With Tiger runners earning the first five places at Wednesday’s dual meet, boys’ cross country, 4-0, defeated Norwood and Braintree, 15-50 each.

According to senior Jonny Long, a captain with senior David Demarest, the win is a beacon of hope for the Tigers, who had to race without Demarest due to an injury.

Long said he was impressed by many individual performances that led the Tigers to victory.

Junior Mike Schlicting took first place with 16:40, followed by Long in second.

Juniors Max Brandel and Jared Freedman stepped up, and earned third and fifth places respectively, Long said. Brandel finished in 17:18, which is a personal record, and Freedman crossed the finish line at 18:04.

According to Long, junior Gabe Montague, who has also been a staple in the top five, came in fourth.

The successful race helped keep the Tigers optimistic about beating Brookline, which is an important goal for the season, according to Long.  “We had a lot of very good performances, which lead us to believe that we still will have a shot against Brookline without David,” Long said.

During the first race of the season Wednesday, Sept. 12, Demarest rolled his ankle. Over the next few days, his condition worsened, and he was diagnosed with a stress fracture. “It’s just very unfortunate,” Long said. Demarest was not able to race Wednesday and probably will not run for the rest of the season, according to Long.

However Demarest is still excited for the remainder of the season. “Our chances of beating Brookline are definitely a little lowered, but we really have competitive runners going for the number four and five spot. For example, Jared Freedman has proved himself to be a strong runner recently, and that should help us.

“People do need to step up, but there’s no doubt that everyone will be motivated.”