Cross country has a high bar set for their season’s goals.

Both boys’ and girls’ teams had high expectations heading into the season. After coming close to winning states last season, the team was hungry for vengeance. While the girls continue to battle for every match they play, the boys have dominated every divisional game . “I think we can make states this year, but to win it we will have to work extra hard,” sophomore Luke Gabriel said.

The first race, the 40th annual Richard Barnhart, took place on Sept. 9 at Dulaney High School. Both boys and girls had high energy, ready for their first meet of the season. They would have to face some tough competition, including Winston Churchill and Crofton High Schools. Ultimately, the boys finished in seventh place behind Churchill. The girls came just short of first place and got second place right behind Walter Johnson.

At the second meet, both boys and girls faced Walter Johnson on our home course. The boys would strike hard and beat Walter Johnson 15 to 45, with the lower score winning. The six finishers for the boys are junior Edward Sun (17:01), senior Troy Bailey (17:07), junior Rendon Yerman (17:22), junior Ellis Eppard (18:21), senior Nathaniel Riker (18:31).

It was a different story for the girls. They fell to Walter Johnson by 13 points, the final score: Walter Johnson with 23 points and Wootton with 36. The top runners for were senior Tori Ketzlerr (20:33), junior Aanya Tiwari (21:37), sophomore Charlotte Chang (21:37) and junior Annie Sun (22:58).

The next race was the toughest competition of all, facing Poolesville and Churchill, but this time on Churchill’s home course. The boys had a close matchup but were able to pull through and get first place with 27 points. Churchill was right behind with 28 points. The top finishers were Bailey (16:42.31), Sun (16:45.79), Yerman (16:54.59), Gabriel (18:09.83) Eppard (18:12.53) and freshman Brandon Dickerson (19:12.63).

The girls had 30 points while Churchill came up with 27. It was a hard fought game by both sides but the girls were still unsuccessful. The top finishers were Ketzlerr (20:13.18), Chang (21:09.98), Tiwari (21:42.33), Sun (21:55.9) and sophomore Molly Eisenfeld (22:59.33).

On Oct.3, the Pats faced off Walt Whitman at home for the second time. It was the perfect day for a run: the sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky. The boys came hard against Whitman and beat them 17-43. The top finishers for the boys were Bailey (18:32), Sun (18:33), Yerman (18:33.70), Gabrielle (18:36) and Kal Yewslew (18:41).

After weeks of work the girls finally earned a win after beating Whitman 21-37. The top finishers for the girls were Ketzlerr (21:07), Chang (21:49), Tiwari (22:09), Sun (23:25) and Eisenfeld (23:55).

While the boys have been continuing to grind, fighting for every race, there is still work for improvement. Sun said that if they want to make and win states, they’re going to need to improve in some areas. “I think one main improvement we could work on is getting our second half of the varsity team getting closer and closing the gap between the first half of the varsity boys,” Sun said.

The girls will need to readjust their focus and be more aggressive. With two losses, they look to make a run for states later in the season. “The girls team has a lot more room for improvement moving towards the championship part of the season, really just being more aggressive in races. We are a team that is overlooked but we will definitely place very well in countries, regionals and states,” Ketzler said.