10/6/18 – Deerfield Cross Country Hosts St. Paul’s School
A festive atmosphere greeted runners and spectators alike for Deerfield Cross Country’s first dual meet of the season. With games taking place on all the fields of the Lower Level and hundreds of fans wending their way from food trucks to the photo booth to the sidelines, the day had a carnival feel despite overcast skies. The cloud cover kept temperatures down, however, which led to some fast racing from all competitors. When all the places were tallied, Deerfield emerged victorious over a young, talented St. Paul’s team. The varsity seven scored 21 points to St. Paul’s 36, and the junior varsity bested St. Paul’s by a score of 19-39.
The boys’ varsity and junior varsity races were combined, so everyone started together, and the opening pace was blistering. Two Deerfield seniors—Ricardo Gonzalez and JJ Siritantikorn—galloped straight to the lead and covered the first half-mile in just over two minutes, joined by St. Paul’s lead runner. That trio entered the first woods section together, led by Gonzalez, with a pack of three Deerfield runners just behind. Ricardo emerged from the woods with a solid lead, and he never relinquished it, racing hard despite running alone for almost the entire race. Saturday was Gonzalez’ antepenultimate home race, and he left no doubt that he was in command of his home turf. When the leaders passed the two-mile mark, sophomore Charlie Lewis was battling with St. Paul’s top runner, followed closely by his classmate Thomas Lyons and senior Tom Dillon. Just as the runner in red gapped Lewis, Lyons started his trademark final surge, ultimately passing everyone except Gonzalez to capture 2nd place overall. Lewis held on for a strong 4th place finish and a lifetime best time, followed mere seconds later by Dillon in 5th place. Next up was a ninth grader in his first varsity race: Trey Souder ran a terrific race, coming on like wildfire in the second half of the 5K to capture 9th overall and earn a new PR. Siritantikorn held on after a grueling first mile to finish just behind Souder in 10th, and William Grosse debuted on the varsity with an 11th place finish to round out the top seven.
The JV scoring was a green wave: Mat Panikar, Jake Meier, and Quinn Hampson led the way for the Big Green sweep, finishing in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, respectively. Two St. Paul’s runners broke the streak before another pack of three Deerfield harriers broke the tape. Chris Thagard (6th), Alex Weinman (7th), and Gabe Zaccheo (8th) ran well together to complete the scoring and guarantee the win. Other notable JV efforts included Seth Thayumanavan’s first race of the season after nursing an injury for the last few weeks, and Rosnell Leyva-Cortes’ first 5K of the season.
Every single Deerfield runner today ran a season-best time, with numerous lifetime bests mixed into the results for good measure. The boys are working hard and racing fast, and they will be eager to toe the line again next weekend against Loomis Chaffee and Choate. Home again, the Big Green will be looking to keep up their winning ways!