on kept him going. 

White and Finch said they instantly felt relief when they crossed the finish line. They both finished in first place. 

“You’re just done and it’s easing the pain and it’s all over,” Finch said. “You aren’t feeling good, but you’re going to feel good in a minute or two, and your teammates are still pushing through, so you have to cheer for them and make them feel better.” 

After their teammates finished the race and the scores were tallied, they realized not only did they win individually, but also both Horizon’s girls and boys teams won the Metro West Championship Saturday, Oct. 4, at West Orange High School. 

“We were really excited, because we’ve been second for so many years,” White said. “To finally beat Windermere (High) and to get first and to get that trophy for all of us — it meant a lot.” 

Horizon had four girls finish in the top 10. White said the Hawks knew they would at least finish in second, but they weren’t expecting to claim the top spot.

The boys won the Metro West Championship for the fourth consecutive year and had four runners finishing in the top five. As a senior, it was a full-circle moment for Finch.

“Freshman year, I was being led by the seniors, and now for me to take that position and lead the freshman and sophomores to set an example of what Horizon needs to do and have to race, is really cool,” he said. “It was really nice that we finished it out all four years winning Metros.”

Finch’s finish in Metros was his best time yet this season. He ran the 5K in 16:13 and finished one minute in front of his competition. Last season, he ran a 5K in under 16 minutes, and he’s optimistic he’ll beat that time as Horizon heads into its final six meets. 

White finished Metros in 19:24. She admitted she wasn’t that happy with her time, but it’s in the past now and she’s proud she finished in first among an impressive group of peers.

“I pretty much know (all of) my main competitors, and they’re all so sweet and they’re upbeat,” she said. “We all just bring (one another) up, and it’s not really competition in that aspect. It’s more wanting to do the best you can do.” 

Unlike other sports she’s played, she said cross-country doesn’t have any toxicity in it. They’re all experiencing the same challenges and pushing their bodies to the limit.

TEAM UNITY 

Every runner is representing his or her team during the meet, so they want to push themselves for individual and team success, but it also means they’re racing against their teammates.

White said each meet she pushes herself individually but also loves to celebrate her teammates’ successes. She likes to see when they have success by finishing in the top 10 or finishing with a personal best. 

“It’s fun to race against your teammates, because you’re pushing yourself and your teammates, and it’s just making the team better as a whole,” Finch said. 

It’s been special for Finch to see his teammates’ growth over the years. Although the boys have won Metros four years in a row, it’s been with different lineups. Finch, along with Bryce Frazer and Dean Jensen, are the only three who have seen the whole ride. 

Finch has seen Jensen progress from 23 minutes to 17:35 at Metros and Frazer achieve sub-20 this season. 

Watching their progression is so special because Finch knows exactly what his teammates are going through. They have to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to be at practice by 5 a.m., then go through school and do homework afterward. 

“I feel like with running, it’s almost like trauma bonds, we can relate to a lot of stuff that most people in school don’t really relate to,” White said. 

Waking up for the morning practices might be challenging, but it helps Finch with his time management, and White said it helps the team prepare for its early meets. 

The team focuses on perfecting the technicalities during their early mornings. Those include drills such as agility stretches, high knees, push-ups and sit-ups, and hitting the time intervals if they do a track workout. 

After Metros, Horizon entered its recovery week. Finch said the teams are heading into the end of the season, so the runners are working on getting to their peak for the state meet. 

The boys finished 13th in states last year, and their goal is to make it again and tie or break that score. 

“It would be amazing and a great way to close out the senior year of cross-country,” Finch said. “It would lift the morale for the rest of the guys that are going to run next season. … Everybody will be hyped for the track season after that.” 

The girls are sprinting to make it to states this season. White said they lost some good seniors last year but gained great teammates, as well. 

White has a few goals to conclude her high school career.

“I really want to get a new personal best time and I really want to try to get recruitment times to run in college,” she said.