Coed Cross Country With A Strong Start To The 2021 Season!

September 23 -- On a warm and muggy afternoon, 30 members of The Country School’s cross country team took the short trip down Opening Hill Road to Bauer Park for their first meet of the season. Upon arrival, the five experienced 8th Graders led a walk-through of the two-lap (2 mile) course, a combination of dirt roads and grassy hills. After that, it was stretching, warm ups and the inevitable sizing up of the competition. Today, that competition came in the form of runners from three nearby middle schools: Polson, Walsh and OLM. BOYS RACE From the gun, the boys’ race went out fast with 6th Grader Luke S. (7th place) staking an early place in the lead pack. Followed closely by a tight pack of Country School runners, he and the leaders churned up the opening hills. By the race’s second mile, the pace had settled as 8th Graders Miklosh F. (8th place) and Sam R. (10th) began picking off those runners who fell victim to the quick early pace. Followed closely by inspired efforts on the final hill from 6th Graders Keve F. (11th) and Ryan A. (13th), the team ultimately finished placing 6 runners in the top 15. Displacing the runners from other schools were 8th Graders Liam B. (15th), Christopher Y. (18th), and 6th Grader Nathaniel S. (20th). Along with those runners who scored in the meet, the race provided a tremendous opportunity for some of the younger runners to acclimate to the 2-mile distance that will become familiar over the course of the season. 8th Grader Keenan B. placed himself in the midst of a quartet of tenacious 5th graders: Levi A., Will C., Ben L. and Frank D.. Those five runners embraced the pack mentality nicely, taking turns leading the hills and pushing the downhills en route to finishes between 43rd and 53rd place overall. In terms of team scoring, the TCS squad certainly missed a few of their experienced runners, but still finished on the podium, just short of the win with a score of 49 points. Polson took advantage of their top two going 1st and 5th for the win with 41 team points. Walsh had runners go 2nd, 3rd, and 4th and finished with 69, while the OLM harriers netted 114 points as a team. GIRLS RACE The perfect score in a cross country meet is 15 points, a score earned only when a team sweeps the top 5 places in the meet. With a valiant effort from the start, The Country School’s squad nearly matched that score, ending with 19 points and a victory behind the dominant frontrunning of 8th Grader Anna V.. In collaborative pursuit of Anna, the 5th Grade combo of Laila G. and Tillie K. cruised the course like their feet were on fire, finishing 2nd and 3rd overall and within 5 seconds of each other. Anna’s time of 12:28 on the grassy hills suggests great things for the team as they aim to build upon last season’s successful campaign. Rounding out the Country School top 5 were the ferocious efforts and steady pacing of 7th Grader Ksenia P. (6th) and 3rd Grader Liv T. (7th). In securing the team’s finish, Natalie Y. led the way with a finish of 11th place, followed by Maribel S., Maybe H., and Anna G., each of whom displaced a handful of runners in finishing in the top 25. One element that is always invaluable to a cross country team is depth, and for the hundreds of spectators and coaches at the meet, it was widely apparent how talented and deep the team is this year. Rounding out the team for The Country School were a strong and committed group of eight runners with varied experiences on the team: Sadie F., Abby C., Caroline R., Samantha S., Avery D., Eloise L., Nora H., and Chloe R.. The performance from the Country School team paced them well ahead of second place Walsh who finished with 55 points, followed by Polson with 68 and OLM with 119. Coach Fixx, in reflecting on the team’s performance noted, “After the meet the coaches discussed how the balance of younger runners and veteran leadership bodes well for a great season.”