The 5-foot-4 senior earned silver at the national Foot Locker Cross Country Championships this past season, capturing First Team All-America honors with a time of 17:04.5. The state’s returning Gatorade Player of the Year, Zealand also finished 13th at the Nike Cross Nationals Final to garner Second Team All-America recognition. She qualified for Nike nationals by winning the NXR Southeast title, clocking a personal-best 16:34.30 to finish more than 25 seconds ahead of her next-closest competitor.
Zealand, who is homeschooled through her coursework with Onward Christian Academy, has maintained a 4.00 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a national letter of intent to run on scholarship at Liberty University this fall.
Currently preparing to participate in a service-mission trip to Nogales, Mexico this summer, Zealand has volunteered locally on behalf of her church youth group and helps coach youth runners.
