Lily Terwilliger CFNN Reporter

Nathan Veeder sprints for the finish line in Saturday’s Open Race.
Photo credit: Troy Terwilliger

On Saturday the cross country boys took on the Smithfield Invitational for a successful meet. The team brought home many medals and a second place trophy. This was their first year participating in this race.

The course was a little tough and brought slower times than what the runners are used to getting, however it was all about placement. The top 15 Championship runners won a medal and top 10 Developmental runners won a medal. The top 3 Championship team scores won a trophy.

Julius shows off the hardware after finishing 2nd.
Photo Credit: Troy Terwilliger

The Championship race started at 9:30 am. Our top 7 runners, Ferguson, Piland, Alvarado, Gaddy, Bostic, Danks, and Knudsen, competed for a top 15 medal. 

Julius Ferguson pulled through with a 2nd place medal, giving his team a total of 2 points.

 “I felt that after the race this past Saturday went very well. We placed very well but our times were a lot slower,” said Ferguson. “I wasn’t sure if the course was a lot longer than usual but I overhead some others say it was longer.” 

Jonathan Piland got a 7th place medal, giving his team 7 points. Our last top 15 runner was Juan Alvarado with a 13th place medal achieving 12 points for his team.

Eli Benbenek huffs and puffs and blows past the finish line in Saturday’s race.
Photo credit: Troy Terwilliger

The Championship boys ended up in second place with a team score of 50 points. An interesting stat showed an average of an 18:16 with all the boys times combined together. The boys were able to take home a second place trophy to add to our showcase. 

The next race our boys competed in was the Mens and Womens Open Race started at 11:00 am. The top 10 Mens and Womens runners won medals. 

Noah Lucas concentrates on the difficult terrain.
Photo credit: Troy Terwilliger

Issac Kern and Tariq Hussain set off the race with a 1st and 2nd place win, respectively, giving their team a total of 3 points. Being involved in ROTC all these years, this is Hussain’s second meet this year. 

“The race didn’t feel too difficult,” said Hussain. “There was a bit of concrete running but I did enjoy the cross country trail running it had. The start was challenging, trying to funnel all those people into that one small path.”

Nathaniel Veeder and Seth Thomas were next in line with a 6th and 7th place, respectively, giving their team a total of 13 points. 

Julius Ferguson pulls away from the competition.
Photo credit: Troy Terwilliger

“I thought the race wasn’t all that difficult, said Veeder. “Despite the decent competition I felt the race was definitely a mental battle more so than physical. Although it was definitely hot physically.” 

Corey Majerus and Noah Lucas were next with an 8th and 9th place, respectively, giving their team a total of 17 points. All of these boys were in the top 10 and were able to bring home a medal.

The Most Interesting Man in the World, Jonathan “JP” Piland, smokes the competition in Saturday’s race!
Photo credit: Troy Terwilliger

The last Saturday meet for their season will take place this Saturday at Dorothea Dix Park. Come out and support the boys for a competitive race this weekend!