Girls’ Cross Country Swiftly Overcomes Deerfield Girls

Big Red girls’ cross country continued their unbeaten streak with a win over an incredibly difficult and unwelcoming Deerfield Academy squad this past Saturday. With a final score of 19-42, both the varsity girls’ team and junior varsity girls’ team cruised through the Deerfield girls.

Returning to the familiar trails of Phillips Exeter Academy lifted the girls’ spirits after a string of many away meets.

“We felt really strong and confident going into this race. Deerfield’s a big rival and we wanted to do whatever it took to beat them, which we ended up doing,” senior and captain Elsa Chinburg said. “Being back at home is a huge leg up. We have a very twisty course here at Exeter and knowing where you are going helps you out tremendously.”

The cross country team is getting themselves ready for not only the upcoming Mayor’s Cup in Boston this weekend but also the big one—Andover. E/a for the cross country team will come a week earlier, on the first day of November, so that the girls only have nine days to prepare.

“It’s going to be so exciting,” senior Michaela Morris said about her final E/a. “Andover has beaten us for the past three years and finishing my high school cross country career with a win over Andover would be the best thing in the whole world. Riding our momentum over the win over Deerfield, who has also beaten us for the past few years, will be a big factor in overcoming Andover’s team.”

"Riding our momentum over the win over Deerfield, who has also beaten us for the past few years, will be a big factor in overcoming Andover’s team."

Andover, who has a pretty good team this year, will be a tough opponent to face. However, Chinburg believed that Big Red would dominate this time. 

“Running for this school for so long and now being a captain makes me want it that much more now. I think we can and will beat Andover,” she said.

After Andover, the team will have only Interschols, hosted this year at Hotchkiss, remaining on their schedule. The team is confident that they will finish strong. 

“We have all been working really hard this season, both varsity and junior varsity,” senior Courtney Henrich said. “We have the chemistry and talent, combined with the drive and effort to continue our hot streak.”