Senior Briyana Dragin beats runner from Newark Catholic to the finish on senior night on Tuesday, October 3. (Ally Sabgir’18/Staff)
Nearing the end of its regular season, the boys and girls cross country team competed against Newark Catholic in a dual meet on Tuesday, October 3. The race possessed a special energy because Academy not only honored its nine seniors on senior night, but the Vikes also competed in their only home meet. Unlike other races, this course was two miles long instead of the typical 3.1 and wound itself through Academy’s fields, finishing with a loop around the track. Although neither team officially won because it was more of a relaxed run than race, the Vikes sped through the course at breakneck speeds.
The intensity ramped up on Saturday, October 7, when CA traveled to Thomas Worthington for the Les Eisenhart Invitational. With hundreds of Division I runners in the varsity races, the Vikes faced their fiercest competition yet.
The girls gave it their all. Sophomore Annalise Grammel and freshman Regan Cornelius snatched fourteenth and thirty-ninth place, respectively, out of 198 competitors. Although Grammel and Cornelius placed slightly further back than usual, this is reflective of the high level of competition and not their own times. The girls did not place as a team due to their lack of runners but show promise for challenging meets in the future.
The boys also had their work cut out for them. With a ninth place finish overall out of twenty-six teams, they placed in the top half against massive Division I schools. Seniors Nick Robie and Nick Watson kicked to the finish and crossed the line within three seconds of each other taking twenty-sixth and twenty-ninth, respectively. The brutal competition did not faze freshman Luke Nester either. Nester ran his way to fifty-ninth out of 234 runners. Senior Chris Heermann followed Nester in and nabbed seventieth twelve seconds later. The last point scoring man, Junior Liam McCann, still beat over half the field and took one hundred and eighth.
Academy races again on Saturday, October 14, at MSLs in its first post season meet.
