The cross country team started their season off with a two-mile scrimmage on Aug. 17. Junior John Riker showed why he is one of the top runners in the county. He finished his two-mile in first place with a time of 10:52.41, 32 seconds faster than the second place finisher, junior Timothy Jiang who had a time of 11:24.34. Freshman Jeffrey Riker also impressed by finishing 10th with a time of 12:01.78.
For the girls’ team, junior Jessica Trzeciak impressed by finishing first with a time of 13:06.95. She was followed by junior Adna Trakic, who finished second with a time of 13:21.45 and senior Emma Henderson finished third with a time of 13:32.97.
The team then did a timed three-mile scrimmage on Aug. 25. John Riker impressed again by finishing in first with a time of 16:38.00. He was followed by senior Amir Van Gieson with a time of 17:11.52 and Jiang finished in third with a time of 17:14.84.
Trzeciak finished in first again with a time of 19:48.00 with sophomore Alyssa D’Arpa finishing in second with a time 21:01.59. Henderson finished in third with a time of 21:09.59 and junior Erin Chelf finished in fourth with a time of 21:23.66.
After the three-mile scrimmage, the team faced off against BCC and Blair on Sept. 5 for a 5k in one of the toughest meets of the season. The boys’ were led by John Riker who finished second with a time of 17:19. Junior Meehir Bhalla finished eighth with a time of 18:25 and junior Joe Pohoryles finished 10th with a time of 18:34. The boys lost to both BCC and Blair to record their first losses of the season.
The girls’ team impressed as they finished with three of the top four finishers. The team was led by Henderson who finished in first with a time of 21:28. Chelf finished in third with a time of 22:15 and junior Maddie Grainger finished in fourth with a time of 22.17. The girls’ team defeated both BCC and Blair during this meet to earn their first wins of the season.
On Sept. 9 the team competed in the Maryland State Track and Trail for another 5k against nine other schools. The boys’ were again led by John Riker who finished in third with a time of 16:06.1. Jiang finished in ninth with a time of 17:20.7 and senior Mitchell Fanger finished 10th with a time of 17:30.0. “I thought the team performed very well considering how challenging the course was,” freshman Spencer Bernal said.
The girls’ were led by Trzeciak who finished fourth with a time of 19:45.3. D’Arpa finished 13th with a time of 20:48.0 and Trakic finished 14th with a time of 20:53.0.
On Sept. 12, the team faced off against their bitter rival Churchill. The boys were successful, finishing with six of the top 10 finishers. They were again led by John Riker who finished first with a time of 17:33.30. Junior Richard Qiao finished fourth with a time of 18:13.00 and Pohoryles finished fifth with a time of 18:26.30. The boys defeated their rivals to earn their first win of the season. “The boy’s record doesn’t show how strong they are, and we will be surprising a few teams as the season moves along,” coach Kellie Redmond said.
The girls’ team dominated, finishing with 11 of the top 14 finishers. They were again lead by Trzeciak who finished first with a time of 21:31.50. Chelf finished second with a time of 21:45.90 and D’Arpa finished third with a time of 21:50.40. The girls also defeated Churchill to earn their third win of the season.
The boys’ JV team lost, although junior Shayne Brooks finished in first with a time of 19:08.50. The girls’ JV team also dominated their meet by finishing with the top 12 finishers. They were led by junior Sage Kumar with a time of 23:33.10 followed by senior Emma Baldwin with a time of 23:50.00. “The whole team ran very well and it was rewarding to get our first victory of the season,” freshman Lauren Ullman said.
The team’s next meet will be on Sept. 20 when they face Whitman, which is too late to be covered in this issue.

Ryan Ullman

Senior Sports Editor