Girls' XC Places 3rd at NEPSTA Interschols

The girls’ cross country team finished its season with a 3-1 record for the varsity team and a 3-0 record for the junior varsity team. The varsity girls finished second at the New England championships, while the junior varsity girls executed a dominating win.

The first race of the season was the Codfish Bowl, a meet that hosted both college and high school teams. Although many team members chose not to attend due to Saturday classes, many girls finished the race with high rankings. Uppers Christine Hu and Yoshiko Lynch finished 6th and 9th, respectively, out of the 161 runners who participated. Big Red finished 5th out of the 10 teams who competed.

Two weeks later, the girls traveled to Belfast, Maine for the second race of the season, the Maine Festival of Champions. Lynch finished 20th out of the 614 competitors. Overall, the team placed 8th out of 77 teams. Prep Grace Gray cherished the day as one of her favorite moments with the team. She explained how the team had entries in three different races, which created many opportunities to cheer for teammates. “The day seemed like a blur of racing, laughter and cheering, with an overall feeling of support and inspiration from our teammates, as cliché as that sounds,” Gray said.

The following Wednesday, the varsity team raced at St. Paul’s School and won 23-39.

Later that same week, both the JV and varsity teams headed to Coe-Brown Northwood Academy to compete in the Black Bear Invitational. For the varsity team, Lynch and Hu placed 9th and 10th, only a second apart, out of the 121 racers. For the junior varsity team, prep Alexandra Van Dijkum and lower Alice Little finished 3rd and 6th, respectively, out of the 90 participants. Overall, the varsity team placed third out of 15 teams, and the junior varsity team placed 2nd out of 9 teams.

“I like being able to support everyone as they train and then cheer and watch as they have a great race.”

The first home race was in mid-October against Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH). With varsity finishing 15-49 and junior varsity finishing 16-45, both teams won by a landslide. According to the team, the courses with hills are typically the hardest, but the home course is relatively flat and was easier than NMH’s course. However, prep Madison Kang mentioned how the “last stretch across the green field was a real push.”

Lower Sara Kopunova agreed that the more hills in the course, the more challenging it would be to compete on. “However, if you are running hard, no course is easy," she said.

Following their home meet against NMH, the junior varsity team raced at Brooks School and won 24-37.

The Saturday following the Brooks meet, both teams headed to Deerfield Academy and came back with a huge 15-49 win. Throughout the season, several of the team members were injured, including lower Jo de La Bruyere. Before the race, de La Bruyere gave a memorable speech to the team which van Dijkum described as the “most inspirational speech” she had ever heard. De La Bruyere spoke about how having the ability to run was a gift, and if you stopped, you were sacrificing it. “Her words really struck something in me and pushed me to run with all I could,” upper Annie Yanofsky said.

This is one example of the bond that the team shares. The girls joke that they “suffer together” during the long practices and tough workouts, but it is the relationship that they form beyond the muddy courses that they cherish the most.

For many on the team, joining helped with their transition into Exeter their prep year. Kang described memories of the team going to the pool for pool running, making a video for Pep Assembly and competing with the boys’ team in a Halloween competition. Lower Anna Clark also joined the team her prep year and explained how the relationships on the team are the primary reason for why she loves running cross country.

Clark spoke about how her transition prep fall was made easier when she had a group of friends, from all ages, to eat with in the dining hall and hang out with on the weekends. “Everyone was so outgoing and made an effort to talk to me, even though I was pretty shy,” Clark said. “It builds up a great team dynamic where people celebrate their teammates’ successes, no matter what level of runner they are or how old they are.”

Lynch also has shared some great memories with the team. She recalled a time when the girls were on a recovery run, and they came across a sunken bridge. They worked together by carrying pieces of wood and rebuilt it. “All of us felt so satisfied, even though we were muddy and dirty, when we finally finished the new bridge,” Lynch said. “That’s teamwork.”

Kopunova agreed that the team dynamic is unlike most cross country teams. She remembered a race when she felt like she couldn’t make it to the end, and a girl on the team stayed back and supported her all the way to the finish line, sacrificing her own time.

De La Bruyere mentioned how she would’ve quit the sport if it weren’t for the girls on the team. She explained how every day with them is an adventure. “Whether we’re singing ‘You Belong With Me’ nonstop for 10 miles, trying to sabotage the boys’ team’s practices or getting lost in random parts of the woods, we never have a boring practice,” de La Bruyere said.

Senior and co-captain Anna Barnes agreed that the way the girls combine hard work with fun creates a supportive team. “I like being able to support everyone as they train and then cheer and watch as they have a great race,” Barnes said, who was injured for most of the season.

At the end of their season, the team faced Big Blue twice, both at Andover and at interschols at the Taft School. At Andover, the junior varsity team beat Big Blue 15-46, but the varsity team lost by a mere 34-21. The junior varsity victory marked the first time that Andover’s JV team had been defeated in many years. At interschols, the junior varsity team came out on top again when they placed first with 7 girls in the top 15. With 4 girls in the top 15, the varsity team came in second overall behind Andover.

This season, the captains were seniors Barnes and Annie Dunigan, and next year, the captains will be uppers Hu and Sarah Brown. Dunigan described her time as a co-captain as “one of the most rewarding experiences” that Exeter had to offer her. She watched her team grow and develop while also building off their feedback to make positive changes. “I’m glad that we have such a great team dynamic where everyone is friends with everyone, regardless of age or grade, because I definitely saw myself in some of the younger runners this year,” Dunigan said. “I truly hope that they find the same love for running that I found when I was their age, and that they continue to push themselves and to encourage others.”