Cross country runs with the pack

OCTOBER 1, RICHARD MONTGOMERY—

The boys' cross country team dominated Richard Montgomery and Wootton high schools in the Montgomery Quad meet on Tuesday, Oct 2, but lost to Churchill High School in a tight race, giving Blair a 4-3 record.

The boys had three runners in the top five spots, all of whom marked their best times of the season.

The girls placed two of their runners in the top four spots but were unable to surpass any of their opponents as a team.

The Blazers moved up to Division II this year after both teams won titles in Division III last year.

Senior Eitan Halper-Stromberg, who has consistently placed in the top four runners for the boys this season, finished third in Tuesday's meet with a time of 17:09 behind leaders Andrew Chamberlin of Richard Montgomery and Matt Hard of Churchill.

Senior captain Jossi Fritz-Mauer and senior Ruben Galbraith finished behind Halper-Stromberg to place fourth and fifth with times of 17:25 and 17:26, respectively.

The boys' team exhibited great depth, running and finishing the
race closely as one unit. "We ran as a real good pack and had our best times of the season," Galbraith said.

Galbraith continued to explain how the team has been forced to reconfigure to fill the void left by senior David Shope, who suffered a fractured ankle earlier this season. "He is a great runner," Galbraith said. "It's hurting us, but it has also brought us together. We are all working harder and stepping up to fill his place," he said. Shope is expected to return in two to four weeks.

The disappointing turnout by the girls at the Quad has been attributed to a lack of depth on the team. Senior Hayley Wynn and junior captain Laurel Jefferson help lead the team with their strong results. At the Montgomery Quad, Jefferson seized second place with a time of 20:18, while Wynn placed fourth with 21:02.

However, as coach Angelique Bosse explained, this year there aren't any runners "backing them up," which is costing the Blazers. "It's hard because we have two really strong runners who are always competitive, but the rest of the pack is far behind," Bosse said.

Junior Nicole Ranes and sophomore Julie Chiplis are working hard to fill the gap left by Jefferson and Wynn and have illustrated notable improvement.

The team is looking to the remainder of the season with confidence. Bosse foresees the team "definitely" participating in November's state tournament.