Cross country team struggles at Knights Invitational

The girls' cross country team finished ninth and the boys' finished tenth out of 11 teams during the Knights Invitational at Montgomery College Germantown on Friday, September 27.

The girls' team, led by Senior Laurel Jefferson, defeated Wheaton High School and Einstein High School as Jefferson finished with a time of 21:38 and placed third overall by passing three other runners after the first mile. Jefferson surpassed the girls' next best runner, Junior Yeelan Ku, by 5:12.

According to Coach Angelique Bosse, Jefferson ran very well. "Laurel had a great race today. She had a goal in mind to do very well here. It was a good day for her," says Bosse.

The boys' team also beat Wheaton as Junior Matt Sheldon led the Blazers with a time of 19:03. However, he says the race could have been better had it not been for Senior captain Gabe Mordan-Snipper's absence. "Even with top runner Gabe Mordan-Snipper having a prior commitment, the team did well. [The boys' team] still had two runners in the top 25 and ran well as a team," says Sheldon, who finished 19th overall.

Only two years after both varsity teams finished first in their division, both the boys and girls' teams are 0-1 following disappointing losses to Damascus High School on Wednesday, September 18. Damascus' boys' team came in first overall at the Knights Invitational, while Walter Johnson High School's girls' team also finished in first place.

Bosse was not pleased with the outcome of the meet and says it is due in part to a lack of determination. "I am disappointed in the team's performance," she says. "We were competitive last year, but this year the team has not shown a competitive spirit."

Junior Sara Yousefnejad believes that the team is improving on its poor start to the season. She says, "The team hit some rough spots at the start of the season but we're really starting to come together as a team."

Because it had rained sporadically for the previous two days, the five kilometer course was very wet. According to Junior Esay Kidane, who finished second on the team with 19:08, it was difficult to get good traction. "It was hard to get a grip on the ground because it was so muddy," he says.