The cross country team finished off its season with a bang, coming away with a six point win at the Georgetown Prep Classic Oct. 15.
Led by senior captain Will Conway, the boys earned a first place finish in the Elite race. Conway, who finished in fifth place overall, won the event for the team on the last mile of the race when he passed a significant numbers of runners in order to give the boys the victory.
Freshman Lucy Srour led the girls with an overall second place victory. Despite a nagging hip injury, Srour only finished behind one runner from Virginia. Some of the best teams from all of Maryland and Virginia competed in the race, including some of the best private schools, such as Good Council and Georgetown Prep.
The team has had a lot to be excited about this season. Before the Georgetown Prep Classic, it earned a huge win in a dual meet against Sherwood and Quince Orchard Oct. 4 at Sherwood, where the boys dominated with a 5-0 finish and the girls upset the Cougars 4-1.
“The girls are tied for first place in the division and some of our best runners are underclassmen,” coach Paul Jacobson said.
The team competed at the Great American Cross Country festival Oct. 1 in Cary, North Carolina. The event included teams from all over the country, including some of the top teams from California and the best teams on the East Coast.
The boys were the highest ranked team in attendance out of both the Maryland and Virginia teams. They competed in the Race of Champions, which was the highest ranked race of the festival. They finished 11th overall, and Conway led the pack with a personal best 5K time of 15:53. The top seven boys on the team also all ran new personal best times.
“A lot of our success so far this season can be attributed to our depth,” senior Matt Kogan said. “We have a very strong top seven, and every single person on the team is completely dedicated and will do whatever it takes to help the team.”
The girls ran in the White Varsity division. Led by Srour, who won the entire race, the girls finished with an overall first place victory. Srour has had a solid season, highlighted by her first place finish in the Bull Run race.
“Lucy Srour has not lost to another Montgomery County runner yet,” Jacobson said.
Despite a minor glitch during the season, when senior standout Zach Weinstein suffered a hip injury, the team has had an extremely strong season, largely due to the significant amount of young talent.
In addition to Srour, a standout in Montgomery County and currently the top girl on the CHS team, freshman David Fitzgerald has also burst on to the scene as the fastest freshman boy. Alongside senior stars Conway and Weinstein, seniors Sushen Thiyagarajan and Luke Shannon have added significant depth to the team.
“Everybody is pretty packed together on this team, and the gap between Luke and the pack of Will and Zach is getting much smaller,” Kogan said.
The team heads to counties Oct. 22, followed by regionals and states.
