October 15th, 2016 – Deerfield Boys’ Cross Country at Choate, with Loomis Chaffee
During what has been a beautiful fall for running, one of the nicest running days yet greeted the Big Green boys’ cross country team upon their arrival at Choate Rosemary Hall on Saturday. With blue skies overhead and a warm sun cutting the autumn chill in the air, conditions were just about perfect and the hilly Choate course was in great shape for the annual double-dual meet between Deerfield, Loomis Chaffee, and the hosts.
Overall, the day was a challenging one for the Deerfield harriers. With two top runners watching the race due to injury, winning the team scoring was never part of the equation for Deerfield. Despite that, many Big Green athletes ran brave, thrilling races to continue building on their training so they will all be ready when the full complement of runners toes the line. Co-captains Hughes Benjamin ’17 and Ethan Thayumanavan ’17 led the way for Deerfield, finishing 9th and 10th respectively. Thayumanavan’s run was among the best of the day for Deerfield, earning him his best time of the season. Marco Marsans ’18 also turned in his best effort of the season, finishing 12th overall followed closely by JJ Siritantikorn ’19, who finished 13th in his first race back after a two-week injury hiatus. The toughness award went to Alex Weinman ’19 who ran a lifetime best time to capture 17th place despite battling a painful case of plantar fasciitis. Tom Dillon ’18 and Chris Thagard ’20 rounded out the varsity seven, highlighted by a great PR for Dillon.
Neil Nie ’19 led the way for Deerfield’s junior varsity squad, capturing 21st overall thanks to a steady effort throughout the many hills and twists and turns on Choate’s course. Will Sanford ’17 made his XC debut for Deerfield, too, finishing 34th overall. Other notable JV performances included huge PR’s for Seth Thayumanavan ’20 (a 3-minute improvement!), Jeffrey So ’19 (a 3-minute improvement!), Nick Fluty ’20 (nearly a minute and a half improvement), and a first-ever Deerfield 5K for Eli Ji ’19.
After a much-needed rest day in store on Monday, the Deerfield XC team will return to action next Saturday at Phillips Exeter, the site of this year’s New England championships. Go Big Green!