Blazers finish 8th and 11th at Regional Championships

NOV. 4, ROCKVILLE CIVIC CENTER—

Both the girls' and boys' cross-country teams faced strong competition today at the Regional Championships at the Rockville Civic Center. The girls' team placed 8th out of 13 teams, while the boys' team finished 11th out of 14. This meet did not affect the 7-2 and 2-7 season records the girls' and boys' teams achieved respectively.

The girls were tied with Walter Johnson for 7th place at the end of the race, but the time of the 6th runner decides the winner in the event of a tie. Walter Johnson had the faster runner, so they advanced to the State Championships, while Blair did not proceed. Junior Katie Lafen was demoralized "that we could come so close and not go to States.”

The girls, though, ran extremely well, with sophomore Halsey Sinclair finishing 1st overall with a time of 19:15, while her sister, sophomore Ashlyn Sinclair, was not far behind with a time of 20:06, which put her in 4th place overall. The team was also supported by good times from Lafen and freshman Johanna Gretschel. "It was very demoralizing to lose by such a slim margin, but this team ran very well,” Coach Carl Lewin said after the meet. "There were terrible conditions, but our team ran through it.”

The boys' team performed admirably, finishing 11th out of 14 teams with its predominantly underclassmen team. The team is comprised of almost all freshmen and sophomores, and, according to Lewin, should be very competitive for the next two years. Sophomore Josh Uzzell led the team with a time of 19:05, but placed 43rd overall in the boys' heat. This was partially due to the fact that the course had become extremely muddy due to the continual rain.

Although neither team advanced to the State Championships, Lewin saw this meet as an accomplishment. "Our girls' team was maybe 11th last year and yet this year they were [tied for] 7th. I think that next year we can move to 4th and really run well. Our boys' team should also continue to improve.”