Rye Country Day School’s cross-country team hosted its only home meet of the season on October 17 at Edith Read Sanctuary, where the team practices regularly. Visiting teams included Holy Child, Hopkins, and Green Farms Academy.

 

 

 

By Melanie Cane

 

Rye Country Day School’s cross-country team hosted its only home meet of the season on October 17 at Edith Read Sanctuary, where the team practices regularly. Visiting teams included Holy Child, Hopkins, and Green Farms Academy.

 

Matthew Crowley, RCDS’s senior co-captain Matthew Crowley, who has been the top Wildcat runner all season, led the team with a personal best of 17:42, placing seventh. Vlady Rachev was the second teammate to cross the finish line at 19:29, earning him 19^th place.

 

Coach Ethan White said Crowley is “an indispensable leader for the team, both on and off the race course.”

 

On the girls’ side, sophomore Acacia Dougan has been the top female runner all season. She set the pace for the girls’ team at 22:00, placing sixth. Her next fastest teammate, Franchesca Pena, completed the course in 24:07.

 

Dougan was on the team as a freshman, but she couldn’t run due to a broken ankle, so this is effectively her first season running cross country. Coach White said he is awed by her confidence and poise during races, calling Dougan “an inspiration to her teammates.”

 

The Wildcat team is very young, with freshman and sophomores making up the majority of the top runners. Coach White says despite their youth and relative inexperience, they “show tremendous promise” and he’s looking forward to seeing them develop in the next year or two.

 

 

 

Holy Child’s team is showing the wear and tear of the season, with several runners injured, ill, or recovering from illnesses.

 

Senior co-captain Ellen Lautenbach, who also was ill, managed to set the pace for her team at 22:08, earning ninth place. Junior Gabby Vera, who was recovering from an illness, ran her personal best, 22:39. Cameron Kellett, Bridget DelPriore, and Elizabeth Curcio were Holy Child’s next finishers with times of 24:17, 24:31, and 24:36, respectively.

 

Despite missing five runners, Holy Child topped RCDS, 25-34. They lost to Hopkins, 45-16 and Green Farms Academy, 52-19.