Boys start season with a win; Girls struggle with depth

At the first regular season cross-country meet, Blair's cross-country team split the decision against Quince Orchard on a muddy September 15,2003. The girls' team lost by a score of 36-25 and the boys' team won by the score of 22-33.

The boys won their meet, on a muddy field, with strong performances by seniors Esey Kidane and Matt Sheldon. Sheldon completed the three-mile course in 19:20 and Kidane finished in 19:29, to take first and second place. Overall, the boys team took first, second, fourth, sixth and ninth to score 22.

The girls' team struggled despite the dominating performances of freshmen Ashlyn and Halsey Sinclair, who placed first and second. Halsey completed the course in 21:25, with Ashlyn not far behind at 21:48. After those times however, Blair's next runner finished in 10th place. Overall, the girls finished in first, second, tenth, eleventh and twelfth, adding up to a score of 36.

In cross-country, the scores are totaled by adding the place number. The smaller number is the winning score.

The normally difficult Quince Orchard course was particularly challenging because of rain that made the course very muddy. Coach Carl Lewin recognized that most runners would have slower times. "No one was going to get their best times," he said.

The effort of Junior Alan Bateman, who finished ninth, was remarkable, considering that he lost his shoe close to the two-mile mark. He continued with one shoe to secure the ninth spot. Lewin was pleased with the effort. "Completing the race with one shoe on and one shoe off was pretty cool."

The next meet for both boys and girls will be on September 23 against Sherwood and Wootton, at Sherwood.