Both the boys and girls cross country teams competed on Oct. 1 at the Paul Short Invitational  and on Oct. 5, hosting Whitman and Wootton High Schools at Cabin John Park. The boys cross country team outclassed their opposition in both events.

The boys team placed first on in the Invitational out of 41 competing schools, finishing an average of 15 seconds faster than the competing teams. Senior Alex Willett ran the team’s fastest 5K time, 16:01, which is currently the fifth best in the county.

The girls team,  out of 36 competing teams, finished in fifth place at the Invitational, an average 19 seconds behind first place. Senior Camille Bouvet ran the team’s fastest 5K time, 19:10. She finished in third place, eight seconds behind the first place runner.

The boys team also beat both Whitman and Wooton High Schools on Oct. 5, finishing an average 41 seconds ahead of Wootton and 1 minute, 11 seconds ahead of Whitman. The girls team lost to both teams despite achieving the fastest individual 3 mile time for the meet. They finished an average 20 seconds behind Whitman.

“The varsity  boys ran a race to the level required by the competition,” coach Tom Martin said.

The future of the boys team is something to be considered.

Sophomore runner James Duncan said, “The team as a whole did very well. In the future, the team will need to bond more, and the freshmen will need to step up.”

The boys record is 4-0 as of Oct. 11, tied with Churchill and behind Sherwood, Einstein and Springbrook High Schools. The girls team has a 1-3 record.

This weekend, the varsity team competed in the Manhattan Invitational, (Oct. 8 and 9), at which the boys won the 4K Varsity “B” race. Willett was selected as the male Athlete of the Week by mocorunning.com for his performance at the event.