Eliana Black Looks To Surprise As A Freshman XC Star

Eliana Black may be a newcomer to the high school ranks on paper, but she's far from a stranger to the top levels of junior distance running.

The Cambridge Christian (FL) talent has toed the line in Florida's premier cross country and track events, from high-level invitational meets to elusive state championships. That's not to mention all of Black's national-level experiences, including finishing among the top third of competitors at the 2021 Garmin RunningLane Cross Country Championships.

All of those accolades, and she's only just starting her freshman year of high school.

Since sixth grade, Black has not just lined up with veteran competitors and older talent at the high school level while repping a Cambridge Christian High School singlet, but she's risen to the top of the field in the process, producing times as a middle schooler that would have ranked her among Florida's best high school athletes.

"She lets her running speak for her," said Ray Friedman, head girls distance coach at Cambridge Christian and Black's coach since elementary school.

Coming off of a 2021-22 running campaign riddled with lifetime bests on the cross country course and the track -- including nation-leading times for middle schoolers in the 800m, 1,600m and 3,200 during outdoor -- Black holds all the more confidence as she emerges as one of -- if not the -- top girls in the class of 2026. 

The narrative doesn't change much for Black ahead of the upcoming cross country season. She still finds herself surrounded by her lifelong coaches, competing for the same team and continuing a similar training regimen. 

Rather, 2022 simply marks the beginning of a new time to shine for Cambridge Christian's familiar face, now a freshman, and she wants to shock not just fans and competitors, but even herself.

"I think this cross country season is going to be really surprising," Black said. "I think I'm going to run times that I would not have thought I could run."

Much like she got a jumpstart on high school running at a younger age, Black's introduction to the sport came in a similar fashion. At as early as four years old, Black would lace up her shoes and run laps around her Florida neighborhood with her mother, Jackie.

Black quickly upgraded from running the neighborhood loop to competing for fun in local road races. During a particular 5k race that Black ran with Jackie prior to fourth grade, Black said she let loose, surging ahead on the insistence of her mother, who saw Black wanted to speed up. 

Since then, Black's pursuit of new challenges and heights in running hasn't stopped.

Photo Credit: Tyler Copeland/MileSplit Florida

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In her debut season running for Friedman's youth club team in 2017, Black won the 2k at the FLYRA Middle School Cross Country Championships and took second in the 3k at the AAU Florida District Cross Country Championships for the 9-10yo division. 

With such promise as a young athlete, Black quickly moved up to compete against high school athletes as a sixth grader, with Friedman guiding her along the way. Since she ran for Cambridge Christian Middle School, she could bump up to compete with the team at the high school, per Florida High School Athletic Association rules.

Toeing the line with older competitors, some even five and six years her senior, didn't deter Black. Instead, she said it gave her the chance to do what she loves -- racing.

"It was very different and very surprising, but also lots of fun," she said. "I think I enjoyed running high school more than middle school just because there was a lot more great competition and opportunities for me to push myself."

Perhaps Black's biggest breakthrough came in her final year competing as a middle schooler as she saw the benefits of her steady development play out on cross country's largest stage.

As the only eighth grader in the girls gold race at the 2021 RunningLane Cross Country Championships, Black placed 103rd in the nearly 300-competitor field with a new 5k personal best of 17:51.29.

She crossed the line as Cambridge Christian's third runner that day behind elite seniors Mary Ellen Eudaly and Caroline Lehman -- now college freshmen at Arkansas and Notre Dame -- playing an important role in the team's 15th-place finish.

"That was a really good experience, being able to race against all of those top girls in the nation," she said.

Outdoor season saw Black continue to blossom into one of Florida's top distance talents, breaking the Florida state record for eighth graders in the 3,200m with a 10:46.23 personal best and clocking additional eighth grade nation-leading times in the 800m (2:12.69) and 1,600m (4:56.45).

It's no shocker then that the top eighth grader from last school year enters the 2022 cross country season as a rising star to watch with years of racing experience already to her advantage.

Now, Black said it's a matter of finding new steady goals to reach. She may have a state record and sensational personal bests to her name, but why stop there? The allure of chasing new all-time records and podium finishes makes for the perfect motivational formula, according to Black.

"You don't know the kind of times you're going to run," she said. "When you just keep PRing, it's such a surprise. I think that was my motivation, to just keep getting faster."

Chasing after an individual state title, and potentially an individual and team berth to a national championship meet, lay within Black's sights for the highly-anticipated cross country season.

Though she may be still in the early phases of her athletic development, Friedman said Black's ability to tap into such determination -- all while setting realistic goals and staying patient -- will serve her quite well as she begins her high school career.

"She's very respectful, very disciplined and does everything she's told," he said. "You want to coach her."

Friedman said he anticipates Black will surprise fans and athletes alike on the national stage as she makes the grade jump and begins her freshman season as one of the most intriguing up-and-coming talents.

But Black knows her veteran experience -- which some may not realize she possesses -- will propel her to new heights as a freshman and throughout the many remaining years of her high school career.

"She knows how great she can be," Friedman said.