The team competed against 21 other teams at the Wolverine Run on Oct. 7. All of Wootton teams that ran did well, either finishing in first or second in their respective 5K race.

The boys’ varsity team did well and finished in second, five points behind Broadneck. The team was led by junior John Riker who finished second with a time of 16:40.00, 36 hundredths of a second behind the first place finisher. Junior Richard Qiao finished fifth with a time of 17.26.96, and junior Joseph Pohoryles finished 12th with a time of 17:57.89.

The girls’ varsity team had an even more dramatic finish as they came in first, which was only one point better than Broadneck. The team was led by junior Jessica Trzeciak who finished third with a time of 20:07.38. Senior Emma Henderson finished seventh with a time of 20:55.60 and sophomore Alyssa D’Arpa finished eighth with a time of 21:05.45.

The JV boys’ team dominated their race, finishing with 11 of the top 13 finishers, along with a first place finish overall in the race. They were led by sophomore Franklin Joe DeJong who finished first with a time of 18:55.92. Junior Shayne Brooks finished second with a time of 19:16.35 and junior Zachary Blackman finished fourth with a time of 19:24.16. “We saw a lot of progress and feel like we have set ourselves up nicely as we go to the later part of the season,” coach Kellie Redmond said.

The JV girls’ team also performed well, finishing second, five points behind Broadneck. The team was led by senior Veronika Schuermann who finished fourth with a time of 23:16.25. Sophomore Orly Strauss finished fifth with a time of 23:24.25, and senior Emma Baldwin finished sixth with a time of 23:29.63.

The boys’ freshman team dominated as well, resulting with seven of the top nine finishers and winning the race by a score of 17 to 70. They were led by freshman Jeffrey Riker who finished first with a time of 18:59.67. Freshman Peyton Eppard finished second with a time of 20:11.52, and freshman Austin Zhu finished third with a time of 20:15.74.

The girls’ freshman team also dominated, finishing with the top six finishers and winning the race by a score of 15 to 56. They were led by freshman Emma Helgeson who finished first with a time of 22:10.08. Freshman Angela Parra finished second with a time of 22:28.86 and freshman Catherine Ledoux finished third with a time of 24:17.14. “I though the team ran very well and we were all happy with our improved times,” Helgeson said.

After their all-around domination at the Wolverine Run, the team had a two-mile time trial on Oct. 13 in preparation for counties. Riker finished first on the boys’ side, with a time of 10:37. He was followed by senior Amir van Gieson, who finished second with a time of 10:46. Qiao finished third with a time of 10:48. “I believe going into counties we are going to be very sharp. We’ve had a few weeks of very productive training without all the racing. We’ve worked on some things that needed attention and I’m thrilled where we are for mid-October,” Redmond said.

Trzeciak finished first for the girls’ with a time of 12:25. She was followed by junior Adna Trakic who finished second with a time of 12:31 and Henderson who finished third with a time of 12:44. “It was great to see all of our hard work throughout the season pay off because a lot of our times improved,” freshman Lauren Ullman said.

Their next meet is the Montgomery County Championships on Oct. 21, too late to be covered in this issue.

Ryan Ullman

Senior Sports Editor