The Deerfield Boys’ Cross Country team traveled to Westminster School on Saturday to compete in the Richard Miller Invitational. The day was chilly and overcast, but the Westminster course was in terrific shape, and as is always the case at Westminster, the competition was spirited. Tabor emerged victorious in both the Varsity and JV races, with Deerfield capturing second in both categories.
Leading the way for Deerfield, Robert Beit ’13 won the Varsity race in a new meet record time of 16:55. At the start, a Suffield runner leapt out to an early lead which he held for most of the race, but Beit gradually reeled him in on the hilly second two miles of Westminster’s course, ultimately passing him with about a half-mile to go. Deerfield’s lead pack was characteristically bunched: George Reich was just behind Beit, finishing in 3rd place overall, and Ben Wood followed George up by taking 5th place. In his first Deerfield race, freshman Ethan Brand-LaBarge finished 26th overall and fourth for the Big Green, and tri-captain Teddy Romeyn completed Deerfield’s scoring five with his 30th place finish.Â
In the JV race, junior David Hamilton ran a smart, aggressive race to come out of the middle of the pack at the one mile mark to finish a strong 2nd in 19:18. Gene Thagard continued his promising start to the season, finishing 5th in the JV race, and fellow sophomore Bryce Klehm wasn’t far behind, finishing 15th in 20:37. Embodying Deerfield’s emphasis on improvement, sophomore Austin Parenteau crossed the line in 53rd place, beating his time from last year’s Richard Miller Invitational by 3:40. Congrats Austin!
The Big Green harriers have a bye week next Saturday and will return to action on October 13th at home against Loomis Chaffee and Choate Rosemary Hall.Â
