Girls’ XC Makes Statement in 1st Meet

Domination. That was the one word that could describe the girls’ cross country team’s victory this past Saturday at Choate Rosemary Hall. The varsity runners took home places 1, 2, 4 and 5 and secured a huge margin of victory for Big Red. In addition, the novice runners also displayed incredible talent by winning their race.

In the veterans’ race, places 1, 2, 4 and 5 were taken by uppers Christine Hu, Yoshiko Lynch, senior and captain Anna Barnes and upper Nicole Shi respectively, allowing only one non-Exeter runner to squeeze into the top 5. Although this meet was only a scrimmage and not officially scored, it was a clear message to the rest of the NEPSAC league that Big Red is stronger than ever this season.

At the start of the race, conditions were not optimal. First off, the temperature was extremely high, and this had the runners tired before the race had even begun. Second, Choate’s course, according to Barnes, was an especially challenging course due to its large hill at the two mile mark that stared directly into the sunlight. Despite these challenges, Big Red pushed through and took home the dominating victory.

“The race went really well. Everyone looked strong even though it was hot and a difficult course.”

“The race went really well. Everyone looked strong even though it was hot and a difficult course,” Barnes said. “I think everyone feels more confident in themselves and the team as a whole after the Choate race.”

Confidence and experience are huge factors for the team’s success in the upcoming meets, especially for the new runners. For them, Lynch added, the point of the race was to let everyone get a taste of the timed 5K before the real part of the season began.

With these added experiences, upper Sarah Brown believes that the 5K times can only get shorter from here. She noted that she was extremely impressed with the success of the novice runners, even though it was their first high school race.

“I think that everyone can only get faster from here,” she said. “All of the novice girls did very well. This was their first high school race, and we couldn't have hoped for better.”

One novice runner in particular stood out to the returning members. Prep Ashley Lin took the race by storm and finished in first place, leaving the second runner over one minute behind.

“[Lin] absolutely killed it in the novice race,” Lynch said. “I’m not quite sure how much she beat second place by, but she had to have been at least a minute faster. I don’t think I’ve seen someone win by that much for two years.”

The success of the returning runners as well as the performances of the new runners proved promising for the upcoming season. However, with the ultimate goal clear—a New England championship—the work isn’t nearly over for the team; in fact, it is just beginning.

For next week’s race—the one that actually marks the start of the season—the team will train so that it can reenact this dominating performance at the Codfish Bowl in Boston and take one more step toward its final goal.

“I think we’re all looking forward to using each other to push ourselves next week in our race at the Codfish Bowl in Boston,” Barnes said.