In cross country, records are meant to be broken, and WJ’s team makes no exception. On Saturday, WJ became the first school since 1994 to win the boys and girls county titles in the same year by winning the county championships.


It was humid and the course at Gaithersburg High School was soggy from the rainy weather, but both teams pushed, scoring high.

Despite the boys winning it all last year, WJ has refused to let up its dominance in cross country.

Senior Ishan Dey came in first for WJ and fourth overall as the varsity boys team racked up points after the team claimed the fourth through seven spots.

“It’s great to win again, especially by such a large margin (71 points),” said Dey. “We also scored 46 points down from 60 last year, so it shows we’ve gotten better.”

All of WJ’s scoring runners finished in the top 25 overall, both girls and boys, proving once again why WJ won the state championships last year.

Meanwhile, the girls pulled off an upset in their race, edging out heavy favorite Northwest, with junior Anna Bosse leading the way and finishing third overall.

“The boys are very proud of the girls’ team’s accomplishments and the overall program,” said coach Tom Martin. “It allows the emerging younger runners to associate hard work and commitment with success.”

The road continues for the running Wildcats as they look to repeat as regional champions on Nov. 15 at Watkins Mill High School. Both Dey and Martin agree the team can look to close the gap by having both boys and girls performing well at fifth, sixth and seventh spots. 

“Really good teams need to be strong beyond the last scoring fifth man,” said Martin. “[However], they will continue to do the work it takes to be successful in this sport.”