Girls' Cross Country Throttles NMH
Amid the bustle of Family Weekend earlier this week, girls’ XC, headed by senior captains Jo de La Bruyere and Sara Kopunova, hosted Northfield Mount Hermon on Saturday for its first head-to-head duel of the season.
“It was perfect running weather and our home course is really fast, so it was a ton of fun.”
The 3:00 start and pressure of parents watching the race proved not to be issues for the team who handily defeated NMH 19-44 barring the NMH runner who took second place, Exeter runners pulled a near-sweep in the top nine places.
Upper Hanna Pak enjoyed the NMH race. “It was perfect running weather and our home course is really fast, so it was a ton of fun,” she said.
Upper Alexandra van Djikum felt that the meet was representative of the team’s ability, who put up a spectacle for its visiting family members. “The meet against NMH went really well,” she said, adding, “I’m sure the parents enjoyed seeing the team do so well this weekend.”
Gray agreed with van Djikum’s sentiment. “We had a great race as a team, and it was awesome to have a race on our home course.” Gray’s appreciation of the home-field advantage likely originates from a schedule where the Exeter team only hosts two meets. Big Red’s last home meet will be on Oct. 28 against the girls from St. Paul’s.
The team traveled to the Brooks School this Wednesday in an effort to preserve its duel meet streak which spans back into the end of the 2015 season. Many members of the team were hopeful of their chances even before the meet on Wednesday.
Gray enjoyed the opportunity to race against NMH this weekend. “It was an awesome day to race with my teammates and see our parents afterwards,” she said, and after a win against NMH last weekend, Gray could not wait for the Wednesday meet. “I’m excited for us now to set our sights on Brooks, that’s going to be a really fun meet.”
Van Djikum expressed her confidence in the team. “The team is going to kill it at Brooks this Wednesday,” she said.
While NMH proved to be fun for Gray, she has already began to look ahead in the season.“It was a great start to the second half of our season from here, we’ll be racing every week until Interschols, so this is the time to start buckling down and racing deeper and harder.”
After the Brooks meet, the Exeter Girls will race against Deerfield Academy on Saturday in what is sometimes considered Exeter’s second greatest prep school rivalry. “We are ready for Deerfield. They are a strong team, but I’m confident we will do great,” Kopunova said.
Pak agreed with Kopunova. “I think our girls are ready to take on Deerfield. We’ve been training hard and are prepared for a fight,” Pak said.