On the hilly campus of the Hotchkiss School today, 19 Deerfield runners took the “opportunity” to run the challenging course that will serve as the site of the New England Championship on Nov. 9. That number of runners represents the greatest proportion of teammates to finish a first scored race of the season in a long time; the girls proved themselves to be tenacious, optimistic, and tough! Six teammates who were unable to compete today cheered on the rest from three different points on the course, contributing to the strong camaraderie of the day. The course – which features over 300 feet of elevation, including an incline referred to as “Cardiac Hill” – winds along part of the Hotchkiss golf course, wends its way among groves of trees, and includes views of the lovely Wononscopomuc Lake. The first five finishers, who count towards a team’s total, were: Skye Georgiadis (‘25), Tri-Captain Ginger Bernstein (‘25), Liesel Stitch (‘28), Gage Calhoun (‘27), and Olivia Port (‘26). Everyone relished the slightly cloudy and breezy conditions; the whole team went home tired and proud.