Boys’ XC Adds a 24th Win to Their Undefeated Streak

Boys' cross country annihilated Deerfield Academy on Saturday, continuing their undefeated streak with a staggering 16-45 victory. The humid conditions and muddy course did not deter the boys from putting on an impressive show for the parents who made the trip to spectate this year’s family weekend race.

Seniors Quincy Tichenor, Ryan Betz, Holden Hammontree, Max Larnerd and Randal Hernandez took control of the race right from the start, making it clear that they were not satisfied with just a win; they intended to demolish Deerfield. With an aggressive first 200 meters, the pack established a sizeable gap, creating an intimidating wall of white singlets that would allow only a single Deerfield runner to crack the top five.

Will Li ‘15 acknowledged the impressiveness of the team’s dominating performance under less-than-ideal circumstances.

"For the past couple of weeks, a few of our top runners have been plagued with either sickness or injury, meaning we haven't been able to race our full roster in some time,” he said.

The absence of some key varsity runners was not as detrimental as it could have been, thanks to the team’s incredible depth. “The back half of our varsity team has always stepped up. Randal had a big race as our number 5, while Peter Luff ‘16 has consistently been in the mix. Garrett Pitt ‘17 has also been performing very well and has been able to fill in when we're down a man or two,” Li said.

Lower Jiro Mizuno also displayed the grit and toughness that is characteristic of PEABXC. “Jiro was a beast. Even with a mid-race injury, he crossed the finish strong. He is, and will always be, my hero,” lower Issay Matsumoto said.

Amid these heroic performances, the boys are satisfied with their win, but that hasn’t hampered their drive to work harder and to be the best. “Our focus for the rest of the season will definitely be to work on speed and pack running through many race-specific workouts,” Li said.

"Our focus for the rest of the season will definitely be to work on speed and pack running through many race-specific workouts."

Looking forward, the boys’ next race will be the Mayor’s Cup on Sunday. Only the top seven runners on the team will be racing, and there is no doubt that the tougher competition in the open race will test their physical and mental limits. Taking advantage of the rare opportunity to race outside of the NEPSTA Division I league during the season, the team will be hungry to prove themselves on the reputable Franklin Park course.

Meanwhile, the team is hopeful that their top runners will be healthy and injury-free come Interschols. “When Kenny Berger ‘15 comes back, we will be rejuvenated by his positive spirit,” Betz said.

The pressure is on for the team to bring home a fourth consecutive Interschols title, but Hammontree has full faith in his team's ability to soldier through the tough expectations. “I want to make one clarification. I don't think there are any cats on our team," Hammontree said.