Boys’ XC Scopes Out Schols Scene at Choate

At the annual Choate Rosemary Hall Invitational this Saturday, boys’ cross country took on one of the NEPSTA’s most grueling courses. They did so alongside teams from ten other schools: Loomis Chaffee, Andover, Choate, Westminster, St. Mark’s, Brunswick, Trinity-Pauling, Williams, Kingswood-Oxford and Cheshire. The turnout was considerably more impressive than the Invitational’s usual one; this year, the race carried with it particular weight.

The 2017 NEPSAC Division I cross country championships will be held at Choate. In November, Exeter’s boys will defend their 2016 Interschols victory there, battling for their sixth one in seven years. So the Invitational offered Big Red’s thirty-four runners a unique opportunity to scope out the terrain on which they will run the most important five kilometers of their season. 

In the words of senior and captain Grayson Derossi, “this was our chance to learn not just our strengths and weaknesses on the course, but also to learn where other runners faltered and flew–all to prepare for the championship race.”

Course-scouting aside, the team hoped to make a strong impression at its season opener. “Exeter’s cross country team has a fierce reputation,” said senior Gregory Zhu. “We wanted to let other schools know that even though many of our best runners graduated last year, we are still a force with which to be reckoned.”

In the novice race, the team asserted its dominance and achieved its goal. Preps Connor Chen, Croix Mikofsky and Varun Oberai led the pack from the start. The rest of Exeter’s novice runners trailed closely behind; the final results counted eight of Big Red’s team members among the top ten finishers.

Derossi lauded the new runners’ performance; “they raced with sprit, packing together and pushing each other forwards. I think they struck some fear into the hearts of the other teams.”

To Zhu, the veteran race was “decidedly less glorious.” Led by lower Will Coogan, who placed seventh, Exeter finished third behind Loomis and Andover. The team’s top runners were more spread out than usual, but Big Red still finished with five of its members–Will Coogan, Alex Renaud, Charlie Neuhaus, Grayson Derossi and Jed Breen–in the top 25.

Upper Charlie Neuhaus acknowledged that though the results were disappointing, they weren’t altogether surprising. “We knew that the competition would be difficult,” he said. Zhu echoed that sentiment; “Last year, Andover and Loomis had really strong guys–we knew it was going to be a gritty race.

Derossi emphasized that the results of the Choate Invitational have little bearing on the rest of the team’s season. “We each ran hundreds of miles over the summer to prepare for cross country. We train through races, not for them–except Interschols. We don’t give up easily. We’ve been a good team for so many years because we put in the work day after day after day. If anything, this race strengthened our conviction to train with purpose this season.”