The Cougar Varsity Cross Country teams won both the combined GHSA/GISA competition and the Open/AAC/Home school competition at the MSA meeting of athletes yesterday. It was overheard at the first mile marker, “I’ll bet that TCS guy so far in front won’t be in front at the finish…” Larry Orsini not only held on to the lead, but extended it by winning going away in his personal best of the season of 17:46. Nick Daugherty ran tough, battling the entire 5,000m hot, hilly course along with the top seeds from both Weber and MSA, to place second in 19:16. Brett Boyles, Cam Michaud and Shane Hendrickson ran as a pack of Cougars on the hunt as they finished 8th-10th in 20:52, 20:53 and 21:01, respectively. Nick Smith placed 28th in 25:45, despite wrenching his ankle in the pre-race warm up. Dino Couvaras completed our top seven in 31st, running a 26:30. The Cougars scored 27 points to defeat all-comers, with the next best placed team finishing with 60 points. Alex Nebel was our lone lady Cougar in the girls’ varsity competition and ran smartly to finish in 7th overall at 27:20.
In the Open race, The Cougars again won with Mike Janyska leading the pack in 2nd overall with a 25:39. Nathan Dunbar ran second seed to finish in 4th at 26:22. Andrew Marriott placed top five with a solid 27:13. Alex Hogg placed 8th in the chute at 29:42, as Will Kidd finished 10th in 30:55. Brady Schaeffer fished 13th with a 35:35 showing. Kyndel Abercrombie raced herself in to the top five girls overall with a 29:34. Next week, the boys and girls cross country teams travel to Mill Springs Academy at 2:45PM for the 4:00PM AAC Championship showdown. Thank you for your continued support!
