On October 26, the girls and boys cross country teams competed at the Frederick County Championship Meet at Brunswick High School.  The boys’ team placed first, and the girls’ team placed sixth overall.

Michael Belmaggio placed second overall with a time of 16:07, five seconds behind his rival from Urbana in a field of   69 runners.  They earned a low score of 39 points.  Urbana was a distant second with a team score of 69.

Kyle Guinn placed fourth overall with a time of 16:33.  Six of the seven varsity boys placed in the top 20.

The three-mile course was not new to the teams, as the first meet of the season took place at Brunswick as well. 

Sophomore Rachel Hall said, “Knowing the course before we ran it definitely eased our nerves before the race. We were able to prepare ourselves for what was on the course before the race because we had run it before.”

Although they were sixth out of nine teams, Julia Follis.  A small team, seven of the ten girls must run varsity.  A larger team would make the girls more competitive.

Two girls placed in the top 20.  Khelsa Connolly earned 18th with a  21:22, and Rachel Hall placed 20th with a time of 21:28.

This course is traditionally more difficult, filled with inclines, uneven ground, and sharp turns, and it is tough to push through these obstacles, especially in the colder weather.

“This course has always been tough, but we ran this race for Lily, so that gave us the strength to get through it,” said junior Khelsa Connolly.

At this meet, the girls wore yellow ribbons to honor two-time cancer fighter Lily Weaver, who is currently battling Ewing’s Sarcoma.

It was a bittersweet event because the team is saying goodbye to strong seniors:  Alanah Follis and Hannah Lemen.

The next meet for the cross country teams is Regionals on November 2 at Watkins Mill High School where they will run for a spot at states.