Boys' XC Takes First at Northfield Mount Hermon Tournament

GILL, MA - Boys’ cross country completed yet another successful race over the weekend. The Northern Mount Hermon Invitational boasted stiff competition, with Andover, Kimball Union Academy, Cushing and Loomis all in attendance. Big Red prevailed, however, coming in 28 points ahead of second place Andover and finishing with the third, fourth, fifth, seventh and 11th spots.“The well-trained members of the team struggled with the decrease in mileage this week, but the team was still able to put out a strong showing and a win,” upper Holden Hammontree said.Upper Louie Feingold agreed, noting that the team really put in their effort. “Everyone ran a good race, and both the varsity and JV won.”According to some members, this season will be yet another great one for cross country. “I think this is definitely a good sign for the rest of the season. Our biggest competition this year was the NMH team, as they finished second behind us at Interschols last year,” upper Will Li said. “They did have the top runner at the meet, but our team had more depth, which scored us the victory in the end. If we just continue to train hard, run high mileage and stay healthy, we’ll be a force to be reckoned with come November.”In addition, several runners are new to cross country. As they gain experience, the team will perform even better. “I think a highlight of today was Quincy’s outstanding race, coming in fifth overall,” Li said. “He started off new to cross country last year and ever since, he’s just been steadily dropping his PR. It’s going to be really exciting to see where he goes this season.”Along with the success, team members pointed to several ways in which Exeter could improve. “The outlook is as great as ever, but it just highlighted that some members are going to need to show up when it counts, like myself,” Hammontree said.Li shared similar sentiments. “A big emphasis for our team is pack running, working together to get our runners across the line faster. But this year, we’ve had a little bit of trouble grouping up. It’s a lot harder to run the race by yourself, surrounded by your opponents, than if you’re with one or two teammates.”Li continued, “In this race in particular, the first mile was extremely fast, so some of the varsity guys got strung out and were never really able to catch up with each other. I think the biggest thing we can do to improve is to work on sticking with each other in workouts during practice.”This Saturday, the team stays home to host the PEA Invitational. Even with the competitive schools that will be racing, Big Red hopes to come out with another impressive win that will boost their confidence and their chances in the New England Championships. No question about it.”