by Brenna Henderson ’21

On Saturday, September 29, the boys’ and girls’ varsity cross country teams both placed 2nd at the Chesapeake Invitational. At Chesapeake High School in Pasadena, Maryland, 17 teams from different areas of Maryland competed against each other. Freshman Katie Kaneko led the varsity girls with a time of 19:25, placing third, and Junior Sean Enright led the varsity boys with a time of 17:01, placing sixth.

“Chesapeake is a really good meet to get some personal records because it’s a flat course,” commented senior captain Sofia Grossman.

In fact, 18 boys and seven girls set personal records and more runners also set seasonal records. The girls’ junior varsity team came in third place and Freshman Alexandra Burdette placed third with a time of 24:24. The junior varsity team placed first and Senior Nick Hermosilla finished first with a time of 18:48. Most impressively, nine girls, as well as eleven boys, earned individual medals for finishing in the top 25 in both the junior varsity and varsity races.

The previous year, at the same invitational, the varsity girls placed first and varsity boys placed second. The junior varsity girls also placed first and the junior varsity boys placed second. Emily Gravell, who is now a sophomore, was the first Warrior from the girls’ team to cross the finish line last year, with a time of 20:15, placing 4th. Senior Ethan Tagliere, who doesnt run cross country anymore, and Enright led the boys’ team in sixth and seventh place with times of 17:05 and 17:14.

The cross country teams consistently performed this well because of the encouraging and supportive environment their teammates and coach created. The team bonded even more during and after their “Noodles are Better than Pasta” party the day before the meet.

Additionally, the cross country team excelled because of their practices six days a week and difficult training. “We prepared for this race by having really strong training groups and really pushing every workout,” Grossman said.