Boys’ XC Runs in Mayor’s Cup, Racing Against Adults

This past Sunday, the top seven runners on boys’ cross country headed out to the Mayor’s Cup, an open 5k race presented by the Boston Athletic Association and Adidas. The larger amount of participants and the relatively technical course provided a refreshing challenge for the boys.“Our races so far have had between 15 and 50 people in them, so running against 250 people, many of whom were in college or adult running teams, was a big change,” upper Peter Luff said.Racing on an unfamiliar course with unfamiliar faces created a little uncertainty on how the race would play out, but the boys managed to come away with some solid performances.“We were a little anxious before the race, but when the gun went off, everyone got right down to business and took advantage of the opportunity to take some risks before facing Andover at E/A this Saturday,” lower Garrett Pitt said.Although it was not one of the team’s faster runs, the boys were able to fine-tune their pack-running tactics. “The group was hoping for quicker times and, while that didn't really pan out, we did finally tighten our five man spread,” senior and co-captain Holden Hammontree said.The team also stacked up very well against outside competition, despite the average times. “While it was definitely more individual because there was no official team scoring, we almost beat BAA (50-53), which is incredible seeing as they're adult runners in a very competitive club that we were up against,” senior Max Larnerd said.Another positive that Luff took away from the race was the wonderful opportunity to step outside of the prep school bubble. “We ran through some shady parts of Dorchester on our cool-down run and got a few strange looks from people, but we made it back to Franklin Park safely," he said.As E/A comes up this Saturday, the boys will have the perfect opportunity to post blazing-fast times on their home course, something they have been itching to do since the beginning of the season. The outcome of this weekend’s race will also be a good indicator of how Big Red will perform at Interschols, as Andover seems to be Exeter’s toughest competition within the league.The team is extremely optimistic about the prospects for this upcoming race, despite the ever-mounting pressure. "We are the least feline team in the league. Andover is pretty strong this year, but we are ready,” lower Issay Matsumoto said.Hammontree also has no doubt that the boys will step up to the challenge. “This is a team that improves every week,” he said, quoting one of his biggest heroes, Coach Brandon Newbould.The boys’ race against Andover is certainly not one to miss. There will be gutsy performances andnail-biting finishes as the team sets out to destroy their biggest rival. A win this weekend will be a great lead-up into Interschols, where the boys of Phillips Exeter cross country will set out to accomplish what no team has dared to do before—be crowned New England Champions for the fourth time in a row, and truly earn the title “Greatest Of All Time.”