Alumni Spotlight: Kristin Zarrella

Kristin Zarrella, a 2013 graduate of Lakewood Ranch High, withstood the heat of the Chili Pepper.

Zarrella, a junior cross-country and track athlete at the University of Southern Mississippi, set a new personal best time of 18 minutes, 6 seconds at the Chili Pepper Cross-Country Invitational on Oct. 3 at the University of Arkansas. That came after a fourth-place finish at the LSU XC Invitational Sept. 19 that helped the Golden Eagles to a first-place team finish.

During her sophomore season with the track team, Zarrella ran a season-best time of 2:15.48 in the 800-meters to finish seventh at the Conference USA Indoor Championships. She also ran the third leg of Southern Mississippi’s distance medley relay that finished second in a school record time of 11:50.87. During the outdoor season, Zarrella won the 800 at the Southern Mississippi Invitational and finished fourth in the 1,500 meters in a team best time of 4:36.40 at the Conference USA Outdoor Championships. 

Zarrella, who is majoring in English, also was named to the Conference USA All-Academic Team. 

Are you or someone you know a former East County athlete? Let us know what you’ve been up to and you could be featured in our Alumni Spotlight. Contact Sports Editor Jen Blanco at [email protected].