Blazer sets course record

The Cross Country teams moved in opposite directions today, as the girls won 2 of 3, while the boys' team lost to all three competitors. The competition in this meet consisted of Quince Orchard, Bethesda Chevy-Chase and Gaithersburg. The race was run near Quince Orchard, at Smokey Glenn, one of the hardest courses in Montgomery County. Despite the difficult course and tough competitors, one blazer broke the course record and claimed first place in the competition.

Sophomore Halsey Sinclair set the girls' course record today, with a time of 20:10. Ashlyn Sinclair was close behind with a time of 20:16. These times were almost two minutes better than the sisters' times last year. Sophomore Josh Uzzell, the leading runner for the Blair boys team, ran a time of 19:00, which was 2:49 better than his time last year on the same course.

In a Cross Country meet the lowest score wins. Each runner is given a score based on his or her position in the race. Finishing first is worth one point and second place is awarded two points and so on.

The girls continued to shine in their division, beating BCC and Gaithersburg 28-29 and 23-32 respectively. The Blazers did lose to Quince Orchard 35-25. The girls' team is now on top of their division with a record of 5-1. The girls were missing their third fastest runner, junior Katherine Lafen, who was visiting a physical therapist for leg pain. "These girls have been doing really well," Coach Carl Lewin commented after the race. "When Katie returns we should be a very good team."

The boys, who won two of their first three matches earlier in the season, lost all three of their matches by significant amounts today. The Blazers lost to Quince Orchard 40-10, BCC 41-19 and Gaithersburg 45-16. These scores are a clear representation that this is a year for growth. The team consists of mostly freshmen and sophomores who are inexperienced this early in the season. With the large amount of young runners, the team should perform better as the season continues.

Coach Lewin thought that both teams could improve on their performance today. Both the teams were tired from running three meets in eight days. Coach Lewin stated later that "the team deserves a rest after running so much in the last few days. Their times should definitely decrease if they get more time before the next meet."

Their next meet is against Churchill, Damascus and Gaithersburg at Gaithersburg on Sept. 28 at 3:30 P.M.