Girls Cross Country tackled a frigid, windy course with gumption at the New England Division 1 Championship. An incredibly strong field of thirteen teams joined to run a hilly course at the Taft School, and the Deerfield girls came away satisfied with their strong, consistent performances. The Varsity team secured a sixth place finish, notably beating out two foes, Northfield Mount Hermon and Choate, who beat them in dual meets earlier in the seasons. The Junior Varsity finished fourth behind three (also very strong) teams. These high finishes testify to the promise of this young team and its hard work at each step this season.
Sophomore Lulu Fanjul (’18) posted Deerfield’s top time of the meet, finishing in 33rd place with a time of 21:42. Not far behind, Carolyn Melvin (’18) finished 39th in 21:53. Rounding out the Deerfield varsity, Nora Markey (’18) finished 48th in 22:10, followed by— in quick succession— Roopa Venkatraman (’18), Lily Shudha (’19), and Jordan Coan (’18) in the 54th, 55th, and 56th places. Sophomore Helen Downes posted a notable time in the Junior Varsity race, claiming 13th with a time of 22:21.
Overall, the girls left confident that Deerfield cross country has entered a new era. The strong work of this season only promises leaps in the years to come; this young team’s grit and dedication to the sport leaves them energized and hungry for more.”