Pine Forest High graduate Darroneshia Lott now is a national champion.
The sophomore at South Plains College -- which boasts 30 junior college championships in cross country and track -- won the NJCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday in Ina, Ill., finishing the 3.1-mile course at Rend Lake Golf Course in 17 minutes, 48.4 seconds, a career-best time.
Last month, Lott also won the NJCAA Region 5 title in 17:49.
Region 1-3A championships
The Washington High boys cross country team is headed to state.
The Wildcats -- led by junior Mark Robertson -- finished sixth overall Saturday at the Region 1-3A championships at Sunny Hill Farms in Tallahassee to earn a spot at the Class 3A state meet on Nov. 17, also in Tallahassee.
Robertson finished fourth in 15:59.36, a career-best time.He was followed by senior Harrison Edwards, who came in eighth in 16:05.33.
Sophomore Taylor Perkins finished in 16:31.08 to come in 18th overall.
In the girls 5K race, Pace High's Rachel Kling once again led the area.
The sophomore finished second in 18:39.98, just 7 seconds behind individual champion Susan Givens, a senior at Tallahassee Chiles.
Junior Cheyenne Andrew came in 20th in 19:46.36.
The Patriots finished 11th overall. Just the top six teams and top 15 runners advance to state.
Region 1-2A championships
The Catholic High and West Florida High boys and girls squads all will be representing the area at the Class 2A state meet.
The Jaguars boys -- led by Alec Clarke -- finished second overall, while the girls were led by Kaysi Roberts and finished third.
Clarke finished second individually in 16:29.77. Teammate Mark Sortino came in 13th in 17:13.56.
Roberts -- the 2011 News Journal Runner of the Year -- finished in 19:37.50 to come in ninth overall.
Sophomore Raleigh Nesbitt finished in 17th (20:33.90) to help lift West Florida girls to a third-place finish.
Michael Remich led the Crusaders boys -- which finished fourth overall -- with a seventh-place finish in 16:54.55. He was followed by John Chope, who came in 11th in 17:06.29.
Rebecca Farr paced the Catholic girls to a fifth-place team finish, running in 20:25.10 to come in 15th individually.
Region 1-1A championships
The Jay High girls and Pensacola Christian Academy boys advanced to state at the Region 1-1A meet.
Jessica Thornton finished fifth in 20:28.99 to lead the Royals, while PCA's Joshua Balentine finished sixth in 17:06 to pace the Warriors.
Jay's Micah Kemp, a sophomore, finished 13th in 17:26.51 to earn an individual spot at state.
PCA's Lauren Cochran also advanced, finishing in ninth place in 20:58.24.
