The Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams asserted their strength as they kicked off the season last Thursday at the Baltimore Metro Invitational, hosted by the Stevenson Mustangs. The Jays lived up to their hefty preseason predictions with both the men and women finishing with perfect team scores. After finishing fourth at nationals last season, the Jays enter the 2016 season ranked top in the region and third in the country. Meanwhile, the men, who finished second in the Mideast Regional last season, are predicted to finish third in the region by the Cross Country Coaches Association. They will return four of their top five runners from Regionals.
Both teams dominated their respective fields, even though they planned to be smart and conservative. Head Coach Bobby Van Allen wanted the men and women to focus on running in packs and treat the race as any other workout. The teams were told to conserve energy in the first half of the race before asserting themselves during the final two kiltometers.
Sophomore Felicia Koerner led the women as the repeat champion of the Baltimore Metro Invitational. She crossed the line in 14:37, with teammates freshman Samantha Levy and sophomore Natalia LaSpada following closely. The women would end up finishing in 19 of the top 20 spots, an incredible feat for such a young team.
“Our overall result was strong, but what really impressed me was how well we managed to work together right through to the finish,” Koerner said about her team’s successful execution of the intended race strategy. “Racing together is crucial. Anything we can do to bump other runners back a few spots will go a long way.”
The Jays certainly delivered as they finished with a perfect team score crossing the line in the first five spots to take the win over the Stevenson Mustangs. Only one Stevenson runner broke into the top 20 finishers, in what was certainly a dominant opening performance for this Jays squad.
Likewise, the men’s team did not disappoint as they too finished with a perfect score, taking the first five spots in their race. The Mustangs again finished second in the team scoring. The team was led by junior Louis Levine, who crossed the line with a time of 12:48. Levine was followed closely by his teammates, freshman Andrew King and sophomore Alex Doran, who would cross the line in second and third respectively.
Like the women, the men’s team planned to run in a relaxed fashion for the first half of the race. Even so, the men filled 18 of the top 20 spots. Impressively, just nine seconds separated the team’s top seven finishers as they successfully kept in packs through the race.
“We treated the race more as a workout, and a chance to practice running together as a team,” Levine said.
A main focus for both the men and the women this season will be to continue to run together as a team by staying in close packs. Thursday’s race was about as good of a result as the teams could have hoped for.
“I am definitely excited to get more into the season and race more. I am looking forward to being able to race with my teammates, and see the results of our hard work,” Levine said.
Both the men and women will return hungry and toe the line on Friday Sept. 16 at 10 a.m. They will be traveling to the Bronx, N.Y. to race at Van Cortlandt Park.
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