Senior co-captain Nick Watson leads the pack at McGowan Invitational on Saturday, September 9. (Ally Sabgir’18/Staff)
In a second week of stifling eighty-degree weather, the boys and girls cross country team upheld its dominance at the Tiger Invitational on Saturday, September 23, with superior individual performances from the girls and a victory from the boys.
To no one’s surprise, sophomore Annalise Grammel and freshman Regan Cornelius swept the field in the girls varsity race. With Grammel snatching first and Cornelius nabbing fourth, the girls monopolized a race that was chock-full of talented runners. Contrary to their usual Division III competition, this meet included opponents from Divisions I and II. To make their top spots even more impressive, the two girls were the only underclassmen in the top five.
Although the girls team did not receive a ranking due to its lack of runners in the varsity race, Grammel and Cornelius still created spectacular impacts on their own.
The boys team fed off the girls’ momentum and earned itself a win. Victory tasted especially sweet because, similar to the girls’ race, competition from all divisions filled the course. To add to this, the Vikes took first against Pickerington Central—ranked towards the top of the state for Division I—on its home course.
The team victory resulted from its deep wealth of talent. Not only did Academy’s fastest six runners place in the top twenty-three, but they also all ran times within one minute of each other. Seniors Nick Robie and Nick Watson along with freshman Luke Nester ran their ways to sixth, twelfth, and thirteenth, respectively. With sophomore Charlie Sabgir in twentieth, senior Chris Heermann in twenty-second, and junior Liam McCann in twenty-third, the latter of the boys also sprinted in neck and neck. The top performances kept coming as juniors Abhi Ramesh and Robby Simpson placed forty-third and fiftieth, respectively, both earning a spot in the top half of runners. Competing in his first varsity race, freshman Jake Huddleston also gained a place for himself and snagged sixty-first.
The Vikes will take off the last week of September. The team will race at home on Tuesday, October 3, on its Senior Night.
