Deerfield Girls’ Cross Country made a loud statement at the Brush Invitational today: We are ready! And although there was no team score, the girls clearly dominated in both the underclass and upperclass races. In the girls’ 9th and 10th grade races, Deerfield cruised to a phenomenal showing with Victoria Patterson and Noelle Abeyta finishing first and second as they powered their way, in-synch and step for step through the two mile course. Following them were Grace Russell (5th), Esme Benjamin (6th), Jane Mallach (8th), Ali Thomas (10th), Erin Howe (11th), and Sami Dulam (12th). With the young squad dominating the field, including six runners in the top ten, the future looks extremely bright for DA XC.
In the girls’ 11th and 12th grade race, the result was impressively similar, but incredibly, the first four places all went to the Big Green. The front running pack of O’Connor, Prichett, Markey, Downes, and Bishop, pounded the competition into submission by the end of the second mile, running as a pack, trading leads, and supporting one another. It was until the third mile loop that the pack was teased apart but a surge from Helen Downes. Helen led the way across the finish line, winning the race in 21:02, followed by Sarah Jane O’Connor (2nd), Captain Nora Markey (3rd), Gemma Bishop (4th), Ely Burke (7th), Sophie Sintes (8th), and Bailyn Prichett (12th), who suffered a late race cramp.
The girls now look forward to a team-scored event in the Canterbury Invitational next Saturday. Only the top seven girls are allowed to race there, but the following week the entire squad of 35 girls will be toeing the line either in the varsity or JV races at Westie.
Go Big Green!