Southeast Whitfield senior Ana Karen Padilla, who was the cross country runner of the year for the Dalton area, is staying in the area for her college running career.
Padilla signed Monday to join the Dalton State Roadrunners, two-time defending champions of the Southern States Athletic Conference.
“Ana Karen made huge strides this year, and it was because of hard work on her own,” Southeast coach Carrie Bishop said in a DSC release. “Her personal record dropped twice in a two- or three-week span at the end of the year.”
Said Roadrunners co-coach Margie Bruner: “We are very excited to see Ana Karen sign with Dalton State. Her times are very competitive, but even more importantly her coaches told us she has a very strong work ethic and is very coachable.”
The other co-coach, Andy Meyer, noted that Padilla has been running competitively just “a couple of years.” She set her 5-kilometer personal record of 20:46 in the 2015 region meet and finished 19th at the state meet.